VR / spatial · Model guide · Maker specs
Meta Quest (1st gen)
Keep an original Meta Quest only for the games already on it: Meta took no new Quest 1 apps after 31 January 2024 and ended app updates on 2 May 2025.
Product images
Meta Quest (1st gen), from its Amazon listing.
Credit: Amazon.com (Associates Program). Amazon listing
Product image from the Amazon listing.
In short
Keep an original Meta Quest only for the games already on it: Meta took no new Quest 1 apps after 31 January 2024 and ended app updates on 2 May 2025. It's the 2019 original: Snapdragon 835, 4 GB of RAM and 1440 × 1600 OLED panels running apps at 72 Hz. New to VR? Start with a newer Quest: Quest 2 runs at up to 120 Hz, and Quest 3 adds pancake lenses.
Who it is for
- Owners who still play the games they bought. Existing apps keep working, and the headset needs no PC, wires or external sensors.
- Anyone handed one for free who wants to try standalone VR before spending on a current Quest.
Who should skip it
- Anyone who wants a headset to use for years. New features stopped at v50, and Meta's critical bug and security fixes ran only through August 2024.
- Players who want higher refresh rates. Apps run at 72 Hz; Quest 2 goes up to 120 Hz.
- Anyone after mixed reality. Meta's 2019 descriptions don't mention full-color passthrough, and even Quest 2's is grayscale.
What sets it apart
- OLED: one OLED screen per eye at 1440 × 1600, or 2880 × 1600 in total. Quest 2 moved to an LCD.
- Snapdragon 835 with 4 GB of RAM, 2.75 GB of it for apps, and 64 GB or 128 GB of storage.
- Oculus Insight inside-out 6DoF tracking with Touch controllers, and no PC, wires or external sensors.
- An adjustable IPD slider like Rift's, and open-ear audio in the straps with a headphone jack on each side.
Caveats
- Meta gives no weight, field of view, battery life, glasses fit or IPD range in millimeters for the original Quest.
- It's tied to an Oculus, now Meta, account and the Quest Store.
Key specs
In the same order on every headset page. Field of view, weight and battery figures are the makers' own numbers.
| Spec | Value | Source and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Display type | OLED, one screen per eye | Meta availability post; Meta developer hardware post |
| Display resolution | 1440 × 1600 per eye (2880 × 1600 in total) | Meta Horizon render scale; Meta availability postMeta's spring 2019 launch post and a developer hardware post write it as 1600 × 1440: the same pixel count with the axes swapped. |
| Refresh rate | 72 Hz for apps; 60 Hz for media apps only; no 80, 90 or 120 Hz modes | Meta Horizon refresh-rate docs; Meta availability post |
| Optics / lenses | The same optics as Oculus Go, Meta said at launch, with an adjustable IPD slider like Rift's; not pancake lenses, which came later with Quest Pro and Quest 3 | Meta launch post (OC5, spring 2019) |
| Chip / processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, Adreno 540 GPU at 710 MHz, 8 CPU cores. | Meta availability post; Meta developer hardware postApps can use 3 of the 4 performance cores, at up to 2.3 GHz; the fourth is reserved for TimeWarp and the system. |
| RAM / unified memory | 4 GB; 2.75 GB available to apps | Meta developer hardware post |
| On-device storage | 64 GB or 128 GB | Meta availability post |
| Operating system | Android-based Quest software, now Horizon OS. No new features from v50; critical bug and security fixes through August 2024; app updates ended 2 May 2025 | Meta developer hardware post; Meta Quest 1 changes post |
| Tracking | Oculus Insight inside-out 6DoF; no external sensors | Meta launch and availability posts |
| Controllers | Oculus Touch, built for an all-in-one headset; in the box with the 2019 retail kits | Meta launch post |
| Other input | Your hands in VR through Touch; no eye tracking listed | Meta availability post |
| PC / console tether | Standalone: no PC, no wires, no external sensors needed | Meta launch post |
| IPD | Adjustable IPD slider; no millimeter range published | Meta launch post |
| Passthrough / see-through | No full-color passthrough in Meta's 2019 descriptions; even Quest 2's is grayscale | Meta launch and availability posts |
| Eye tracking | None listed | Meta launch and availability posts |
| Battery style | Built into the headset; capacity not published | Meta launch and availability posts |
| Audio | Open-ear audio through the straps, as on Oculus Go, plus a stereo headphone jack on each side; Meta promised improved built-in audio and bass without headphones | Meta developer hardware post; Meta launch post |
| Wireless | Standalone, no PC required; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth versions not published | Meta launch post |
| Platform / account lock | Oculus (now Meta) account and the Quest Store; Steam isn't required, and it's not a PS5 headset | Meta launch and availability posts |
| US price at launch | $399 with 64 GB; $499 with 128 GB (May 2019) | Meta availability post; Meta launch postThe spring 2019 announcement led with $399. |
| Price band | Discontinued; launched at $399 and $499 in 2019 | Meta availability post |
| Announced | Announced at OC5 for spring 2019 at $399; on sale in May 2019, alongside Rift S | Meta launch and availability posts |
| Availability | Discontinued. Existing apps keep working; new Quest 1 apps closed 31 January 2024, and app updates ended 2 May 2025 | Meta Quest 1 changes post; Meta Horizon docs |
Meta Quest (1st gen) extras
Specs only this model has.
| Spec | Value | Source and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution, as Meta wrote it | 1440 × 1600 (availability post, render-scale table) or 1600 × 1440 (spring 2019 launch post, developer hardware post); the same pixel count | Meta posts; Meta Horizon render scale |
| Default render resolution | 1216 × 1344 per eye at the default 1.0 scale; the panel is 1440 × 1600 | Meta Horizon render scale |
| Memory for apps | 2.75 GB of the 4 GB | Meta developer hardware post |
| Software support | No new features from v50; critical fixes through August 2024; no new apps after 31 Jan 2024; app updates ended 2 May 2025, after Meta extended the deadline through 1 May 2025 | Meta Quest 1 changes post |
Oculus announced Quest at OC5 for $399, and it went on sale in May 2019 alongside Rift S. It followed the 3DoF Oculus Go as the first Quest: inside-out tracking and Touch controllers, with no PC, wires or external sensors. Meta still names it “Meta Quest 1” in its developer documentation, but it no longer gets new apps or app updates.
How it compares with Quest 2 and Quest 3
| Spec | Quest (1st gen) | Quest 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display | OLED, 1440 × 1600 per eye | Fast-Switch LCD, 1832 × 1920 per eye |
| Chip | Snapdragon 835 | Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 |
| RAM | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Refresh | 72 Hz (60 Hz for media apps) | Up to 120 Hz |
Quest 3 moves further on, with pancake lenses and a refresh mode above 120 Hz, up to 240 Hz. Quest 1 vs Quest 2 goes through the first step in detail.
The OLED display
Each eye has its own OLED screen at 1440 × 1600 pixels, 2880 × 1600 across both, and apps render at 1216 × 1344 per eye at the default 1.0 scale. Meta has also written the resolution as 1600 × 1440, the same panel with the axes swapped.
Apps run at 72 Hz, and media apps can use 60 Hz. Meta said the lenses are the same as Oculus Go’s, and you set the distance between them with an IPD slider like Rift’s.
Chip, memory and sound
A Snapdragon 835 with an Adreno 540 GPU at 710 MHz runs it. Of its 8 CPU cores, apps get 3 of the 4 performance cores, at up to 2.3 GHz, and the fourth handles the system and TimeWarp. There’s 4 GB of RAM, 2.75 GB of it for apps, and 64 GB or 128 GB of storage.
Sound comes from open-ear speakers in the straps, as on Oculus Go, with a stereo headphone jack on each side. Meta promised improved built-in audio and bass without headphones.
Price and buying used
It launched at $399 with 64 GB and $499 with 128 GB, and it’s long gone from stores. With app updates over, a used one is worth only what its installed games are worth to you, so check what’s on it before you buy.
Sources
- Amazon product listing — accessed 2026-09-20
- Meta Quest Blog — Oculus Quest and Rift S now available — accessed 2026-09-19
- Meta Quest Blog — Introducing Oculus Quest — accessed 2026-09-19
- Meta Horizon — Down the rabbit hole with Oculus Quest: the hardware and software — accessed 2026-09-19
- Meta Horizon — Render scale — accessed 2026-09-19
- Meta Horizon — Display refresh rates — accessed 2026-09-19
- Meta Horizon — Upcoming changes to Quest 1 — accessed 2026-09-19
Frequently asked questions
Is the original Quest the same as Quest 2?
No. Quest 2 has a Fast-Switch LCD at 1832 × 1920 per eye, a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 and 6 GB of RAM; the original has OLED panels at 1440 × 1600, a Snapdragon 835 and 4 GB.
Is the resolution 1440 × 1600 or 1600 × 1440 per eye?
Both describe the same panel. Meta's May 2019 availability post and its developer render-scale table say 1440 × 1600; its spring 2019 launch post and a developer hardware post say 1600 × 1440. The pixel count doesn't change.
Can the original Quest run games at 90 Hz or 120 Hz?
No. Apps run at 72 Hz, and 60 Hz is for media apps only. Quest 2's consumer specs go up to 120 Hz.
Does the original Quest need a PC?
No. Meta built it to play with no PC, no wires and no external sensors.
Does the original Quest still get security updates?
No. Meta's 2023 notice promised critical bug and security fixes only through August 2024, so a used one won't be patched.
Official product page: Meta Quest (1st gen). Specs: Meta Quest (1st gen) specs.