Mark Zuckerberg announces new VR headset for fall
The world’s best-selling VR headset is getting a powerful successor. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta Quest 3 on Thursday. The device should come in the fall and be slimmer and more powerful than the Quest 2 – but also significantly more expensive.
Meta Quest 2 (left) and Quest 3 in direct comparison. (Image: Meta)
Meta has not yet revealed all the details about the new headset. More specific information, such as the exact launch date, should be available to interested parties at the Connect meta-conference.
The fact that Zuckerberg has already teased Quest 3 is likely to have something to do with the fact that Apple will probably enter the mixed reality headset market with its own device at WWDC on Monday. The headset, possibly called Reality One or Reality Pro, is said to cost $3,000.
In terms of price, Apple would be in a completely different league than the previously successful Player Meta and HTC. Even if Meta is turning the price screw on Quest 3 as a precaution. The Meta Quest 3 should cost 569.99 euros on the European market.
The Quest 2, which only came onto the market in Germany at the end of 2022 due to legal disputes, started in Germany with a price of 450 euros.
The best for those interested in Quest 2: From June 4, 2023, i.e. one day before the premiere of the Apple rival, the price for the 128 gigabyte version of the meta headset will be reduced to 349.99 euros. The 256 gigabyte version should only cost 399.99 euros.
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So why wait for Quest 3? According to the meta announcement, the new device should be lighter and 40 percent thinner.
In addition, a Snapdragon processor should be installed for the first time, thanks to which the performance should be doubled. The graphics performance is said to be twice that of the Quest 2.
Another argument for the Quest 3: The Touch Plus controllers have been revised in terms of design and feel as well as their capabilities. They do without the outer tracking rings and have the Trutouch haptics known from the Touch Pro controllers.
Meta Quest 3 gets new controllers. (Image: Meta)
In addition, the more than 500 VR games, apps and experiences that were previously available for the Quest 2 and will be added in the future should also be playable and usable on the Quest 3. In the framework of a showcase further games for the Quest headsets were also announced this Thursday. These should then also be playable on Quest 3.
But also with the Quest 2 something is happening in terms of performance, like meta communicates. The CPU performance of Quest 2 and Quest Pro should increase by up to 26 percent. The GPU speed is said to increase by 19 percent in the Quest 2 and by eleven percent in the Quest Pro. The whole thing is via a software update
For users, this should bring a higher pixel density without missing frames. This would allow developers to offer smoother gameplay, a more responsive user interface, and better-looking content.
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We will learn more about Meta Quest 3 at Meta Connect on September 27, 2023. If you want to be among the first to be provided with the relevant information, you can register Login here.
