Before the Oculus Quest launched this summer, we wrote up a preview of the VR headset. The article could be summed up like this: for businesses serious about incorporating VR into their workplaces, the Quest is a great fit. For more casual business users, or those just starting out in VR, the Oculus Go could likely suffice.

Now that we’re a few months into hands-on use with the Quest, we wanted to re-visit this topic of Go vs. Quest. It’s one that most new InstaVR clients, and many existing ones, face as they roll out VR programs.

Below, we’ll review what use cases are best for Oculus Quest and which ones are better for the Oculus Go. There’s no “right” answer, and a mix of the two actually makes sense for a lot of our clients. But we wanted to give you some things to think about as you start planning your 2020 virtual reality programs.

If you have any questions on either headset, our Sales and Customer Success teams are happy to answer them!

IF YOU’RE USING SPECIFIC 3D IMAGE FORMATS LIKE .STL AND .FBX…

You’ll definitely want the Oculus Quest. The high-quality 360 3-dimensional renders will look great on the OLED display of the Quest. Paired with an InstaVR Enterprise account, you can make your high-quality visualizations on a laptop become realities in the Quest.

IF YOU REQUIRE INTERACTIVITY IN A SCENE, SUCH AS MOVING OBJECTS…

Only the Oculus Quest will really meet your needs. The two Touch Hand controllers allow you to virtually “reach out” and move objects within a scene. Again, paired with an InstaVR Enterprise subscription, you can make for some great simulations for employee training, building planning, sales presentations, etc.

IF YOU’VE CREATED APPS THAT ALLOW FOR 6 DEGREES OF FREEDOM (6DoF) MOVEMENT WITHIN SCENES…

Only the Quest has six degrees of freedom, so you’d pick Quest over Go in this instance. Why would a person go to the extra effort to create a 6DoF app? If you’re looking to create the most immersive environment possible, and want a user to be able to move “around” objects within a scene, you’ll want 6DoF capabilities. For some VR purists, an experience isn’t truly virtual reality if it doesn’t have 6DoF functionality — it’s merely 360-degree media.

IF YOU’RE ON A TIGHT BUDGET…

Likely the Oculus Go, but possibly the Quest. Yes, Oculus Go costs half as much as Quests at most major retailers. But you have to consider what percentage of your total virtual reality budget is going to headsets. If you’re spending say 200 man hours creating the VR, and only deploying on 10 headsets, the $2K difference in pricing between the headsets is actually fairly nominal.

IF YOU NEED TO EASILY DISTRIBUTE VIA THE OCULUS CLOUD GLOBALLY TO HEADSETS…

As of now (September 2019), you’d want to use the Oculus Go. That’s because you can post InstaVR-generated Go apps to the private Oculus Cloud (aka the Oculus Store), allowing you to easily distribute to specific headsets without having to physically touch them. With the Oculus Quest, you currently need to sideload apps on the headset using a USB Cable and running ADB Software. It’s not really that difficult, but does require a little extra work, which isn’t always appreciated, particularly if it’s a department head and not the VR creator having to load the app.

IF YOU HAVE A VERY SIMPLE 360 VR EXPERIENCE WITH EITHER A.) NOT A LOT OF INTERACTION OR B.) USERS WHO ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH VR…

A major difference between the Go and the Quest is the hand controller(s). The Go uses a pointer with buttons, similar to a laser pointer. It’s simple to use, simple to learn, and pretty basic. The Quest has two Touch hand controllers, one for each hand, that are quite powerful. They also require a little more getting used to. So if you’re exhibiting VR in a high traffic area like a trade show, it actually might be easier to use the Go.

IF YOU’RE NOT SURE WHAT YOUR USE CASES OR NEEDS ARE…

Buy a Go and a Quest. Total investment is only $600 for the two. And if you’re creating a very rudimentary test apps, you can use InstaVR Pro to view side-by-side on both outlets, before deciding to invest more in the Quest and hopefully upgrade to InstaVR Enterprise also.