Developers can now distribute Oculus Quest applications without going through the store or requiring sideloading.
Oculus Quest is a semi-closed platform-like platform. The Oculus Store used to be the only official way to distribute apps. Owners can, however, declare themselves developers to enable sideloading, with games and experiments available at the third-party service SideQuest, which automates the USB sideloading process.
App lab, now available, developers can upload apps to the Oculus platform and share them directly with users via a URL or key. The programs can be free or paid for.
Clicking on the URL opens the apps list in the Oculus smartphone app where the user can purchase or install it on his Quest.
These apps do not appear in the main Oculus Store, but appear once used in your VR library and support automatic updates, as well as platform features such as performance and rankings. You do not have to declare yourself a developer to install an App Lab app and a computer is not required.
Oculus Store approval is difficult to secure, which makes some reluctant developers struggling to recoup the investment they have made in transferring the mobile VR system.
App Lab still requires basic Facebook approval, but the process is much shorter than for the store. Applications must be approved as long as it complies with the Oculus Content Guidelines and Facebook’s policy regarding the use of data.
App Lab does not replace SideQuest. In fact, SideQuest now supports App Lab URLs in place of the APK file, fulfilling its role as the de facto alternative app store for Oculus Quest. Because App Lab does not require a computer, these applications can be effectively installed from the SideQuest website via the browser of your phone.
Developers can submit apps for App Lab in the Oculus Developer Dashboard.