Meta Quest 3 review: a great VR headset but not quite a mixed reality winner

The Meta Quest 3 is significantly better than the Quest 2. It’s extra comfy, extra highly effective, simpler to determine, extra nice to make use of for lengthy stretches, and simply flat-out higher. If that’s all you’ve been questioning about Meta’s newest headset, there’s your reply. The passthrough enhancements alone — the truth that I can now simply discover my espresso / safely stroll across the room with out taking my headset off — makes this a worthwhile improve, even when you picked up a Quest 2 only a couple years in the past and maybe haven’t used it as a lot as you thought you would possibly.

However that’s about the one factor I can say with complete confidence in regards to the Quest 3. As a result of once I actually give it some thought, I’m not solely positive what the Quest 3 even is. If it’s a VR headset, a direct successor to the Quest 2 from 2020, it’s definitely higher but additionally almost twice the value. If it’s a state-of-the-art blended actuality headset meant to usher in a future the place the digital and actual worlds are blended seamlessly collectively, it has some severe flaws and never almost sufficient content material. If it’s only a super-immersive recreation console, it’s nice, however its library can’t cling with Sony and Microsoft.

Meta retains calling the Quest 3 “the primary mainstream blended actuality headset.” Strictly talking, that’s true: at $499.99 for the mannequin with 128GB of storage and $649.99 for 512GB, it’s a steep climb from the $299.99 Quest 2 beginning value however nonetheless on the fitting aspect of the too-expensive line, particularly in comparison with Apple’s forthcoming $3,500 Imaginative and prescient Professional. And in contrast to the blended actuality gadgets we’ve seen from Magic Leap, Microsoft, and so many others, a person shopper can really purchase this one. However what Meta actually needs is for this to be extra than simply the perfect moderately priced headset. It needs the Quest 3 to be the one which makes individuals care about, use, and develop for blended actuality in an enormous approach.

So right here’s the actual query, I believe. Is the Meta Quest 3 an excellent VR headset? Or is it, as Meta would have you ever consider, the primary in a brand new line of a brand new sort of gadget?

I’ve used the Quest 3 sufficient to persuade me that blended actuality might be superior. It most likely might be, finally, as soon as these gadgets are lighter and extra socially acceptable and there’s an entire lot extra MR content material out there for them. However that’s most likely a methods off. For now, the Quest 3 is simply an excellent VR headset.

Let me simply get this bit rapidly out of the way in which: I’m largely going to be speaking in regards to the Quest 2 as a comparability on this evaluate. The Imaginative and prescient Professional isn’t transport, and there actually aren’t any different easy opponents to the Quest 3. The Quest Professional, Meta’s different blended actuality gadget, has some attention-grabbing tech however prices $1,000 and is admittedly not value contemplating. The query right here, actually, is whether or not the Quest 3 is value the additional cash over its predecessor.

The match and end of the Quest 3 is about what you’d anticipate for a second- to third-gen improve. Meta’s long-term plan for headsets is to make them seem like a typical pair of sun shades, and the Quest 3 may be very a lot not that. However within the realm of “large, blocky plastic doodads in your face,” it does plenty of issues higher than its predecessor. 

The headset itself is considerably smaller than the Quest 2, although the padded black face masks that attaches to it’s a lot bigger, so the general footprint is about the identical measurement. The entire bundle is about 160mm throughout and 98mm tall, in comparison with 142mm and 102mm on the two. (You completely is not going to discover the small variations there.) The three vertical, pill-shaped cutouts on the entrance give the Quest 3 extra persona than the tasteless face of the Quest 2. I’m undecided that’s a great factor —  the Quest 3 seems like a personality from WALL-E that was rejected as a result of no one may inform if it was good or evil — however it doesn’t actually make a distinction. You’ve acquired a large headset in your face; individuals will level and giggle when you put on it in public. Let’s fear in regards to the aesthetic particulars once we get just a little nearer to good glasses.

The Quest 3 is definitely a bit heavier than the Quest 2 (515 grams in comparison with 503), however it wears its weight significantly better. The Quest 2’s heaviest bits stand proud of your face, so it all the time feels prefer it’s flattening towards your nostril. The Quest 3 is relatively extra balanced. It’s nonetheless a blocky factor on my head, however the place my Quest 2 all the time feels tight someplace — the highest of my head, the again of my head, or most frequently proper on my brow — I discovered a snug Quest 3 setup virtually instantly, and it stays in place even once I’m bouncing round throughout a exercise. Including the $70 Elite Strap makes it higher nonetheless because it strikes among the weight to the again of your head and sits just a little extra rigidly. However in contrast to the Quest 2, I don’t suppose you completely want one. 

Talking of that setup: one small however welcome {hardware} change within the Quest 3 is that it brings again the little wheel beneath the headset that you should use to manage the gap between the lenses. (The unique Rift had a slider, whereas the Quest 2 simply made you progress the lenses, which is awkward and unhealthy.) Everybody’s interpupillary distance is just a little completely different, and it’s an essential adjustment to get proper — while you first activate the Quest 3, it instructs you to show the wheel to see what seems good. Even when you’re simply going to set it as soon as and overlook it, it’s nonetheless a greater system than the Quest 2. And when you share the gadget with co-workers or members of the family, it’s far simpler to get dialed in.

The brand new Contact Plus controllers feel and appear identical to the previous controllers, minus a big monitoring ring on the prime. They’re lighter and smaller consequently, however apart from smacking them collectively rather less than I used to, I haven’t seen a lot distinction in precise use. And whereas dropping the rings hasn’t made the Quest 3 worse at monitoring the controllers, it additionally hasn’t made it higher: the headset nonetheless struggles to observe the Contact Plus controllers once they’re even barely out of your subject of view. They seem like a non-camera-studded model of the Quest Professional’s Contact Professional controllers, which you’ll, in idea, purchase to switch the Contact Plus, however I don’t suppose these are definitely worth the $299 improve. Partially as a result of the Contact Plus’ battery is far nearer to the Quest 2’s controllers than the Professional’s: I’ve been utilizing the heck out of this factor for over every week and haven’t killed the AAs but.

You’re going to wish to maintain these controllers helpful, by the way in which, as a result of the Quest 3’s hand monitoring is fairly tough. In idea, you are able to do most navigational issues simply by waving your arms round; transfer the spherical cursor over what you wish to click on on, faucet your thumb and index finger collectively, and also you’re off. However as a result of the Quest 3 doesn’t do inward-facing eye monitoring and solely makes use of its exterior cameras to observe your palms, it’s imprecise and regularly incorrect — it’s important to very fastidiously transfer your hand a millimeter at a time to get the cursor in the fitting place. (Eye monitoring is likely to be the one factor in regards to the Quest Professional I want the Quest 3 had copied.) You can too simply attain out and contact stuff, which works just a little higher, however the Quest 3’s depth sensing additionally misses lots: you go to seize the Residence menu to maneuver it towards you, and your hand simply flies by way of it. After testing hand monitoring, I’ve stopped utilizing it altogether.

The Quest 3’s two most essential upgrades change into instantly apparent as quickly as you stick your head within the headset. It places a 2064 x 2208 LCD in entrance of every eye, which is the perfect display screen in any Quest ever. You may inform: every thing from on-screen textual content to high-res video games seems considerably crisper and higher, such as you’ve upgraded from a standard-def TV to a high-def set. It’s not fairly as sharp or as dynamic as what we’ve seen from the Imaginative and prescient Professional’s twin 4K micro-OLED shows, however it’s sufficient that I can comfortably learn small textual content within the headset for the primary time. I may by no means shake that nagging feeling within the Quest 2 that every thing was only a hair out of focus, and the Quest 3 hardly looks like that. 

The sphere of view within the Quest 3 is a bit bigger than earlier than, too, which is sweet, however it nonetheless has that “I’m trying by way of binoculars” rounded black form round your periphery. The sharpness is the actual win right here. The screens are a lot clearer, in reality, that they present simply how low-res some video games are: taking part in NFL Professional Period on the Quest 3 was like taking part in an N64 recreation on an HDTV, the place I may see each pixel and each stutter with new readability. However video games like Pink Matter 2 and the up to date Pistol Whip, that are prepared for the decision bump, typically look implausible. I’ve by no means had a lot enjoyable simply wandering round in VR than I’ve with the Quest 3.

Upgrading the show even opens up a bunch of latest makes use of for a tool just like the Quest 3. It’s a reasonably helpful leisure system, each for VR and non-VR content material — apps like PlutoTV and Peacock work very well. All these academic apps for seeing artwork and far-off locations are way more immersive now, too. Apps like Digital Desktop really work for streaming your laptop to your headset with out hurting your eyes, although the show isn’t fairly high-res sufficient for me to truly wish to work like that for very lengthy. (Meta’s complete “you’ll do your job in VR!” factor continues to be a methods away, and let’s not even speak about how unhealthy Horizon Workrooms nonetheless is.)

The opposite large improve is the audio system. The Quest 2’s audio nonetheless pours out into no matter room you’re in, which is a bummer, however it’s noticeably higher than earlier than. This factor will get loud in order for you it to, and the spatial audio does a pleasant job of anchoring sound in place. You’re nonetheless going to get the perfect expertise with a pair of headphones — my over-ear Bose cans match across the headset pretty comfortably, however I choose a pair of wi-fi earbuds simply to maintain some weight off my head.

Due to the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor and 8GB of RAM within the Quest 3, it’s additionally noticeably snappier than the Quest 2. The headset boots sooner; video games load extra rapidly. I used to be in a position to play Dungeons of Eternity at excessive settings at about 80 frames per second, which isn’t as much as gaming PC requirements however is lots for many functions. I’ve hardly seen any lag in head actions or any of the opposite stuttering that may make VR disagreeable. The one constant efficiency challenge I’ve had is with scrolling the Quest’s menus, which nonetheless wobble and lag just like the display screen’s refresh fee isn’t fairly excessive sufficient. Usually, although, the Quest 3 is as quick as I want it to be and might get up even to the platform’s most demanding video games like Pink Matter 2.

And by the way in which, there’s now lots to do within the headset. I’ve been impressed with the expansion of the Quest’s ecosystem during the last couple of years, and there’s now a strong secure of video games, starting from informal puzzlers to ultra-intense shooters and virtually every thing in between. I used to warn VR patrons that you simply would possibly finally run out of content material in there — I don’t fear about that anymore. And, after all, by way of Quest Hyperlink, you may plug your headset into your laptop and play a library of PC VR video games as properly.

In my testing up to now, I’ve gotten a hair over two hours of battery life from the Quest 3, regardless of how I’m utilizing it. Two-ish hours of films, two-ish hours of video games — plainly so long as the factor is on, it drains about the identical. That’s much less life than I’d like, however two hours is a reasonably lengthy session in VR, and because of Meta’s new charging dock (which comes individually and prices $129.99), I can simply drop in my headset between periods, and it appears to all the time be charged. The dock is a very terrific accent, although it pushes the headset even greater in value.

Up thus far, I’ve been speaking in regards to the Quest 3 as a direct successor to the Quest 2. In that sense, it’s plenty of little upgrades and one big one (the screens) that make it a significantly better VR headset. Significantly dearer! However significantly better. If you need a VR headset to play video games, watch motion pictures and TV, and do different VR issues in, that is the one.

However let’s speak in regards to the different bit. The factor actually enabled by these pill-shaped cameras and sensors on the entrance of the Quest 3, the factor that has Meta believing the Quest 3 isn’t simply “the third Quest” however the first of one thing else solely. The Quest 3’s blended actuality options are concurrently probably the most spectacular and most irritating a part of this headset: they’ve satisfied me that there’s some significantly cool and enjoyable tech at work right here and in addition that we’re actually not notably near mainstream MR.

The primary and most sensible factor the cameras do is present higher passthrough, the view that allows you to see your real-world area by way of your headset. On the Quest 2, that was a grainy black-and-white mess. Now it’s in full coloration and dramatically greater decision. Not excessive decision, thoughts you — simply greater. Adequate which you can see your cup of espresso; not ok to see if it’s espresso or tea. Adequate to see the time in your watch; not ok to learn the textual content of your notification. 

The improved passthrough makes plenty of issues about Quest Life simpler. The body fee is easy sufficient to remain comfy as I stroll round with the headset on, which makes it simpler to put on for lengthy stretches. It will possibly routinely set your boundaries in your room, so that you don’t must scan the ground anymore. You may double-tap on the aspect of your headset at any time to leap into passthrough mode in case it is advisable to have a look at one thing or see which canine / chair / member of the family you simply whacked whereas taking part in Supernatural. 

However the purpose the passthrough actually issues is as a result of it’s what makes blended actuality potential. The Quest can take these digital camera feeds and superimpose content material over them in actual time. The headset first has you stroll round to scan your environment — in my case, my messy basement — after which permits you to play in them.

Technically talking, the blended actuality on the Quest 3 is… tremendous. It struggles badly in low gentle, turning every thing grainy and low-res, however when you’re in a well-lit area, it’s largely correct. There’s some warping a bit across the edges, so it might probably appear just a little bit like the ground is transferring otherwise you’re on a light-weight dose of some hallucinogenic drug. It additionally warps and distorts round your palms as they transfer by way of area. However for a primary technology of blended actuality, it’s a strong begin.

The issue is, there’s virtually nothing compelling to do in blended actuality on the Quest 3. The only most enjoyable MR expertise I’ve had up to now is First Encounters, a mini-game during which tiny Koosh ball-looking aliens blow holes in your room and attempt to assault you when you attempt to seize them. It’s enjoyable, foolish, and actually does make it really feel like an alien craft has crashed into your home. It’s way more enjoyable to play First Encounters in my basement than it might be in a purely VR area. However First Encounters is the demo expertise to show you find out how to use blended actuality! It’s a nasty signal that that’s the perfect factor on the platform. Virtually every thing else I’ve tried is enjoyable however easy — like Cubism, a puzzle recreation — or nonetheless mainly a tech demo.

In the long term, whereas I believe VR is completely suited to immersive gaming, MR is prone to be way more of a real-world tech. That’s why the shape issue issues a lot: strolling around the globe with a cool heads-up show is just actually going to take off if that show doesn’t look silly or gadget-y. MR might be cool for navigation, training, making Pokemon Go much more enjoyable. The Quest 3 is generally centered on MR for enterprise and gaming, however each are higher experiences in VR proper now. For MR to actually take off, we’re going to wish extra than simply VR video games reworked for passthrough; we’re going to wish a wholly new class of apps and concepts. There’s not a lot of that within the Quest 3 but.

That may assist clarify why even among the MR video games that do exist could be higher off in VR. Drop Useless: The Cabin has an MR mode referred to as “Residence Invasion,” however its MR options work so badly the sport’s mainly unplayable in that mode. Figmin XR is a enjoyable recreation for constructing stuff, however it appeared to don’t know that my espresso desk is a tough floor that objects shouldn’t simply fall by way of. Many of those video games must replace for the Quest 3’s new depth sensor and passthrough talents; others must rethink their complete methods. Only a few issues I attempted really interacted with my bodily area in the way in which true blended actuality ought to.

I’m positive that may change finally. The Quest 3 and Imaginative and prescient Professional are the primary compelling causes for builders to care about blended actuality, so I’m hopeful that over the following 12 months or so, we’ll get plenty of good MR content material and video games. However proper now, it’s fairly bleak on the market. Even the thrilling new video games coming to the Quest 3, like Murderer’s Creed: Nexus and Roblox and the all-important Powerwash Simulator, are nonetheless VR video games.

That’s as a result of, for all it’s technically able to, the Quest 3 continues to be a VR headset. An excellent one, to be clear; my favourite one but, even. However even nice VR headsets are removed from a mainstream product proper now. When you consider blended actuality may change that and will entice even individuals who don’t care about VR headset and VR worlds to strap one thing to their face — and I do consider that — the Quest 3 simply doesn’t fairly ship. 

Possibly that is the headset earlier than the headset, the one which helps entice builders to make cool stuff that flip into killer apps for the Quest 4. Heck, possibly none of this issues till the gadget itself is much less “headset” and extra “glasses” and till we’ve had a collection of societal debates about whether or not it is best to make enjoyable of people that put on this stuff in public. It’s going to take plenty of technical and social change to make blended actuality mainstream, and it’s most likely going to take a number of years. 

Till then, the Quest 3 will stay what it’s: a wonderful VR headset and nothing else.

Pictures by David Pierce / The Verge