Facebook Messenger already allows you to meet your friends virtually through Oculus, their virtual reality devices. The company has announced an update to the Oculus Quest 2 headset that allows connection to the instant messaging application. Thus, this environment can be accessed, being able to chat with friends and meet them virtually using Facebook's virtual reality glasses.
Facebook acquired the Oculus company - and its virtual reality headsets - in 2014 for $ 2 billion. Later he has been designing new devices, which he called Oculus Quest, and in September 2020 he presented Oculus Quest 2 . This is the latest generation and has its own platform, Quest 2, where users of this device connect.
The Quest v25 update is the one that now allows virtual reality access to Facebook Messenger . Communication through Facebook's instant messaging platform can also be established with those who do not use the virtual reality device, although obviously without that interlocutor enjoying the virtual environment.
Likewise, when you are having a conversation through Facebook Messenger using Oculus, you can create a shared game or meet to watch a movie together through Oculus Party, as in Messenger Party , but virtually. This will not require modifying the Oculus privacy settings. It is also possible to send and receive messages with our contacts who have this VR device through Oculus Chats, keeping the same username of the Oculus platform.
If a friend or family member wants to use the Oculus device, the Messenger session must be abandoned before the other person starts their connection. When this communication is finished, the owner will have to log in again using his username and password.
The possibility offered by Oculus on Messenger comes at a time when, due to the pandemic, personal and professional meetings in person are very limited. For both family and professional environments, it has become customary to resort to video conferencing apps , with platforms such as Zoom , which gained great popularity last year.