If rumors are to be believed, The Meta Quest 3 will be released in late 2023. Despite the high-end Meta Quest Pro unveiled at Meta Connect 2022, the highly anticipated sequel to the immensely successful Meta Quest 2 was noticeably absent. When will the Quest 3 be released, and what improvements can we hope to see in the next-generation VR headset?
Although it is still very early, rumors and leaks about Meta Quest 3, such as an early release date rumor and leaks about the game’s features, offer us a rough sense of what to expect. Here, we summarize the most recent talks concerning Meta Quest 3.
Meta Quest 3 Price And Release Date
Fans had hoped for a release by the end of 2022 to fit in their Christmas stockings, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg put an end to that speculation in an interview with Stratechery in October. In the meantime, Meta has stated unequivocally that Quest 3 will launch in 2023; however, the exact release timing is currently unknown.
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The announcement came as part of Meta’s third-quarter earnings report, revealing that the company had lost $3.67 billion and anticipated even more significant losses in 2023. Since Meta introduced both the Quest 2 and the Quest Pro in October of 2022, it’s not unreasonable to expect the Quest 3 to appear in the same month in 2023.
We also have pricing information provided by Mr. Meta himself. Zuckerberg predicted in the same interview that the cost would be between $300 and $500. That’s reasonable since the lowest price for the current Oculus Quest 2 is $399 (or £399).
Having provided simply a range, either direction is possible for the price. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the Quest 3 begin around $449 (or £449) in light of current market trends in technology.
Outlook
So far, that’s all the information we have on Meta Quest 3. This is a pretty comprehensive look at the hardware, given that we are at least six months away from a launch and possibly closer to a full year. However, we rely mainly on a single source, so we will seek corroboration of elements of Lynch’s account to increase our trust, regardless of Lynch’s reputation.
To hear that costs would stay at or below $500 is promising. While not inexpensive, this would be the most affordable mainstream alternative following the Quest Pro’s $1,500 pricing and reports that Apple’s AR/VR headset will be at least $2,000.
As we approach 2023, we will be keeping a close lookout for any more speculations regarding the Quest 3, as the Quest 2 is still our top choice for the most excellent VR headset. Meanwhile, we anticipate Black Friday deals on the Quest 2; if you can’t wait until May or even October of next year, bookmark that page and keep watching for the season’s lowest price.
Meta Quest 3 Features And Specs
When considering the Quest 3’s features, things begin to look promising. The headset’s RGB-capable cameras will supposedly enable a color version of Passthrough, similar to the one found on the Quest Pro. Lynch discovered the absence of the required eye-tracking technology in the CAD files, suggesting that this functionality will again be left out of the Quest 3.
The company announced its partnership with Microsoft to provide enhanced functionality at the Meta Connect conference. Many of these centered on Microsoft Office, but now there’s support for Xbox Game Pass. As this improvement is already under development for Quest 2, we have little doubt that it will be included in Quest 3. It’s also possible that Meta will unveil some new, exclusive features for the new headset due to this collaboration.
The Quest Pro has the latest headset chipset from Snapdragon, the XR2 Plus. It’s unlikely that the Quest 3 will acquire the extra power because it’s being used for the “pro” functions of the high-end headset. So, we have two choices left. Either the Quest 3 will carry the several years old XR2 chips e in the Quest 2, or it might contain a new XR3 chitchat p Snapdragon is working on. We’d also expect similar storage and RAM options on the new headset.
Latest Meta Quest 3 Rumors And Leaks
The time it’s not been expected out for a while yet; the Quest 3 has already been the target of several leaks, giving us a solid idea about what to expect from the future VR headset.
Improved Performance
The Meta Quest 2 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR 2 platform, providing the same excellent performance in isolation as previous iterations. Meta and Qualcomm will likely continue working on the Quest 3, which will launch alongside the next generation of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon mobile platform.
At first, VR analyst Brad Lynch advised Meta to take a different approach and create its processor for the forthcoming device. There is speculation that the firm is developing a chip with “emphasis on a GPU that is better adapted for VR loads” to “not rely on an SoC that all lesser XR players would adopt,” as the analyst put it.
In a subsequent YouTube video, however, Lynch hints that the Quest 3 will ship with the next-gen Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 CPU, coupled with an increased 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. This new video is dated late September 2021.
Though it doesn’t tell us much, it seems to confirm that the Quest 3 will have improved graphics performance, resulting in higher-quality, more immersive games and apps for the Quest 3’s standalone platform.
Updated LCDs
The analyst Brad Lynch also thinks the Quest 3’s display will significantly improve over the previous iteration. Lynch had hinted that an OLED upgrade was possible, but new information suggests that Meta will use a quicker, higher-resolution LCD than the one found in the Quest 2.
Lynch claims on Twitter that the Quest 3’s LCD has a resolution of 2064 by 2208 per eye and a refresh rate of 120 hertz, making it superior to the Quest Pro in both regards.
The Quest 2 has had a 120Hz mode for a while now, but it’s only for games that can take advantage of it; the rest of the OS, including Meta Home, still runs at 90fps. Increasing the frame rate to 120Hz will significantly improve the headset’s overall smoothness in any environment.
While details on the display technology, such as its range of view, are scarce, the prospect remains intriguing.
Leaked CAD Renders
A decent sense of what to expect from the next-generation headgear can be gleaned from leaked CAD renders of the Meta Quest 3 that analyst Brad Lynch displayed in late September 2022. The video gives us a good idea of what the next-generation virtual reality headset, internally known as Project Stinson, would be like; it appears to be a hybrid of the Quest 2 and the Quest Pro.
The leaked CAD renders suggest the headset will prioritize mixed reality above simple virtual reality by including additional cameras, most likely with color passthrough features like the Quest Pro. It appears to have a manually adjustable IPD wheel on the bottom of the headset and is rumored to have the same pancake lenses as the Pro headset, allowing for a more compact form factor.
Compared to the Quest 2, which necessitates the removal of the headset to make adjustments to the IDP, this will be a huge time saver. What’s the big deal about the Quest 3 versus the Quest Pro? Lynch argues that the Quest 3 will lack two critical elements in the Pro headset: eye and face tracking.
More than likely, this is an effort to cut costs, allowing Meta to maintain the price of the Quest 3 low and competitive, even as inflation rises rapidly in many parts of the world. Here’s an unauthorized 18-minute deep dive of the Quest 3, with granular info on features like cooling and audio.
