The Quest 3: A Gaming Platform for the Quest 2 and Other Memory Devices (Theoretical Report) & An Update

In terms of what you can do with the Quest 3, Meta seems to still see it as primarily a gaming device. Everything from the Quest 2 is playable on the new headset, and games like Roblox, Assassin’s Creed Nexus, and Asgard’s Wrath 2 are coming to the new device as well. Meta is also pitching it as a fitness and wellness device, which has been a surprising hit in VR thanks to apps like Supernatural. And of course, Meta has Horizon Worlds and Horizon Workrooms and a huge dream about the metaverse future of everything, but the Quest 3 launch seems to be focused on the more current possibilities.

The official announcement does fill out the device’s spec sheet in a big way. The Quest 3 runs the latest generation of the processor and features an 8-gigabyte of RAM, which is double the graphics performance of the previous version and should make it better than the next iteration of the chip. The cheapest Quest 3 comes with 128GB of internal storage, and for $649.99, you get 512GB. Meta says the battery life is “about the same as Quest 2,” which means somewhere between 90 minutes and three hours, depending on what you’re doing.

The chip won’t work with the PC graphics card. But a demo of the adventure game Red Matter 2 showed the visual difference with a toggle between the Quest 3 and Quest 2 detail level — including text that was only readable on the Quest 3 and props that went from blocky mobile game graphics to relatively detailed models. (One complicating factor: the Quest 2 version was designed for a lower-resolution headset, too.) I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of the new games from Meta on the Quest 3, since they’re high-profile and can be seen on the Quest 2.

The Touch plus Controller for the Quest 3 X 2 Holographic Augmented Reality System ($995$-$1000$): How Light Can It Be?

This isn’t full holographic augmented reality yet, but it’s a step in the right direction. You can use the controller to switch between modes if you tap two fingers together twice, it is also core to the Vision Pro and seems to be the agreed-upon way to operate a headset.

The headset itself is a little smaller and actually slightly heavier than the previous model (515 grams to the Quest 2’s 503). We will have to wait and see what happens with the new design, but Meta says it is more comfortable to wear.

The Quest 3’s Touch Plus controllers, as expected, do away with the large tracking ring in favor of infrared sensors that track your position. They have improved the feel of the games, so you can get a better sense of what’s happening while you’re playing. They also support hand tracking, so if you want, you can ditch the controllers altogether.

The device is also a little sportier-looking than its predecessor. The foam face mask was unpleasant to clean and I used a soft rubber mask that was wipeable if you sweat through a Beat Saber session. Its default head fixture has been changed to accommodate hair buns and ponytails with a Y-shaped top strap, and you can still buy a version of the Elite Strap with or without a supplemental battery. (It’s not interchangeable with the Quest 2’s version.) In addition to the default black face mask and white cloth strap, you can get a mask and strap in “Blood Orange” or “Elemental Blue”. It’s a hair heavier than the Quest 2 — 515 grams compared to 503 grams — but still significantly lighter than the 722-gram Quest Pro, although, as with the Quest 2, the Elite Strap will probably add some heft.

Mixed Reality: Testing the Quest 3 VR App in the AMA/WODM Warped Experience (HEW-2015-07-06)

Meta is long past the days of basic virtual reality tech demos. The company has funded and acquired several strong titles in virtual reality, such as Superhot and the excellent Quest 2 port of Resident Evil 4 or Beat Saber, which helped establish fitness as a major category for virtual reality. (Meta bought Beat Saber’s studio and the developers of fitness app Supernatural over the protests of antitrust watchdogs.) I tried out the upcoming Assassin’s Creed in my QUEST 3 test, despite controls that seemed clunky next to Sony’s so-close-to-great Horizon PlayStation. There will be a full-fledged VR entry in the bestselling franchise.

I found little of that promise in the Quest 3’s mixed reality demos. One example was when I and a friend put on headsets and sat at a coffee table and used a virtual floating arena to fight each other. The passthrough video made it seem like we were playing a board game instead of being in a completely different world. I would not do it for more than a few minutes.

Other MR apps were simply frustrating. The hand-tracking feature that all current Quest headsets supports allowed me to open portals in the Stranger Things game. The experience was short and the game use of gestures felt awkward and unreliable. I played a decent minigame about blasting cute fuzzy aliens to capture them, but it was mostly a slower rehash of a HoloLens demo I tried in 2015.

Even so, while I haven’t tried the Quest 3 nearly long enough to render a judgment, I’m not confident it’s a viable substitute for your other screens just yet. As with most VR headsets, I spent my demo time struggling to find a comfortable fit — because no matter how well designed they are, current-gen devices are just unavoidably bulky. The Elite Strap might help with that, but this still isn’t something I want to wear all day for work or slip on to watch some TV during dinner.