Developers creating VR apps for Oculus Quest will probably have a harder time getting through the review process than they did previously with Rift or Go. Small consolation for devs who don’t make the all important Oculus Store cut: end users will still be able to sideload unsupported apps from outside of the Oculus Store.
Oculus CTO John Carmack hasn’t spoke at length on the subject yet, although he did confirm via Twitter that sideloading on Quest would be the “same process as Go.”
Sideloading on Go is far from a streamlined process. You need to follow a few key steps that aren’t exactly a simple menu toggle away such as create a developer account, install ADB drivers, allow unknown sources, and a few other things too. Oh, and you’ll also need a computer for all of this too.
We suggest you to check out the handy video guide below created by YouTuber ‘Virtual Reality Oasis’ to get an idea of what to expect on Quest:
Once you’ve completed the initial setup process though, you’ll be able to easily install unsupported APK files featuring everything from standard Android media and game apps to unsupported VR content too—however inadvisable that may be from a safety standpoint.
Oculus Quest is slated to release in Spring 2019 starting at $400. We expect to hear more about Quest either at GDC 2019 later this month. or possibly at F8 2019 at the end of April.