Meta announces Quest 3 mixed reality headset ahead of Apple's WWDC 2023

The Meta Quest 3.

Meta just announced its next-generation virtual and mixed reality headset, the Quest 3.

Slated to ship in fall, the Meta Quest 3 comes with a 40% slimmer optic profile and more comfortable form factor. It also has a higher-resolution display with pancake optics to make content look better. The Quest 3's Touch Plus controllers are redesigned with a more streamlined and ergonomic form factor.

Powering the Meta Quest 3 is a next-generation Snapdragon chipset developed in collaboration with Qualcomm, which could deliver more than twice the graphical performance of the Snapdragon GPU in Quest 2. This could be the Snapdragon AR2 Gen 1 platform or an upcoming AR2 platform.

Meta says the Quest 3 supports the Quest 2's catalog of over 500 VR games, apps and experiences. The new headset starts at US$499.99 for the 128GB model, and there is an additional storage option.

More details on the Quest 3 will be shared at Meta Connect on 27 September. The debut of the Meta Quest 3 comes days ahead of Apple's WWDC 2023 where the iPhone maker is tipped to launch its Reality Pro headset.

Aside from announcing the Quest 3, Meta states that it will be lowering the price of the Quest 2 to US$299.99 (128GB) and US$349.99 (256GB).

In addition, Meta will be rolling out a software update for the GPU and CPU of the Quest 2 and Quest Pro which will offer up to 26% CPU performance boost for both headsets. For the GPU, the Quest 2 will see up to 19% speed increase and 11% speed increase for the Quest Pro.

Source: Meta