META QUEST 3

A major upgrade over the Quest 2 that’s worth the extra money. So is this mixed reality’s tipping point to major success?

SPECIFICATIONS

Displays 2064x2208 72Hz - 120Hz LCD per eye CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 Memory 8GB Storage 128GB / 512GB Passthrough cameras 2x 18 PPD RGB cameras Hand tracking 4 IR cameras,

2 RGB cameras Connectivity USB-C, Wi-Fi 6E Battery life Up to 2.2 hours on average Weight 515g

The Meta Quest 3 is some 40% slimmer than the Quest 2 that came before it, and that’s really noticeable: this new headset is very comfortable to wear, with easily adjustable straps across the top and around the back that mean you can get a comfortable fit with no trouble at all.

Those rather clumsy tracking rings from the Quest 2 controllers are done away with on the two controllers bundled here – they feel a little on the cheap side but are comfortable to hold. It takes a little bit of time to get used to all the different buttons and gestures if you’re a complete beginner, but even newbies will be up to speed in a couple of hours.

The Meta Quest 3 is powered by the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor, which Meta says offers twice as much the graphics power as the Quest 2. As for the two LCD lenses, the resolution is upped to 2065 x 2208 pixels per eye (from 1832 x 1920), which means a lot more detail for rendering games and apps for your retinas to marvel at. Together, that all translates into an experience that’s noticeably better in terms of visuals and speed from the Quest 2. Text, images and 3D shapes are all crisp and well rendered, and we didn’t notice any sluggishness or lag while using device. If you’re thinking about upgrading from the previous headset, we’d say it’s worth it for these upgrades alone, but what really tips the balance is the addition of mixed reality.

The passthrough tech enabled by the onboard cameras means you can see your surroundings as well as what the Quest 3 is producing (and switch from one to the other with a double-tap on the side of the headset). You’ll find the video you get inside the headset is decent enough to avoid falling over chairs or pick up a drink, but you’re not going to be able to read a book or check your email. It’s as good as it needs to be really, to make sure you’re not about to walk into a wall.

Frontiers without games

There’s certainly lots to try with the Meta Quest 3: you can of course run everything that could run on the Oculus Quest 2, which by Meta’s count is now more than 500 titles. We’ve also been told that there are 100 ‘new and upgraded’ apps and games coming this year, built to specifically take advantage of the mixed reality aspects of the Quest 3.

The problem is, a lot of those experiences aren’t out yet, so we can’t pass judgement. For example: we would’ve loved to build a Lego castle on the lounge floor, but Lego Bricktales doesn’t arrive until December. Ghostbusters:

Rise of the Ghost Lord looks good, but we can’t tell you exactly how good, because it won’t come out until after we go to print.

We were able to try Meta’s own First

Encounters mixed reality game: little alien critters break into your room and you have to shoot them back into their space capsule. It’s fun and really effective – and the way these creatures clamber through the walls and hide behind chairs really shows the potential of mixed reality on the Quest 3. It’s a shame that there aren’t more titles like this at launch.

There are very occasional problems with the Quest 3. Sometimes a menu will pop up behind you, the hand tracking (without the controllers) remains pretty hit-and-miss, and sometimes apps and games don’t do enough to tell you what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s not yet a 100% problem-free experience, while still offering just about the best value-for-money MR/VR experience yet.

Battery life isn’t great either, and hasn’t improved much over the Oculus Quest 2 either. You’re looking at around two hours of use between charges, based on our testing, though of course it depends on the apps and games you’re running, and how hard that Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor is working. A full recharge takes around two hours: so it’s two hours use, two hours at the plug.

We enjoyed our time with the Meta Quest 3 a lot. Everything is better than it was in its predecessor, with the addition of mixed reality a potential game-changer, so there’s a lot of fun to be had here. However, a lot of the titles unfortunately just aren’t out yet for us to take stock of.

Of course the question still remains about whether you need an MR/VR headset at all. It’s debatable whether or not the headset brings enough to the table to get new users flocking to these VR and MR experiences. But it’s a strong argument for it, and could be the tipping point yet...