Quest v69 brings Shadowless Multitasking and Adaptive Brightness

The Quest v69 update brings multi-tasking improvements, a new backlight option, window area sound, and other improvements to the Meta mixed reality platform.

As with all Quest updates, v69 will be rolled out gradually, so it may take a few days or weeks for your headset to receive the v69 update.

This may be the last Meta software update before its Connect conference, set for September 25-26, where the company is expected to introduce a cheaper version of the Quest 3 and announce upcoming updates to the Horizon OS platform its headsets are working on.

Free Window Positioning No Longer Tested

In v67 Meta introduced an experimental option called New Window Layout, which allows you to drag three 2D windows and place them freely in space, in addition to the three windows you can attach to your dock, for six windows in all.

It also added a new ability to capture any full window, which makes it bigger, allows you to dim the background, and temporarily hide the full dock and other windows.

Quest v67 Finally Allows You to Install Windows Freely

The Quest v67 update allows you to freely position 2D windows, improve Quest Pro monitor tracking, make Quest 3 scan Wi-Fi QR Codes, and more.

With v69 New Window Layout is no longer an experimental option. Now that’s how Horizon OS works, it’s allowed for everyone.

Unlimited multitasking

Since its launch Quest Pro and Quest 3 and since the beginning of 2023 for Quest 2 you have been able to display the browser or other 2D windows while inside the device that is immersed. And since v62 you were able to display the three 2D windows that you had in the home environment in these applications.

But to start interacting with the immersion tool again, you needed to minimize the 2D windows you had open.

v69 adds a new Seamless Multitasking test option, which we previously reported on when it appeared on the Public Test Channel. Enabling it allows you to continue interacting with the immersive app while your 2D windows are open.

This means that you can, for example, watch Netflix or YouTube while playing a VR game. It has a performance penalty, but applications that use dynamic resolution should lower their resolution to adapt.

Content-Adaptive Backlight Control

Meta previously mentioned that Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) will be a new Quest 3 beta option added to v68, but we don’t know if anyone is getting that feature.

The company now says that feature is coming in v69, and has renamed it Content-Adaptive Backlight Control.

CABC is already available in some LCD TVs and LCD monitors. It works by dimming the backlight in dark areas to a deep black that is closer to true black than the bluish gray typically achieved by LCDs. Constant brightness changes can be annoying with very different visuals – we’ll be curious to see how well Meta’s CABC handles this.

Space Audio For 2D Windows

While almost all deep applications in Quest use spatial audio, until now the audio from 2D windows did not.

With v69 2D windows will have spatial sound, which means that the sound produced by them will sound like it is coming from the window’s location in space.

This is turned on by default, but can be turned off in the settings if you don’t want it.

Remove Apps from Library

With v66, released in June, Meta said you’ll now be able to hide apps in your library, like demos and experiences you’ve tried for a few minutes and don’t want to use again. But like CABC with v68, the feature never arrived.

Meta now says this long-requested capability is being added to v69, but we’ll have to see it to believe it this time.

Conflict Free Home Environment

Quest 3 begins with a walkthrough. When you press the button to switch to immersion mode, you enter your home environment, usually you had to confirm the room boundary or draw a new one if the headset does not know your room.

With v69, Meta says that it will now be placed in a static border automatically. You will only have to draw the boundary of the room when you start using an immersive VR device.

Bluetooth Quick Pairing

Quest v69 adds a new option to receive a notification when a nearby Bluetooth device enters pairing mode, meaning you don’t need to navigate Bluetooth settings.

Meta says this will work for all supported Bluetooth devices including headphones, keyboards, mice and gamepads.

New Home Environment: Oceanarium

Meta says v69 includes a new Horizon Home environment called Oceanarium.

Here is how it describes the Oceanarium:

Immerse yourself in an underwater world full of seaweed and anemones flowing with the gentle waves of the ocean. Get up close and personal with sea turtles, manta rays, and even a humpback whale as you experience the beauty of the ocean like never before.