Verdict
The Meta Quest 3 is an easy choice if you ’re already a rooter of the Quest VR headset , improving the experience in practically every way , from design to optics to performance , while simultaneously introducing fans to the cosmos of AR . However , the increase headset monetary value may make it tough to sway those yet to try VR to invest .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Quest 3 is the a la mode all - in - one VR headset from Meta – and it ’s a considerable upgrade over its forerunner in almost every good sense .
Sporting a more compact , unclouded design with improved optics and gamy - res displays , the Snapdragon XR 2 Gen 2 - power VR headset cede some of the most impressive VR visuals of any standalone headset to appointment .
The headset also has a regenerate focal point on augment reality with tech useable that is not even present on the top - ending Quest Pro that really makes AR engaging and playfulness . In fact , much of what Apple is doing with itsmuch - hyped Vision Prois also uncommitted on the Quest 3 , include floating AR websites , AR biz , and the ability to run apps in AR , all at a fraction of the damage .
But while it ’s mega cheap compared to the top - ending Apple Vision Pro , it ’s also much more expensive than its £ 299 herald , starting at an increased £ 479/$499 with 128 GB of storage or £ 619/$649 if you require to opt for 512 GB of storage .
The question is , is the new headset deserving the extra cost ? Keep reading to find out .
Design and fit
The Meta Quest 3 is an all - one shot upgrade on theQuest 2 , and that get down with its design . Though it looks loosely like to its predecessor , the Quest 3 headland - bestride display ( HMD ) is importantly thinner – 40 % thinner , to be exact .
That meaning size reduction is down to the comprehension of an upgraded pancake lens scheme , which is not only more summary than the frenzel - establish system of rules of its predecessor but delivers much clearer optics . compound with a 30 % increase in the resolution of the screens found within , there ’s a considerable ascent to VR and MR visuals , but more on that in a mo .
That all translate to amuchmore well-heeled wearing experience , with a much more balanced weight that does n’t feel ponderous or gravel even after 2 + hour VR sessions , of which I ’ve had a few in the preceding couple of month . The soft cushioning is plush , pleasant to the skin senses and helps alleviate some of the touch atmospheric pressure you find onother VR headsets .
The power to extend the spacers to conciliate methamphetamine is also a nice new touch , admit glasses - wearers to enjoy VR and MR experiences without forking out for specially calibrated lens – though that is still an choice if you desire .
Once again , the Quest 3 sport open - auricle audio with stereo support , though Meta claims it can deliver 40 % forte audio than its harbinger .
It ’s hard to quantify elements like that , but I can say that the audio is well-defined and gaudy enough for me to ignore the pair of wired earphone I tend to expend when gaming in VR . The audio is crispy and cheap and deport a decent spatial experience – it just lack the roaring bass that can make music - focalise titles like Beat Saber such merriment to play .
I would n’t say that , overall , it ’s better looking than the Quest 2 – the older headset arguably has a cleaner design , lacking the three gravid central sensing element trapping of the newer model – but the thin , swooning HMD and ameliorate oculus are for sure a huge winnings .
The strap has also been redesigned to equal , with a Modern grey Y - trend fabric strap practice bundling in the box with other colorful straps available to buy on an individual basis . It take a bit of getting used to as most of the allowance is done by incite the two subdivision of the framework top shoulder strap at the headset to either tighten or loosen it , but once it ’s set , you’re able to mistake it on and off without any kind of further adjustment .
If that ’s not your bag , you may also opt for the elect strap at an additional cost , which offers the more traditional crank ascendancy at the back end of the headset , along with a whole host of first- and third - party accessories to customise your headset . The modular nature of the headset is a blessing for accessory makers , and I ’m activated to see what becomes available for it in the nigh future .
Controllers
Along with a redesign headset , the Quest 3 controllers have also had a facelift .
The most notable difference is the remotion of the expectant circular trailing band , allowing for a much small , more ergonomic design while continue access to the same controls as the Quest 2 thanks to a compounding of IR LEDs and sensor .
It may not sound like much , but it ’s an in a flash noticeable betterment on the older control that allows you to bring your hand much closer together without the trailing annulus clashing , help overall immersion in VR titles .
Looking at them , you might assume they ’re the same as theQuest Procontrollers , but that ’s not the case . While both sport a similar look , the Quest Pro controllers are able to track their physical position without being in sight of the HMD , while the Quest 3 comptroller still necessitate to be in purview of the HMD to be aright tracked .
The Quest 3 accountant also require removable batteries for power , compared to the built - in batteries of the Quest Pro controllers , though with telling powerfulness efficiency , this is n’t as big a deal as it might seem ab initio .
Specs and features
While a lighter , more compact headset and redesign comptroller are great additions to the Quest offer , the genuine reason to opt for the Meta Quest 3 is the impressive performance on offering .
At the heart of the Quest 3 , you ’ll discover Qualcomm ’s brand newSnapdragon XR 2 Gen 2 Platform – the first standalone VR headset to sport the technical school – combine with 8 GB of RAM .
The unexampled chipset essentially duplicate the processing great power of the Quest 2 , and that elevated experience is further improved by the new flannel-cake lenses . The upgraded optics are much clearer and bright than the Fresnel lens of the eye of its forerunner , and flux with the upgraded 2064 x 2208 per - heart resolution , it really does experience like a huge gradation forward for the headset .
That ’s paired with the same 128 GB of storage as standard , though you’re able to also opt for the slightly more expensive variant with a much - increased 512 GB of entrepot , doubling that of the high - end Quest 2 and its 256 GB capacity .
If you may branch out for the more insurance premium option , it ’ll represent a big growth in storage that ’ll appropriate you to be more flexible with your downloads , negating the need to perpetually deal storage to fit Modern , with child games onto the headset without deleting those you toy regularly .
There ’s also much fasterWi - Fi 6ethat , as long as it ’s compatible with your home Wi - Fi connection , seriously hike up the download speeds of the headset , and it also vastly improves the wireless PCVR capabilities with higher closure , clearer textures and less slowdown .
However , improved VR is only half the story when it comes to the Quest 3 – the headset also boasts telling interracial - reality capability . That ’s largely thanks to the upgraded full - colour cameras on the front of the headset that boast 10x the pixels of the black - and - white Quest 2 , and a new depth detector – not even seen on the top - death MR - focused Quest Pro – really improves thing too .
For one , that raw deepness sensing element allows for much easy boundary existence . you’re able to still manually pull back your way - scale bound , but now , you’re able to practice the depth sensing element to suggest a suitable play country for you . Plus , when it get along to AR games that employ your material - humankind environment , the sensor can map out walls , ceilings , sofa and more , and bring those elements into the MR experience .
I also feel like the new profoundness sensing element has had an effect on hand - trailing , a tenacious - time staple of the headset that I ’ve always feel was fine , but not perfect . Though it ’s still not quite there with the Quest 3 , I ’ve had much better success in helping hand - tracked titles like Unplugged : Air Guitar than I did with the Quest 2 , and in some dimly - lit surroundings too .
Games & performance
The improved performance and visuals were best represent in Red Matter 2 , one of the fresh titles designed specifically for the Quest 3 that I ’ve spent a circle of time in during the review period .
I could instantly tell just how much good the experience was , with levels of detail that could only be described as daylight and night compare to the Quest 2 . The higher resolution of the headset , combined with the pancake optics , meant that text was easily legible , texture were much fluid and more elaborate , and everything felt a picayune more realistic .
The photorealistic approach to Red Matter 2 also means that more minor details , like fingerprints on Polaroid picture and the fine smudges where someone has strain to cleanse a windowpane , are well seeable .
dynamical element like fantasm are also notably improve compare to the Quest 2 , which did n’t really have the processing power to imitate accurately . That ’s especially famous in titles where you expend a torch , with the focused light providing much more naturalistic phantasma effects .
Genuinely , I still ca n’t quite wrap my foreland around just how much of a difference there is between the two headset – it ’s for certain the one to get if you ’re a hard-core VR gamer .
The downside is that unsupported games look especially naff on the headset , with a renowned downgrade in terms of resolution and visuals that look closer to what the Quest 2 would deliver . secret plan devs must manually update their games to take advantage of the new hardware .
But what about mixed world ? It was an interesting concept on the Quest 2 , but it could n’t be fully realised with the headset ’s low - reticuloendothelial system black - and - lily-white passthrough television camera setup . gratefully , the high - res camera apparatus of the Quest 3 meliorate things to no last , helping conflate the real and practical world into one without such a noticeable difference between the two .
That ’s best showcased in First Encounters , a new free - to - recreate MR title which bring the physical environment into the fun . After mapping , I could shoot aside the wall of my veridical - world quad to reveal a prominent virtual world behind it – a world where little furry creatures do pouring in .
At that point , the sport truly get , as you need to shoot as many of the critters in two minutes as possible . What makes it truly remarkable is that the wight can actually hide behind real - world objective in the room . At one power point , I had to physically take the air around a chair to get the shot on a in particular sneaky creature .
Of naturally , that ’s just one example of a growing number of elbow room that devs are implementing MR into their apps . Others , like Little Islanders VR , lets you build a mini - scale world in your livelihood way , while Lego BRICKtales lets you construct practical Lego set on your tabletop .
you may even get at websites in motley reality , ideal if you desire to follow a YouTube recipe when making dinner party , and you may well side - load apps like PS Remote Play to enjoy cloud gaming with a Bluetooth controller . Even though Apple ’s gamey - end option , the Vision Pro , boasts a much higher resolution CRT screen and tv camera for a more premium AR experience , you ’ll find the burden of what Vision Pro offers right here – at a fraction of the cost .
The passthrough cameras can also be actuate at any fourth dimension using a threefold - tap of the headset , leave you to see and interact with your environment without taking the headset off . I could even respond to school text and go over notifications on my smartphone , which for certain could n’t be said of the Quest 2 .
My one charge is that , like with the Quest Pro , the combine stimulation of several front - face cameras can induce some uneven warping in position . It ’s not that obtrusive when depend straightaway - on , but if you move your hand around one of these area , it ’ll search like a reflexion of a funhouse mirror .
However , the improved sense of deepness in your environment outweighs the funny artefacting issues I ’ve assure , and it ’s easily ignored once you ’re used to it .
subject should n’t be a problem either , with the Quest boasting one of , if notthebest , excerption of standalone VR titles on the market . There are 50 + new MR games headed to the Quest 3 , with over 50 being update to take vantage of the new tech , and there are over 500 VR and MR rubric available to download on the platform at the time of composition .
It’sthebig advantage Meta has over alternative standalones like thePico 4and theHTC Vive Elite XR .
Battery life
With battery life taking a bang on the Meta Quest Pro , I was a little worried about what to expect with the Quest 3 – but it turns out that the Quest 3 boasts the same 2 - 3 hours of battery life as the Quest 2 . What ’s more , that can be extended by enabling the newfangled Battery Saver mode – though that come at a hit to overall performance , with a more or less lower refresh rate and downgraded resolution .
However , anecdotally speaking , I did find I ’d see the ‘ low battery ’ warning more often with the Quest 3 than I was used to with the older Quest 2 . That might be plainly because I ’ve been using it more for the purpose of this review , but I ’ve reach the low bombardment warning a bonnie few time over the past few months that I ’ve been using the headset , and that ’s after nearer to two time of day of use than three much of the prison term .
That ’ll be hunky-dory for more casual VR gamers who just want to play a few games of Beat Saber , but gamers who want to bury their dentition into longer campaigns like that of Red Matter 2 may be leave wanting more .
As with its forerunner , you could extend battery life without impacting performance through the usage of accessories like the Modern Elite strap with a built - in battery , but it ’s worth noting that you ca n’t use Quest 2 strap accessories with the Quest 3 due to redesigned audio arms .
Charging is done via a side - climb up USB - hundred port just like the Quest 2 , and a 30W charger in the boxwood will deliver a full kick in around two and a half hours in my experience – and , of course , you may use the headset while it ’s commove if you swap the included USB - coulomb cable out for something ( a plenty ) longer .
The controller , on the other hired hand , practice AAA batteries that ’ll need put back every now and again . However , it ’s deserving noting that they ’re still showing as full even after sporadic employment for the preceding couple of weeks , hint pretty practiced magnate efficiency from the promote controllers .
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Should you buy it?
The Quest 3 offers impressively immersive VR titles thanks to the upgraded superpower on offering , delivering an all - turn upgrade on what was possible with the Quest 2 .
The Quest 3 is a open bit of kit , but it ’s also fairly expensive with a £ 479/$499 price tag . The good option for VR fledgeling would be the olderQuest 2 , which , despite being larger and more underpowered , is a much more low-cost gateway into standalone VR .
Final Thoughts
If you ’re a Quest fan , you ’ll love everything about the Quest 3 . The design is a big advance not only in condition of its thick size but how comfortable it is to wear thin , and the duplicate thick controller make for a much more ergonomic experience too .
Of of course , it ’s theVR experiencethat ’s most impressive , with a rightfully day - and - Nox experience compared to its predecessor that manages to not only boost the overall resolution but propose high - rhenium texture , clearer schoolbook , more naturalistic lighting and more that deliver the most immersive standalone experience to date .
There ’s also the Modern MR slant of the headset , with the aim of blending the real and virtual globe into one . Combined with new hardware like a profundity sensing element and eminent - res colour passthrough tv camera , it ’s largely a success , and one that , conceptually at least , isn’tthatfar from what you ’d find from the top - end Apple Vision Pro .
However , the gamey cost compared to theQuest 2could prove to be a roadblock for consumer yet to test out VR . At £ 300 , the Quest 2 was at the right terms for someone to take a gamble and give it a go – I ’m not trusted that ’s the same at the £ 500 price point of the Quest 3 , and especially when the Quest 2 remains on sales agreement as a budget selection for £ 300 .
Trusted Score
How we test
When testing a VR headset , we verify to try out a sort of game and apps . We evaluate various aspects , such as the design , set , screen timbre , battery lifespan and the feature of speech set .
FAQs
It measures in at 160 millimeter thick .
It uses the Snapdragon XR 2 Gen 2 chipset , the first standalone VR headset on the securities industry to do so .
