Release date, rumors, specs, price, what we want to see

It feels just like the Meta Quest 2 has been round for ages. In reality, the headset has been out for lengthy sufficient that it even went by way of a mid-cycle rebrand, going from the Oculus Quest 2 to the Meta Quest 2. However in reality, it has solely been out there for 3 years — launched again in late 2020. But that span of time remains to be lengthy sufficient that the {hardware} has began rising lengthy within the tooth, which may’t be helped in such a fast-paced trade like VR.

Certainly one of Meta’s largest VR rivals — Sony — launched its newest entry into the area — the PSVR 2 — in February 2023. With the arrival of this Quest 2 competitor, our eyes have turned again towards Meta to see how the corporate responds.

Though the social media big did launch the Quest Professional in 2022, that headset is a high-end gadget that doesn’t match into the identical price range tier that the Quest 2 occupies. So we’re nonetheless ready to see the following iteration of the {hardware}. Whereas the corporate has but to point out off the gadget publicly, we do know {that a} successor to the Quest 2 is coming our approach. Right here’s the whole lot we all know in regards to the upcoming Meta Quest 3.

Though it hasn’t acquired an official announcement, there will certainly be a follow-up to the Quest 2. Will the follow-up be a Quest 3 or one thing new just like the Quest Professional? It’s virtually assured that the following headset Meta places out would be the Quest 3. In reality, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in addition to different leaders within the firm, have talked about the gadget by identify on a number of events. As well as, the founding father of Meta has even gone so far as to say that the Quest 4 is already within the early levels of improvement. It’s doubtless Meta is planning for the Quest 3 to have an identical three-year cycle to the Quest 2.

Will there be a number of fashions?

When the Quest 2 launched, Meta delivered a 128GB mannequin that offered for $299, and a 256GB model that offered for $399. Will the corporate do that once more for the Quest 3? Whereas Zuckerberg and his fellow executives have been very open in discussing their upcoming product, they haven’t talked about something in regard to a number of storage choices. Nevertheless, rumors counsel there may very well be a mannequin with 512GB of SSD and 12GB of RAM.

Though the storage choices are nonetheless up within the air, we do know there will likely be a variant. Meta’s VP of VR, Mark Rabkin, instructed The Verge that the corporate is creating two different headsets along with the one we find out about — code identify Stinson. One will doubtless be the successor to the Quest Professional, as he described it as a high-end gadget. However the different headset was described as a extra inexpensive Quest 3 variant internally often known as Ventura.

• Oculus Quest: Might 21, 2019
• Oculus Quest 2: October 13, 2020
• Meta Quest Professional: October 25, 2022

Because of Rabkin’s interview, we all know there will likely be a number of fashions. However when will these headsets be launched? It’s been confirmed that Meta will launch one of many Quest 3 fashions in 2023. This was revealed throughout a Q3 2022 earnings name from Meta Chief Technique Officer David Wehner.

Conversely, our development in value of income is anticipated to speed up, pushed by infrastructure-related bills and, to a lesser extent, Actuality Labs {hardware} prices pushed by the launch of our subsequent era of our shopper Quest headset later subsequent 12 months.

This launch date solely entails the Stinson mannequin, nonetheless. The Ventura variant is anticipated to launch someday in 2024. There’s additionally a robust risk that Meta will formally announce and launch the Quest 3 throughout its Join convention in October, because it did with the Quest Professional and Quest 2 beforehand.

We’re, on the very least, months away from the Quest 3 announcement. Regardless of that, we have already got a fairly good concept of the overall design Meta could go together with for the headset because of a moderately substantial leak. YouTuber SadlyItsBradley (Brad Lynch) acquired leaked schematics of the Quest 3 — the place we realized in regards to the code identify Stinson — that included computer-aided designs (CAD) of the headset. This is identical YouTuber who acquired leaked specs of the Quest Professional that have been later confirmed when an engineering pattern was found after it was by chance left in a resort room.

Primarily based on the CAD pictures, it seems that Stinson could have an identical design philosophy to its predecessor. One facet the place it could differ, nonetheless, is the dimensions. Stinson is believed to make use of pancake lenses — a sort of lens that’s skinny and light-weight — as a substitute of Fresnel lenses, which might permit the headset to be thinner and lighter than the Quest 2. In response to The Verge‘s report, the upcoming VR flagship is 2 occasions thinner than the earlier mannequin.

In one other departure from Quest 2, the Quest 3 seems to have a dial situated on the backside. In the event you take a look at the picture with the underside angle, you’ll discover that the dial is an interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment wheel — one thing that didn’t seem within the earlier gadget.

It’s price mentioning that even when these pictures are the actual deal, they aren’t definitive. Meta may all the time make modifications to the design earlier than launch time.

Sadly, the CAD renders didn’t embody the controllers, so we’re at nighttime there — for now. But it surely’s believable that the corporate may simply maintain the controllers as they’re. It’s unlikely Meta would make drastic modifications like PlayStation was compelled to do with its personal VR controllers.

Once we moved on from the Oculus Quest to the Meta Quest 2, the second-generation headset noticed an enchancment in decision, velocity, and ergonomics. The Quest 3 is more likely to see enhancements in these areas as effectively, however extra importantly, it could achieve some new must-have options. Because of the schematics leak, plus current interviews, we’ve fairly a bit of knowledge to sift by way of.

It’s believed that the Quest 3 could incorporate a few of the know-how within the Quest Professional, so let’s begin by specializing in the {hardware} and go on from there. Within the final part, we mentioned that the construct of the gadget must be harking back to the Quest 2, nonetheless, it’ll doubtless be thinner and lighter because of the pancake lenses. There additionally seems to be an IPD adjustment wheel — one thing that may mean you can widen or slim the hole between the lenses to match your eye distance.

Shifting on to the show, Lynch says that the anticipated decision may be 4,128 by 2,208 pixels or 2,064 by 2,208 pixels per eye. If that is true, that may be a 30% enchancment over the Quest 2’s 1,920 by 1,832 pixels per eye. And Meta could use uOLED shows this time round, however we’ve additionally heard rumors suggesting OLED or mini LED. These shows could have a 120Hz refresh price as effectively — one thing the Quest 2 obtained again in 2021.

As well as, the headset seems to have a four-camera array, two aspect cameras for monitoring, and a depth sensor. Apparently, it seems that the components obligatory for eye and face monitoring are lacking, primarily based on the CAD pictures. Zuckerberg made an enormous deal about eye and face monitoring throughout Meta’s Join 2022 keynote and added them to the Quest Professional, however that will not be a function within the Quest 3.

One thing else we realized from the leak is that the system may very well be powered by a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset. In the event you’re accustomed to cellular processors, this chip is basically a variant of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 — the most recent chip from Qualcomm working on this 12 months’s strongest telephones. This could be the most important enchancment of all, because the Quest 2 runs on an XR2 Gen 1, the equal of a Snapdragon 865 chip — consider the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G.

The Quest 3 may get a pleasant bump up within the RAM and storage division. As we talked about earlier, rumors counsel we may very well be in retailer for 512GB of SSD and 12GB of RAM. It’s unclear if this may be the bottom mannequin or the costlier variant.

In the event you’re questioning what the aim of the depth sensors are, apparently they’re meant for blended actuality. In The Verge‘s report, Rabkin defined that blended actuality is a core focus for the Quest 3 and it “will likely be an enormous promoting level.” Moreover, Rabkin says their builders are working exhausting to make blended actuality “really feel higher, simpler, extra pure.”

With the blended actuality know-how, there will likely be an enchancment to the Quest’s passthrough imaginative and prescient function. On the Quest 2, this function — known as guardian — is in black and white, and it may be tough to see shiny screens. However guardian has been upgraded to what the corporate calls “good guardian.” Hopefully, the function will give the consumer a clearer view of their environment, be able to scanning objects within the room, and provides the video feed a splash of colour. Rabkin states that Meta is aiming to make a headset the place:

You may stroll effortlessly by way of your home figuring out you may see completely effectively. You may put anchors and issues in your desktop. You may take your espresso. You may keep in there for much longer.

It’s attainable that this know-how may be used to assist enhance hand monitoring. That is one thing that’s slowly gotten higher with updates on the Quest 2, however may nonetheless use some work.

Meta is in a little bit of a predicament with regard to the pricing of the Quest 3. Primarily based on The Verge‘s report we talked about earlier, the corporate needs to take care of enthusiasm by preserving the worth low. Nevertheless, it’s vital to do not forget that Meta was additionally compelled to boost the worth of the Quest 2 final summer season due to inflation. In consequence, the 128GB mannequin of the Quest 2 went from $299 to $399, and the 256GB model went from $399 to $499.

We may see Meta aiming for this worth vary once more. In reality, Zuckerberg confirmed as a lot in an interview in October 2022. “There will likely be a Quest 3 and that’s within the worth vary of $300, $400, or $500, that zone,” Zuckerberg instructed Stratechery. It’s unsure the place the corporate will land in that vary, however with the technological enhancements and extra highly effective processor, it’s not farfetched to consider will probably be costlier than the Quest 2’s authentic worth.

Nevertheless, Rabkin revealed that Stinson isn’t the one Quest 3 mannequin within the works. The corporate can be reportedly creating a extra accessible headset codenamed Ventura. “The objective for this headset may be very easy: pack the most important punch we are able to on the most engaging worth level within the VR shopper market,” Rabkin instructed The Verge. Realizing this, it’s attainable Ventura may nail that $299 candy spot that Stinson could miss.

Relating to video games, apps, and experiences, it’d be good to assume that Meta would make the Quest 3 suitable with what was out there on the prior system. Whereas it will make sense to bolster the launch library this fashion, there’s no assure that may occur. And this wouldn’t be the primary time Meta steered away from backward compatibility.

In the event you bear in mind, Meta used to provide slightly headset often known as the Oculus Go. When the Quest 1 got here round a 12 months later, the corporate enabled compatibility for software program launched for the Go and used emulation to imitate the controls. Nevertheless, backward compatibility for these video games was dropped for the Quest 2. In response to former Oculus Consulting CTO John Carmack, “Help was take away[d] on Quest 2. I completely misplaced the inner debate over backwards compatibility.”

Because the management schemes between the Quest 2 and three doubtless gained’t be all that completely different, there’s a great risk present software program will nonetheless be playable on the next-generation headset.

Shifting on to the launch lineup, we all know that Meta plans to have 41 new apps and video games out there on the time of launch. What these titles are is at present unknown as they’ve but to be revealed. However we do know {that a} fair proportion of those video games will likely be from Oculus Studios. We additionally know the group is working with third events to deliver video games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Murderer’s Creed VR to the platform as effectively.

As we talked about within the worth and launch date part, the system is anticipated to be wherever between $300 to $500. Clearly, we wish the Quest 3 to be as inexpensive as attainable, however it could show tough for Meta to hit the $300 worth mark with that highly effective Snapdragon chip sitting in there. If Zuckerberg may promote it at $450 or under, it may nonetheless be a lovely provide whereas undercutting the PSVR 2 by $100. But when it finally ends up being too costly, customers could have to attend for Ventura to come back out in 2024.

One of many largest drawbacks of the Quest platform is the in-headset app retailer. In reality, Rabkin cites the poor UI and UX as one of many principal causes engagement with the platform has dropped for the reason that final vacation season. On desktop, the Oculus Retailer is simple to navigate, uncover new releases, and seek for upcoming video games. The VR model of the shop is the exact opposite, making it tough to do issues like preorder or rapidly discover new titles. We wish to see the VR retailer get a revamp with a extra user-friendly UI.

Whenever you see one thing unimaginable or do one thing wonderful in VR, you’re doubtless going to need to share a screenshot or clip. Whereas it’s attainable to share media with others on the Quest 2, it’s by no means been an incredible expertise in comparison with different headsets. There have been a number of updates to deal with this, however there’s nonetheless a strategy to go. We wish to see Meta make this course of so simple as PlayStation makes it on the PSVR 2.

Having spectacular {hardware} is sweet, however what’s going to finally decide the success of the Quest 3 is the software program. The Quest 3 not solely wants high-quality experiences, but in addition apps that may solely be discovered on the Quest. If the Quest 3 shares its complete library with different headsets, then the one differentiator Meta can lean on is the very fact the headset is self-contained. So it will be good if Meta may sprinkle in a great variety of exclusives into its assortment.

That’s the whole lot we need to see on the Meta Quest 3. What do you hope for many? Tell us by voting within the ballot under.