When Meta released update v62 a couple of months back for its Quest headsets, it introduced the Release Channel Selector. This wasn’t mentioned in the release notes but it was a quality-of-life update that now lets users switch between app versions directly from their headset.
Similar to how some software products have multiple versions available for download, Quest apps have different versions as well. These are usually the Live, Beta and Alpha versions of said apps. To switch between these versions users had to use “release channels”.
And before v62 the method for switching versions was very inconvenient: requiring the use of a desktop browser or the Meta Quest app on your phone.
With the Release Channel Selector this version selection can be done while using the headset. To do this:
Go into your app library.
Find the app whose version you want to change.
Go into Settings.
Select “Release Channels”.
Image credit — MIXED
We could see device-specific version support
The convenience factor cannot be denied, but there might be another use made possible with the Release Channel Selector. That being device-specific versions becoming available for use.
Changing app versions from a desktop browser or the mobile app meant each Quest headset got access to the same version. This led to some undesirable side effects. For example, if an app received updates that only worked on a Quest 3 these updates would also be downloaded on other Quest headsets, without necessarily having an impact there.
This meant hefty downloads of 4K textures that were not supported or files that remained unused on these headsets. With Release Channel Selector I’m hopeful we could start seeing app versions tailored to the headset they’re being downloaded to. Later down the line I’d also want to see this feature extended to let people run past versions of an app.
This is the second Meta Quest update I’ve covered that went unmentioned in the release notes. The other one was an upgrade to the Meta Quest 3 in update v64. I find it odd Meta isn’t mentioning these changes.
Perhaps these updates are things Meta thinks only more tech savvy people will notice, and thus are not worth mentioning in release notes lest they confuse the average consumer. Nevertheless, it’s pretty cool to see updates to the Quest lineup that focus on quality-of-life improvements.
And I do enjoy that these improvements are happening behind the scenes. It makes every update more exciting and sends enthusiasts combing through the menus to find something new.
And in case you missed it, there is a big Steam sale on VR games happening right now, so be sure to check that out and make the most of your newly-improved VR headset.
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Abdullah is an ardent believer in the future of VR, and can't wait to see what more it brings to the table as technology improves. He enjoys covering new software releases in the XR industry, as well as major news about hardware and companies focused on VR.
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