The Quest 3 also boasts a new chipset, with snappier menu navigation and pristine graphics. Now, you'll rarely have to adjust your headset to get it in focus, unlike the constant readjustment needed with fresnel lenses. The new 'pancake lenses' (a smaller and clearer lens set) like those on the Quest Pro significantly improve on the Quest 2's bulky 'fresnel' lenses. It's noticeably smaller, while sporting some of the highest-quality visuals yet for VR goggles. The Quest 3 comes in a box half the size of its predecessor. Even if you lay aside the promise of 'mixed reality,' the Quest 3 proves to be a worthy upgrade to the already-popular Quest 2. It's not all bleak for Meta, however, which has still managed to sell more headsets than anyone else. Generally, the Meta Quest 3 feels less bulky compared to the Quest 2, though I wasn’t using it for a super long time and didn’t get a true sense of how easy it would be to wear it for a long stretch of time.While playing Meta's mixed reality demo, First Encounters, I noticed the little fuzzball aliens I was attempting to capture and contain were dancing, jumping, and even hiding behind my real-life furniture. The slim design also seems to help with comfort. The headset has an IPD wheel so you can gradually adjust the lens spacing while wearing the headset – saving a lot of hassle compared to the Quest 2, since you no longer have to keep taking the headset on and off to make changes. While booting up Assassin’s Creed Nexus did take a while, once the game had loaded the Italian city I explored as Ezio felt alive with characters and interactable props without any noticeable stuttering to break my immersion.Īs for the design and comfort, again the Quest 3 excels. This higher quality makes mixed reality feel less gimmicky – I loved the mixed reality experiences I tried for Stranger Things VR and First Encounters, and I’ll definitely be trying out more MR content when I get my hands on the Quest 3 again. It’s still not life-like but it's a leap in the right direction. Passthrough footage of the real world is more color-accurate and less grainy than with the Meta Quest Pro. Mixed reality has received a massive bump up too. Shadows and reflections behave much more realistically, and objects have a crisper look to them that helps the world feel significantly more real than they did on Quest 2. The most obvious improvement is for text – it’s actually really easy to read words on documents you find in-game now – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Visually, the Quest 3’s graphics look almost night and day compared to the Oculus Quest 2. Samba de Amigo on the Quest 3 is silly fun (Image credit: Meta) You can read my hands on Meta Quest 3 review for a more in-depth rundown of my initial Quest 3 reactions, but the TL DR is this device seems like a major step forward compared to what Meta has produced before and I think it could be the best VR headset out there. If you order the 512GB model you’ll also get a six-month subscription to Meta Quest Plus – a service that gives you new free VR games and apps every month that you can play as long as you’re subscribed. To help incentivize you to make a preorder, Meta will give anyone who orders a Meta Quest 3 before January 27 a free copy of Asgard’s Wrath 2. You can also pick up a range of accessories including a Quest 3 Elite Strap, and the one I’m most excited about, the charging dock (as the Quest Pro charging station was a massive help). You can pick up the base 128GB version for $499.99 / £479.99 (Australian pricing to be confirmed by Meta), or you can buy the 512GB Quest 3 for $649.99 / £619.99 / AU$1,049.99. Mixed reality has always felt a little gimmicky, but with its improved capabilities and new features like Augments – these sort of mixed reality widgets – the Meta Quest 3 might finally make us care about MR as much as VR.Īs I mentioned above, preorders are live now with the new Meta headset set to ship on October 10, 2023. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, the Meta Quest 3 is a mixed reality-focused device with new full-color passthrough capabilities and a depth sensor to make it better than Meta’s previous headsets at mapping out your real-world space. There’s a lens adjustment scroll wheel that you can turn while wearing the headset so you can set the lens to perfect spacing apart and a built-in adjustable spacer that makes room for glasses if you’re wearing a pair. Not only is the headset 40% slimmer which should help to make it more comfortable to wear but it’s easier to adjust the headset to suit your needs. You’ll also find the design has been given a few upgrades. The Meta Quest 3 and its charging station (which is sold separately) (Image credit: Meta)

Oculus vr headset afterpay