Meta Quest 3<\/p>\n

Here's what makes it special: It's significantly thinner than the Quest 2, thanks to a new set of pancake lenses. Those also help to produce a sharper image from the new displays, which deliver 2,064 by 2,208 pixels per eye. That's even better than the PlayStation VR 2, which wowed us earlier this year. While it's a few grams heavier than the Quest 2, the refined ergonomics makes the new headset far more comfortable to wear. It puts far less pressure on the bridge of my nose and around my eyes.<\/p>\n

The Quest 3 is also running Qualcomm's new Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip, which offers double the GPU power of the Quest 2, according to Meta. Up front, there are two full color cameras for mixed reality, along with a depth sensor in the middle to help map your space and avoid obstacles. That's notable, since it was a feature Meta completely dropped from the Quest Pro. When it comes to storage, you\u2019ve got your choice between the 128GB $500 model and a 512GB option for $650.<\/p>\n

Now for what the Quest 3 doesn't have: There's no face or eye tracking, or cameras on the controllers like the Quest Pro. Though, at least they've lost the annoying rings from the Quest 2 gamepads. I don't think you'll miss any of the Quest Pro's features \u2013 they're potentially cool, but developers haven\u2019t really taken advantage of them.<\/p>\n

Meta already proved it can make a solid standalone VR headset, but can it really bring mixed reality to everyone? That seems to be the driving force behind the Quest 3. Apple's Vision Pro showed us a genuinely promising vision of spatial computing, one where the digital and physical worlds can comfortably coexist. But that thing also costs $3,499. Trying to accomplish something similar for a fraction of the price seems impossible.<\/p>\n

The Quest 3's attempt at mixed reality is far from perfect \u2013 the color cameras deliver a fuzzy and pixelated view of the world, as if you're in a drug-fueled haze. But it\u2019s still pretty useful. A double tap on the side of the Quest 3 is all it takes to flip between immersive VR and the real world.<\/p>\n

That's something I ended up using frequently to check on text and Slack messages, grab information from my computer, and chat with people around me. Doing any of those things in the past would have required either completely removing the headset, or flipping up the visor.<\/p>\n

The Quest 3 also goes beyond just letting you see the real world: You can also do some basic mixed reality multi-tasking. You can arrange up to three windowed Quest apps, like WhatsApp and the Quest Store, on a translucent virtual tray that sits in front of you. Even better, you can move that tray anywhere in your space. That's not something I\u2019d use a lot, but the fact that I could<\/em> create this environment, anchor it to a specific point in the real world, and walk around it simply blew me away.<\/p>\n