Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the first official details of the Meta Quest 3, a new virtual reality headset for consumers that arrives this fall for $500.
The headset has a big technical improvement over the prior generation with high-resolution color mixed reality, as the Meta Quest 2 introduced in 2020 had black-and-white passthrough. The Meta Quest Pro, introduced at $1,500 (later lowered to $1,000) last fall also has color passthrough.
It’s no surprise that Zuckerberg is dropping the news today, as Apple is expected on Monday to announce its own mixed-reality glasses after years of research.
The Meta Quest 3 will also be 40% thinner and more comfortable. It has better displays and resolution. The headset also has a next-generation Qualcomm chipset with two times the graphics performance. The product doesn’t have an exact shipping date yet.
It’ll be compatible with Quest 2’s entire library with more titles coming. More details will be announced at the Connect conference on September 27.
Not only will all of the games in today’s Meta Quest Gaming Showcase be playable on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3, but Quest 3 will be backward compatible with the Quest 2 catalog of over 500 VR games, apps and experiences (and counting).
There are more exciting new VR and MR titles lined up for launch. Meta Quest 3’s advanced processor and higher resolution will provide an even better look and feel within the upcoming Asgard’s Wrath 2, while players will have more comfort during the game’s 60-plus hours of gameplay.
And the Quest 2 to Quest 3 backward compatibility means players can experience all of their favorite games today and enjoy new and growing VR franchises like Asgard’s Wrath, Arizona Sunshine and I Expect You To Die when Meta Quest 3 launches later this year.
Starting June 4, Meta will be lowering the price of Quest 2 to $300 for the 128GB SKU and $350 for the 256GB version.
In the next software update, Meta is updating the Quest 2 and Quest Pro GPU and CPU. Quest 2 and Pro will see an up-to 26% CPU performance increase with an up-to 19% GPU speed increase for Quest 2 and 11% for Quest Pro. Games and apps can take advantage of increased pixel density without dropping frames. As developers take advantage of these changes, people can expect smoother gameplay, a more responsive UI and richer content on both headsets.