Stefan Andres
Today, Mark Zuckerberg officially unveiled the Meta Quest 3 virtual and mixed reality headset. It will be available this fall “in all countries where Meta Quest is currently supported” for $499.99. The timing of the announcement seems a bit odd considering the release is months away. However, Apple’s WWDC event kicks off next week and rumor has it that the long-awaited Apple MR headset will be the featured guest.
The Meta Quest 3 has a higher resolution than the Quest 2 and is powered by “a next-generation Snapdragon chipset”. The chip delivers “more than twice the graphical performance as the previous generation Snapdragon GPU in Quest 2”. There is also support for high-resolution passthrough for mixed reality use cases.
The new headset features 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 are no longer necessary. As a result, the controllers now “like a more natural extension of your hands”. TruTouch, first seen in the Touch Pro, is also on board. You can also use the Touch Pro controllers with the Quest 3.
Hand tracking is also supported by default. The Meta Quest 3 is compatible with the Quest 2 catalog of over 500 VR games, apps and experiences. Alternatively, you can purchase a Quest 2, which will cost $299.99 in the US starting June 4 for 128GB and $349.99 for 256GB. In addition, Meta is currently preparing a software update. This should increase CPU performance by up to 26% and GPU performance by up to 19% on the Quest 2 and up to 11% on the Quest Pro. Dynamic resolution scaling will also come for the two older models that will continue to be sold after the Quest 3 launches.
