Intel’s new Wi-Fi chip promises a better way to tether your Meta Quest VR headset – The Verge
Intel and Meta have teamed up on a new way to directly connect your Oculus Quest headset to a gaming PC. If you buy or build a computer with its AX1690 Wi-Fi chip — and unfortunately, just that chip — you should be able to directly connect your headset to the computer instead of relying on your router to do the lifting (via Wi-Fi Now).
If you ask me, the Oculus Quest’s coolest feature is that you can tether it to a gaming PC, playing intensive titles like Half-Life: Alyx or Star Wars: Squadrons over Wi-Fi or wired USB-C. But if you’ve ever struggled to configure your router for the best Virtual Desktop or Oculus Air Link experience, like me, this might let you remove it from the equation.
Interestingly, the new feature is based on an existing one that Intel introduced last year, called Double Connect Technology (DCT), which was originally marketed as a way to connect a computer to 2.4GHz and 5GHz or 6GHz networks simultaneously for increased bandwidth and reliability.
Meta had a different idea, though: what if it could borrow that 5GHz (Quest 2) or 6GHz (Quest Pro) for a direct link to its headset without killing your PC’s connection to the internet?
Intel and Meta say the result is even better than a “hybrid” single-hop setup where you’ve got an ethernet cable plugged into your gaming PC and only rely on Wi-Fi for the Quest 2. Intel claims it offers up to 20 percent lower latency (sub-5-millisecond) because you’re cutting that router out of the equation.
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