During the Oculus Connect 6 event in September, Mark Zuckerberg announced Oculus Link, a new feature for the Oculus Quest headset that allows it to connect to a computer through a USB Type-C cable. Now, as promised, the feature is available in beta form. This means that, in addition to being used as a standalone VR device, the Oculus Quest can now play titles originally designed for the Oculus Rift.
This is significant because, while the Oculus Quest offers more flexibility due to being completely untethered, the processing power is somewhat limited, so you can't have all the same games you could play on a tethered headset like the Rift. By connecting to a PC, the Quest can now rely on that computer's power to drive more graphically intensive games, meaning it's now possible to enjoy VR titles previously exclusive to the Rift.
For now, Oculus Link is in beta, which means it may not work to its fullest just yet. Oculus has provided a list of recommended specs for the beta phase, but the company is aiming to make the feature work well with the same recommended specs as the Rift and Rift S headsets. The most notable limitation at this point is that AMD GPUs aren't supported, but you can Nvidia GPUs starting with the GTX 1070 and above.
Oculus says you'll need a high-quality USB Type-C cable that supports at least USB 3.0. It will also be releasing its own optical fiber cable specifically for Oculus Link, which will be five meters (16 feet) long to offer more flexibility. It'll be available in limited quantities and select regions later this year, with availability expanding in 2020.
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