Meta Quest 3: what to expect (color AR, pancake lenses, etc.)?

Meta will launch this year Meta Quest 3, the third version of its VR headset for the general public. Faced with the probable Pico 5, PSVR 2 or Apple’s Reality Pro (not at all mainstream), Meta will have to give its helmet a boost without affecting the price too much. But what could be the specifications of the Meta Quest 3? A few days ago, Zuckerberg himself confirmed that the headset would really be cut out for AR, unlike the current model: “Later this year, we will launch our next-generation consumer headset, which will also feature Meta Reality. I think this technology will become the benchmark for all future headsets, and for augmented reality glasses too”.

If the AR part should therefore benefit from a nice evolution, other changes will be a little wiser: the on-board processor would be a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 and we would be entitled to pancake type lenses. On the other hand, it would be necessary to give up on an OLED panel, mainly for cost reasons. Screen resolution would increase by 30% and hand recognition would be improved, perhaps thanks to a new depth sensor (but no LiDAR a priori).

My 3D modeler friend Marcus Kane made some nice renders again of the Stinson/Quest 3 CADs that I leaked late last yearhttps://t.co/CacMEOdgRY pic.twitter.com/xHjkeWvBCU

—Brad Lynch (@SadlyItsBradley) January 22, 2023

Regarding the design, huge changes are to be expected. Youtubeur Brad Lynch has recovered CAD diagrams of the device which reveal in particular 3 large openings in the front (for the pass-through AR), as well as a much thinner helmet thanks to the pancake lenses. Finally, the price would not change one iota compared to the current model, and would therefore be between 400 and 500 dollars.