Meta announces new Quest 3 VR headset as competition from Apple approaches

Meta announced Quest 3, a sequel to the best-selling virtual reality headset of all time, on Wednesday.

The device, which starts at $499, is $200 more expensive than its predecessor, but includes a more powerful Qualcomm chip, better displays, and a capability called “passthrough” that is expected to be one of the key features in Apple’s rival Vision. headset pro.

Pre-orders will open on Wednesday and will ship on October 10.

The hallmark of the new Quest 3 headset is the ability to quickly see the world outside the headset, which will make the device more comfortable to use for long periods because it is less isolated. When you’re in an app on the Quest 3, double-tapping any part of the headset takes you out of the virtual world and into “pass-through” mode.

Other improvements include “flat lenses,” a type of optics first used in Meta’s $1,499 Quest Pro that makes images sharper and allows for higher resolution.

The release of Meta’s latest VR headset comes as a looming battle with Apple in virtual reality looms. Many in the technology industry believe that Apple’s entry could expand the overall market and create new winners, similar to how the iPhone launched the smartphone market.

So far, Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has a head start. Its Quest 2 is the best-selling virtual reality headset of all time, with nearly 10 million units sold last year, a slight decline from the height of the pandemic, according to an industry estimate. Apple’s Vision Pro headset won’t go on sale until next year, and will cost significantly more than the Meta headphones, starting at $3,499.

But despite the Meta’s current sales success, it’s not clear how many Quest 2 owners are using it on a daily or weekly basis, and the killer app or must-have VR scenario remains a long way off. Meta has invested more than $21 billion to date in its Reality Labs division, which develops virtual reality headsets and software.

CNBC was able to try out Quest 3 for about an hour before its launch on Wednesday. CNBC was able to play games and browse some programs that showcased the company’s hardware.

The hardware has been significantly updated, with a new headband and a slimmer headphone shape. The new headband splits the top strap into two bands over the user’s head to better distribute weight. However, the entire headset is a hair heavier than its predecessor at 515 grams. The device’s speakers have also been improved, and provide a high-quality audio experience without much sound leakage.

The Meta has also updated the two necessary controllers with better haptic feedback. It uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip, which is Arm-based and closer in power and power consumption to a mobile processor than a PC processor.

The extra power on the chip is used to power the displays at a resolution of 2064 x 2208 per eye, which is higher than the 1832 x 1920 resolution per eye of the Quest 2. The extra pixels will make it easier to read text inside the headset. Meta says users can expect about two hours and twelve minutes of battery life.

During the demo, I tried out Samba de Amigo, a $30 game from Sega that’s like Dance Dance Revolution or Rock Band with maracas (in real life, Quest 3 controllers). It was fun and I even sweated a little.

The biggest improvement in ease of use is that the Quest 3 emphasizes passthrough, meaning that cameras on the outside of the device can display live video on displays inside the headset, acting somewhat like a pair of see-through glasses that can also display computer windows and other graphics. The Quest 3 can also scan the room around you so apps can warn you when you’re about to collide with objects around you.

Traversal, while a core component of mixed reality experiences that integrate computer graphics with the real world, is an easy-to-use feature at the moment. In practical terms, this means users can pause their game or experience within Quest 3 without removing the headset. During the demo, I was able to chat with Meta admins while wearing a headset, which is a huge improvement over the last version.

The Quest 3’s launch meta will be compared to Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which is expected to launch early next year for at least $3,499. But while Apple has packed as much expensive technology as possible into its headphones to enable its own passthrough mode that it calls “spatial computing,” the Meta seeks to match many of its features, or at least approximate them, at a fraction of the price. Meta also has a $1,499 high-end headset called the Quest Pro, but it’s a lower-volume product.

But if there’s a key difference between Meta and Apple at this point, it’s that Meta envisions the Quest primarily as a gaming device, while Apple frames its device as a PC. Meta says it has prepared 500 games and apps for the headset, including a Ghostbusters title, an Assassin’s Creed game, and a Stranger Things experience developed in collaboration with Netflix.