Meta has officially announced the release date of its Quest 3 Mixed Reality headset and successor to the Quest 2 offering the next generation in VR and MR technology.
The Quest 3 has caught my eye as the idea of upgrading from my Oculus Rift CV1 because of its annoying cable setup and base stations, is quite a tempting plan. The Quest 3 expands upon the Quest 2 primarily with the introduction of Mixed Reality alongside the existing VR technology. Mixed reality is a combination of the virtual world and our world allowing for a spectrum of more unique experiences. It provides a seamless transition from the moment you put on your headset providing a full-colour passthrough of the world around you with over 10x more pixels than the previous Quest 2. Mixed reality allows for your games to interact with your environment for example, a virtual ball can be dropped and will actually bounce on your floor or in the game Drop Dead: The Cabin, the zombies can smash through your walls and crawl over your furniture.
Mixed Reality is great, but we’re all here for the VR gaming experience which the Quest 3 enhances against its predecessor. The Quest 3 makes use of the new Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform which Meta helped develop in collaboration with Qualcomm. This chip enables fast load times and incredibly crisp details which is aided by the 4K+ Infinite Display delivering nearly a 30% leap in resolution compared to the Quest 2 with 25 pixels per degree and 1,218 pixels per inch. This display also uses a next-gen pancake lens optical stack which gives a 40% slimmer profile without compromising the depth of visual immersion, additionally, sharpness is increased by 25%.
To get a better idea of the improvements, Meta has provided a video comparing the Quest 2 and Quest 3 in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.
The Quest 3 features a thinner profile with a more customizable fit with improved weight distribution allowing for significant comfort improvements over the previous Quest 2. It can be adjusted to your hairstyle, and face shape and provides support for those with glasses, all with the soft adjustable strap design. On top of all this, the straps and facial interface can be personalised with a choice from multiple colours for something that is truly your own. I imagine the face cover fabric is a lot more comfortable than the foam you get on the CV1, but I feel like leatherette would be nicer for cleaning and less sweat absorption.
The controllers have ditched the tracking ring and now offer improved sensations through TruTouch haptics. The comfort has been improved with a more ergonomic design allowing for natural hand movements, making this even better is the fact that controllers aren’t needed with the integration of hand tracking and direct touch. Not sure I’m fond of the removal of the tracking ring as it did act as a great way to protect your hands against accidental knocks and bumps.
The Quest 3 launches on October 10th with prices starting at £479/$499 for the 128GB model and £619.99/$649 for the 512GB model, for a limited time you will also get Asgards Wrath 2 with your Quest 3.
Visit meta.com/quest-3 for more information.
Meta also offers the following accessories:
Comfort & Control
Personalization
Performance
Convenience
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