Meta’s latest VR and MR headset is much slimmer and equipped with redesigned ergonomic controllers and many new offerings — Boardroom has the key details.
The Meta Quest 3 virtual and mixed reality headset has arrived a week ahead of Apple‘s own expected announcement about its competitor hardware.
Meta CEO and Executive Chairman Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the Big Tech giant’s latest VR product this week at the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, an hour-long reveal of gaming updates, trailers, and announcements. The company unveiled more than 24 games, some of which will be accessible on the Quest 3. Meta’s new headset will cost $499 — that’s a little more than the Quest 2, which was released in the fall of 2020 with a $399 128 GB option and a $499 upgrade for 256 GB.
Zuckerberg didn’t give an exact date of when the Quest 3 will hit shelves, but it will be available for purchase sometime later this year in the fall.
We’ll learn more about the device at Meta Connect on Sept. 27, but for now, here’s what we got.
At first glance, the Quest 3 is much slimmer than its predecessor; Meta designed it this way to create a more comfortable and lighter headset. The headset’s storage will cap at 128 GB, with additional storage options that will cost a little more, of course. The device is equipped with color cameras and a depth sensor to catch a more accurate depiction of play space. The redesigned controllers have multiple buttons and TruTouch haptic feedback. Starting with the Quest 3, Meta opted to discontinue the controllers’ outer tracking rings.
Meta promises that the Quest 3 will give users a better experience, including a higher resolution display, faster and smoother content, sharper visuals, natural depth perception, and full-color passthrough, and the headset will also boast certain augmented reality capabilities. Zuckerberg shared at the showcase that the Quest 3 will feature double the graphical display power compared to the Quest 2. This is the result of Meta’s collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies to develop a special “Snapdragon” chipset capable of producing a smoother, crisper experience in immersive games.
On the mixed reality front, imagine being able to bring real-life experiences into the virtual world. With the Quest 3, users can play virtual board games atop physical furniture and environments and virtually decorate their homes through select games and offerings on the device.
“Ultimately, our vision is to enable you to move through all realities in a way that’s intuitive and delightful, going beyond the rigid classifications of ‘virtual reality’ and ‘mixed reality’ to deliver truly next-gen experiences that let you effortlessly blend the physical and virtual worlds,” Meta Vice President of VR Mark Rabkin said in a company blog post. “Meta Reality gives you both the deep, immersive magic of VR and the freedom and delight of making your physical world more fun and useful with MR. We’re excited to see what developers and creators can build on the Quest Platform when the possibilities are limitless.”
To prepare for an influx of headset demands, Meta is lowering the Quest 2 retail price to $299 for the 128GB device and $349.99 for the 256GB upgrade. The company will also be pushing a software update soon to Quest 2 and Quest Pro users, which is expected to boost performance by 26% via a central processing unit upgrade. The Quest 2 graphics processing unit will be boosted up to 19%, while the Quest Pro will see an 11% boost.
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The Quest 3 will be available in the fall in all countries that the Quest 2 is sold across. Meta’s new VR and MR device will be compatible with the Quest 2’s catalog of over 500 games, apps, and experiences, plus some Quest 3-exclusive offerings that will be announced ahead of its official launch.
Apple is set to unveil its flagship VR and MR headset on June 5 during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.
Competition is heating up in the VR space, but which Big Tech company will take the lead this year? We’ll be watching.
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