Quest 3 hands-on confirms Meta’s development of an exquisitely slender and lighter headset.
An up-close examination of the Meta Quest 3 unveils a substantial array of enhancements to the Meta mixed reality headset, as expounded upon in Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg earlier today. Gurman asserts that the Quest 3, presently identified by the codename Eureka, is notably lighter and thinner in comparison to its predecessor, the Quest 2, which augurs well for its comfort during prolonged usage.
Numerous of the features he mentioned align with our expectations regarding the forthcoming Apple Reality Pro VR/AR headset, encompassing sophisticated hand-tracking and pass-through video. However, certain speculations suggest that the rumored Apple headset could potentially carry a price tag as extravagant as $3,000. Gurman indicates that Meta has yet to settle on the price of the Quest 3, but it may prove to be pricier than the $400 Quest 2, which may persist at a reduced price point. Nevertheless, it will still remain considerably more affordable than the underwhelming Quest Pro, which debuted last autumn at $1,499.99 and subsequently received a price reduction to $999.99 in March.
In February, Meta VR executive Mark Rabkin informed employees that the Quest 3 would command a higher price than its predecessor, and emphasized the necessity of substantiating to people the worthiness of all the added power and novel features. To date, Meta has sold an impressive 20 million Quest headsets.
Rabkin also provided a glimpse of the lighter design, elucidating that the primary objective for the team was to imbue the mixed reality experience with a sense of improved well-being, ease, and naturalness. Consequently, one can effortlessly traverse their abode while enjoying impeccable visual acuity. Anchors and other objects can be positioned on virtual desktops, enabling individuals to leisurely indulge in activities such as savoring a cup of coffee within the virtual environment.
The report corroborates some of the highly anticipated major enhancements, such as the incorporation of a second-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chip, which results in significantly enhanced overall performance.
Moreover, the report discusses the absence of eye-tracking in the Quest 3, thus rendering foveated rendering unavailable for games. This feature, present in Sony’s PSVR 2, dynamically adjusts the processing power allocation based on the user’s gaze, emphasizing graphical fidelity in specific areas while minimizing resource consumption elsewhere.
Design improvements over the Quest 2 include the integration of additional sensors within three pill-shaped regions housing four cameras, two of which are color cameras for passthrough video. Furthermore, an enhanced system for adjusting the inter-pupillary distance of the lenses, the space between the user’s eyes, has been implemented, allowing for convenient adjustment through a wheel while wearing the headset, eliminating the need for manual display manipulation.
The presence of a depth sensor in the center of the device has the potential to enhance AR performance in comparison to the camera-only approach employed by the Quest Pro. Redesigned controllers discard the rings of the Quest 2, and the depth sensor assists in cost reduction by enabling controller tracking without necessitating additional cameras, akin to the controllers of the Quest Pro. In a Protocol interview, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned that the Quest Pro would include a depth sensor, yet this feature did not materialize in the final version.
Gurman describes the pass-through video as almost lifelike, which is a positive indicator following my colleague Adi Robertson’s assessment of the AR mode in the Quest Pro as murky in low light, washed-out or flickery in bright light, and sometimes luridly saturated in between.
It appears that the improvements primarily revolve around how the headset’s cameras handle light and color, as Gurman did not discern a significant improvement in visual sharpness, despite rumors of a higher-resolution display.
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