David referred to as the Meta Quest 3 “higher than its predecessors in virtually each approach” in our full Verge evaluation — however what’s it like on the within? iFixit now has the reply in an excellent teardown video that will get proper up shut to the gadget’s delightfully shiny guts.
You gained’t discover a curved battery in right here just like the “largely unfixable” Quest Professional, however you do get a curved heatsink above the fan — and, in fact, the Time of Flight depth sensor that the Quest Professional apparently determined to scrap. iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari says it could possibly even connect to a Quest Professional’s board, although it’s not clear whether or not you may get it to work there.
We additionally get a take a look at the pancake lenses, an 820x microscope-enhanced take a look at the diagonal LCD traces beneath them (which may result in some unlucky tearing), plus the fifty (50!) whole screws you need to take away simply to exchange the battery.
Talking of that battery, it’s 19.44 watt-hours now, up from 14.3 watt-hours within the Quest 2, which means that Meta’s actually, actually pushing for efficiency out of its new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip as a substitute of higher battery life. (Meta says the Quest 3 has roughly the identical battery life because the Quest 2, regardless of the bigger battery pack.)
iFixit additionally tears down the Quest 3’s new controllers, revealing the constellation of (seven?) IR LEDs that permit the headset’s cameras observe their actions in 3D area. Whereas the Oculus Contact, Quest, and Quest 2’s controllers initially positioned these LEDs in a protruding ring and the Quest Professional has cameras within the controllers themselves, Meta now apparently believes it could possibly observe controllers effectively sufficient with an easier LED setup.
Whereas the controllers do have magnetic Corridor impact triggers, they do not have drift-resistant Corridor impact joysticks, I’m afraid:
The controllers are simpler to tear down than the Quest Professional’s, with easier boards and disassembly steps, however you do nonetheless must take away a glued-on high. Mokhtari additionally wound up cracking the attention aid’s skinny plastic whereas eradicating it from the Quest 3, however that may not be an issue going ahead — this teardown might help present you the place the plastic snaps are positioned, so you may pry fastidiously.
Total, iFixit says the design is “a big enchancment over the Quest Professional in relation to repairability” however offers it a restore rating of 4 out of 10 due to the sophisticated layers of parts and simply how lengthy it takes to succeed in the battery.
