Meta’s next-generation mixed reality headset, the Quest 3, will come out this fall at $499. The device is 40% thinner than the company’s previous headset. In addition, it will feature a color-mixed reality, combining augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) elements to allow users to interact with and explore their natural world while blending in virtual content. For example, this technology allows users to play virtual board games on their kitchen tables or decorate their living room with virtual art from apps like Demeo and Painting VR.
The Quest 3 will have improved front-facing cameras that will allow users to see their physical surroundings even with the headset on, known as “passthrough.” This will allow users to see their hands when they reach for things and make navigating in the virtual space easier. It will also have a new processor and GPU with up to two times the performance of the company’s previous headset, the Quest Pro.
In a post on Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the headset and briefly demonstrated its features. He noted that the headset is “our best-in-class headset yet.” He said it has high-fidelity color passthrough, innovative machine learning, and spatial understanding, allowing people to interact with their physical world in ways they couldn’t before.
Users can use the headset with its redesigned Meta Touch Plus, controllers that debuted this year. The headset will also have advanced hand motion tracking, which removes the need for users to hold their arms out in front of them. It will also feature TruTouch haptics, which will send thumps and vibrations into the user’s hands to simulate the feeling of objects in the virtual space.
The new headset will be available in all countries where the Quest 2 is sold, including the US, Canada, and Japan. It will start shipping in the fall, the same time as the Quest 2 did. In addition, the company will offer the headset with either a 128GB or 256GB storage option at the same price of $500, which is significantly cheaper than the $1,100 Magic Leap 2, which starts at $1,000, and the $350 PlayStation VR2, which requires a PS5 to operate.
Despite the lower price tag, Meta is still playing catch-up to billionaire Apple, which is expected to launch its AR/VR headset at its WWDC 2023 developer conference next week. Unfortunately, the Cupertino giant has never been a big fan of making its products affordable, so it needs to be clarified how much the Quest 3 will help Meta reclaim its position in the emerging market.
Zuckerberg could have waited to unveil the headset until next month’s Meta Connect event, but it seems likely that he was trying to steal some of Apple’s thunder with his announcement. The company will release more details about Quest 3 at that event. It will also release the latest software update for the Quest 2 and Quest Pro, including improvements to CPU and GPU performance that will allow those devices to run graphics-intensive games at higher resolutions without dropping frames.
