While all of the current AR/VR hype surrounds the rumoured unveiling of the Apple Reality Pro headset, there’s also the small matter of a potential Meta Quest 3 on the horizon.
And, according to the latest reports, the VR division formerly known as Oculus has a “far thinner and lighter” headset in the works.
In a break from his usual Apple-led Power On offering, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman speaks of a heads-on experience with a prototype version of the Quest 3, codenamed Eureka.
He claims to have sampled the new video pass-through mode for augmented reality, new software features, and the gaming capabilities. He said that the displays and their clarity felt similar than the Quest 2, but the mixed reality offering is a “night and day” improvement over the Quest 2.
“Due to the dual RGB colour cameras, video pass-through on the Quest 3 presented colours more accurately and offered an almost lifelike rendering of the real world,” he wrote. “I was even able to use my phone while wearing the headset, something that often feels impossible on a Quest 2.”
He also said the Quest 3 is much speedier than its predecessor was much improved thanks to a new-get Qualcomm Snapdragon XR 2 processor.
As for that streamlined design, the hands-on report cites a stronger head strap and new frontage that includes “three vertical pill-shaped sensor areas across the front” for video passthrough and a depth sensor. The latter is something we haven’t had before.
The front lower sides and bottom, Gurman says, will have a tracking camera and a wheel for adjusting the distance between the lenses. As the reporter points out, the Quest 2 requires users to take off the headset and manually move the displays closer together or farther apart.
He reckons it’ll be be more expensive than the now $400 Quest 2, perhaps at around $500, and could launch around the holidays.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
