It’s relatively unusual for companies to talk in depth about products a long time before they launch them, but that exactly what happened with the Meta Quest 3 which was partially revealed earlier this year.
Meta (the parent company of Facebook) has retired the Oculus brand, which it acquired back in 2014, and is now selling the virtual reality headsets under the Meta name.
The biggest news, and reason for the increase in price over the Quest 2, is that the new headset supports mixed reality. That means you don’t have to be in a fully virtual world: new cameras on the front of the headset let you see your surroundings in colour and allow you to ‘augment’ reality with virtual things.
You could play a virtual game in your own living room (such as the brilliant BAM!), but it could also be a giant virtual screen that you watch TV on. The difference, in case you’re wondering, is that you can still see your real side table, so you can pick up glass and have a drink without removing the headset, something that wasn’t really possible with the Quest 2.
While some details were known, now Meta has announced everything from tech specs to full pricing and availability.
- Release date: 10 October 2023
Officially announced at Meta Connect on 27 September 2023, the Quest 3 goes on sale on 10 October.
You can, however, pre-order a Quest 3 from the official Meta Store as well as other retailers such as Amazon, plus Currys and Argos in the UK.
When Meta first began teasing the Meta Quest Pro in 2021, many assumed it’d be the successor to the Quest 2. Of course, now we know that it’s an entirely different headset with a focus beyond gaming.
Meta
Meta
Meta
How much does the Meta Quest 3 cost?
There are two storage capacities: 128GB and 512GB.
The base model costs $499 / £479, while the 512GB one is $649 / £619.
This is a step up compared to the price of the Meta Quest 2, which is now back its original $299/£299 price, having dropped from $399/£399 on 4 June 2023.
The Quest 3 will ship to all 23 countries where the Meta Quest 2 is currently available.
You’ll also get Asguard’s Wrath 2 thrown in plus, if you go for the 512GB, a six-month subscription to Meta Quest+.
You can also buy accessories such as the Elite Strap shown below (£69.99), Silicone Facial Interface (£39.99) and Active Straps for TouchPlus controller (£39.99). There’s also the Elite Strap with Battery (£129.99), prescription lenses (£49.99), charging dock (£129.99) and carry case (£69.99).
Meta
Meta
Meta
What are the Quest 3 specs and features?
Here is the official video reveal for the Meta Quest 3 – we’ve broken down what Meta has announced on the technical specs below:
Upgraded design
Aside from the addition of colour cameras to enable mixed reality, the Meta Quest 3’s biggest change is that it’s much slimmer than its predecessor thanks to optics that are 40% thinner. It isn’t lighter, sadly: weight has risen a bit from 503 to 515g (17.7 to 18.1oz).
It also brings back the IPD wheel that allows you to adjust the distance between the screens while wearing the headset, and the range is bigger than before, allowing for pupils between 53 and 75mm apart.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
Plus, you can adjust how far the screens are from your eyes without needing the separate spacing insert you got with the Quest 2. That means the Quest 3 still fits comfortably even if you wear glasses.
The controllers have been updated and no longer have tracking rings. Effectively, they’re cut-down versions of the Quest Pro controllers and have “TruTouch” haptics which aim to make it feel more realistic when you interact with objects.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
The lack of those outer tracking rings means they’re more compact and don’t bash into each other when you move your hands close together or cross them over.
Audio isn’t forgotten. The built-in speakers are 40% louder with improved bass. But there’s still a 3.5mm minijack output if you want to use your own wired headphones.
Improved performance
The Meta Quest 2 used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR 2 platform, which provided impressive standalone performance we’re all familiar with.
Meta and Qualcomm have continued that relationship with the Quest 3, with the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset delivering double the graphics performance.
And that’s needed because of the upgraded displays that I’ll get to in a second. But it also means graphical improvements such as much more realistic shadows.
One rumour that turned out not to be true was a boost to 12GB of RAM. Instead the Quest 3 has only 8GB – just 2GB more than the Quest 2.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
Updated LCD displays
Meta had already said the Quest 3 would have the “highest resolution display and pancake optics”, but now we know that means a resolution of 2064×2208 per eye and an increased 120Hz refresh rate, although that’s currently “experimental”, just like the Quest 2 which has also offered an experimental 120Hz mode for the past few months. It’s exclusive to apps and games that support it, with Meta Home and other OS elements still rendered at 90Hz. The jump to 120Hz will bring a notable jump in smoothness no matter where you’re using the headset.
It’s worth noting that the Quest 3’s resolution and 120Hz refresh rate are both faster than the top-end Quest Pro.
The last important detail here is that the 110° horizontal and 90° vertical viewing angles mean the Quest 3 lets you see around 15% more than the Quest 2, and this gives a much less restricted feel than you have on the older headset.
Mixed reality
Apple has really hyped up augmented reality by teasing its Vision Pro headset at WWDC this year. However excited fans might be, that headset isn’t launching for a while yet and will cost thousands. The Quest 3 offers a similar experience now for a fraction of the price.
Meta
Meta
Meta
Whether you call it augmented or mixed, it means that you can see a fairly lifelike version of your surroundings using the external cameras built into the headset and play virtual board games on your kitchen table, or blast away parts of your walls and ceiling when playing games like Meta’s own First Encounters (a fantastic follow-up to First Contact that was first seen with the original Oculus Rift).
Games can also transition from mixed to full virtual reality… and back again.
However, two features the Quest 3 lacks compared to the Quest Pro are eye and face tracking. It does, though, have hand tracking so you don’t necessarily need to hold the controllers to play every game or use the main interface.
Quest 3 specs
- Dimensions: 184 mm x 160 mm x 98 mm
- Weight: 515g / 18.1oz
- Sensors: Six cameras, plus wireless inside-out SLAM tracking with six degrees of freedom
- Optics: 4K+ Infinite Display (2x LCD displays with 2064×2208 pixels), 90 / 120Hz
- Storage: 128GB / 512GB
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2
- Audio: Stereo speakers with 3D spatial audio
- Mixed reality: 2x RGB cameras with 18 ppd + depth projector
- IPD adjustment wheel: From 53-75mm
- Controllers: Each 126x67x43mm, 126g (powered by single AA battery)
- Battery life: Up to 2.2 hours (average)
- Charging time: 2 hours with included 18W adapter
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
- Playspace: Stationary or Roomscale supported. Roomscale requires a minimum of 6.5 feet x 6.5 feet of obstruction-free floor space
- PC-based VR: Supports Meta Quest Link cable and Air Link
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