Meta unveiled the new Quest 3 VR headset and in the process has made huge strides in making virtual reality more appealing to those wary of adopting it into their daily lives.
The Meta Quest 3 is the much-awaited predecessor to the best-selling VR headset of all time – the Quest 2. While the new headset is more expensive, coming in at $499 compared to $299 for the earlier iteration, it has enough killer features to make it worth it.
The Quest 3, which Meta calls a mixed reality headset, has a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip on board to help with the processing power and more vivid screens. But the biggest selling point is the passthrough mode. This is what allows you to see the actual real world around you whenever you like. That means you won’t feel constrained or isolated if you want to be in VR for long stretches of time.
Simply activate passthrough mode at any time and the screens will pop you out of VR and show you your surroundings. It’s kind of like looking through the lenses of an immersive camera. While its predecessor had a passthrough mode, it was pretty pixelated. The Quest 3’s passthrough mode features 10 times more detail.
“Passthrough mode will most likely prove to be a game changer,” Andrew Tropeano, a
technology expert with NWT Media (www.nwtmediagroup.com), said about Quest 3 and future VR adoption. “Consumers have been looking for a reason to engage with VR in a more comfortable and meaningful way.”
In addition to this game-changing feature, the Quest 3 also features pancake lenses, a slimmer lens system that’s sharper and higher-res. The body is also thinner, sleeker and a lot more comfortable than the Quest 2.
Apple is trying to corner their own piece of the market, but that may prove difficult at their price point. While the Quest 3 only fetches $499, Apple is asking for a whopping $3,499 for their Vision Pro headset. Clearly, that isn’t intended for the average user, but hopefully we’ll see something more consumer facing down the line.
You can pre-order the Meta Quest 3 now. It will hit shelves officially on October 10th.
