Today Mark Zuckerberg officially unveiled the Meta Quest 3 virtual and mixed reality headset. It will become available "in all countries where Meta Quest is currently supported" this fall for US$ 499.99.
The timing of the announcement
might seem strange, considering we're months away from the release. That is,
until you remember that Apple's WWDC is next week and rumor has it the company
will finally introduce its long-awaited headset on that occasion. So, this is
probably a case of Meta wanting to steal a little bit of Apple's thunder while
it still can.
So let's see if such ambitions
are warranted, shall we? The Meta Quest 3 is higher resolution than the Quest
2, and is powered by "a next-generation Snapdragon chipset" which
will deliver "more than twice the graphical performance as the previous
generation Snapdragon GPU in Quest 2", Meta says. There's also support for
full-color passthrough for high-res color mixed reality use cases.
The new headset has a
"40% slimmer optic profile" compared to its predecessor, and comes
with completely redesigned Touch Plus controllers. Thanks to advances in
tracking technology, the outer tracking rings aren't required anymore, so the
controllers now feel "like a more natural extension of your hands".
TruTouch haptics, first seen in the Touch Pro, are also in - and speaking of
that, you can use the Touch Pro controllers with the Quest 3 if you purchase
them separately.
Hand tracking is supported out
of the box too. The Quest 3 is going to be compatible with the Quest 2's
catalog of over 500 VR games, apps, and experiences. If you're interested in
more information about the Quest 3, you can go to the official website to
register your details.
Alternatively, you can buy a
Quest 2, which starting on June 4 will cost US$ 299.99 for the 128GB SKU and US$ 349.99 for the 256GB SKU. And, in an upcoming software update, the GPU and CPU
of both the Quest 2 and the Quest Pro will be updated. Afterwards, you'll get
up to 26% CPU performance increase on both and up to 19% GPU speed increase for
the Quest 2, as well as an 11% faster GPU on the Quest Pro. Dynamic Resolution
Scaling is coming to both of the older models too. The Quest 2 and Pro will
remain on sale even after the Quest 3 becomes available.
