What you need to know
- The December v47 update silently introduced a new performance boost on the Quest 2, which was enabled on December 22, 2022.
- The Quest 2’s GPU can now scale up to 525MHz when needed, a boost up from the previous maximum of 490MHz.
- Meta says this equates to a 7% increase in overall performance which should help developers further enhance game detail, resolution, and performance.
It’s a Christmas miracle! If you own a Meta Quest 2 — or end up finding one under your Christmas tree this holiday season — you can now enjoy the fruits of Meta’s labor as the latest firmware update just unlocked a GPU upgrade for the 2-year-old VR console.
The latest post on the Oculus developers blog (opens in new tab) informs readers that the GPU on the Quest 2 headset can now ramp up to 525MHz — that’s up from a maximum of 490MHz previously. Best yet, that action can happen right now thanks to the December v47 update (opens in new tab) that rolled out two weeks ago. That means all those upcoming Quest 2 games (opens in new tab) will be able to take advantage of better graphics and more stable framerates as a result of the clock speed boost.
This announcement comes hot on the heels of the departure of John Carmack, legendary coder of Doom and other popular id engines and previous consulting CTO of Meta. Carmack left a strongly worded letter outlining the reasons for his resignation, one of which was the general inefficiency of the current company structure of Meta and the company’s inability to make simple changes in a timely manner. Whether this update is a coincidence or a quick turnaround to help answer Carmack’s call to action is anyone’s best guess.
Meta says this update should add roughly a 7% performance boost to any games when needed. Right now, developers of the best Quest 2 games (opens in new tab) have to update their games to take advantage of the performance boost, but Meta says it’s just a quick on/off switch.
Starting in firmware v49 after the New Year, the Quest 2 will automatically scale the GPU when performance dips. If an app is still struggling to meet the target framerate, the Quest 2 will automatically begin using fixed foveated rendering (opens in new tab) when needed.
The Meta Quest 2 is the best way to get into VR. Like a PS5, Xbox, or Switch, the Quest 2 is a console that’s designed to be used on its own and improved over time. It gets better each and every month and has thousands of games to play!