Quest 2 now lets you bring up the web browser without having to quit the running VR app.

Both Quest 2 and Quest Pro let you bring up 3 browser windows at once in the system home environment. But on Quest 2 you couldn’t bring up the browser while inside a VR app without quitting it. Quest Pro removed this limitation, bringing VR-2D multi-tasking to standalone VR.

With the v50 system update this feature will no longer be exclusive to Quest Pro. If you need to look something up online, or check your messages on platforms like Slack or Discord, you’ll no longer need to take the headset off and use your phone or PC.

Notably, the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 doesn’t seem capable of transitioning smoothly from a VR app to browser multitasking even on the Quest Pro. In all but the most graphically simplistic VR games you’ll likely see horrendous stuttering and unresponsiveness when you bring up the system menu.

Another limitation is that you can’t keep the browser open while back in the VR app. To get back to actually interacting with the VR app, you’ll need to minimize the browser, preventing use cases like watching YouTube while playing a game.