Oculus Quest 3: Release date, design, features and spec rumors

Meta Quest 3 is on the way – but not before 2023, if current rumors are to be believed. While Meta announced the high-end Meta Quest Pro at Meta Connect 2022, there was no sign of the successor to the hugely popular Meta Quest 2.

So when should we expect to see the Quest 3 and, more importantly, what can we expect from the next-gen VR headset?

Although it’s still early days, there are already whispers and leaks giving us a rough idea of ​​what to expect from Quest 3, including early release date rumors. and feature leaks. We’re rounding up all the latest Meta Quest 3 rumors here.

Oculus Quest 3 Release Date Rumors

When Meta teased its high-end VR headset, Project Cambria, at Meta Connect in 2021, many assumed it would be the successor to the Quest 2.

But as the company confirmed during the Quest Pro reveal at Meta Connect 2022, this is an entirely different headset with a purpose beyond gaming.

That being said, a 2023 release seems much more likely for Meta Quest 3.

This lines up with comments from a Meta blog post, where the company confirmed that it will release a new Quest headset once the Quest Pro becomes available. “We have an ambitious roadmap for VR hardware, starting with the launch of our high-end headset, Project Cambria, later this year. And we plan to ship new generations of Meta Quest after that.”

The release schedule was later reiterated in Meta’s Q3 2022 earnings call, with Meta CFO David Wehner mentioning the headset while warning investors of rising costs. “Conversely, our revenue cost growth is expected to accelerate, driven by infrastructure spend and, to a lesser extent, Reality Labs hardware costs driven by the launch of our next generation of our large headset. public Quest later next year.“.

Although Wehner doesn’t explicitly mention the Quest 3, Meta considers the current Quest 2 to be a consumer-focused headset, unlike the professional/creative orientation of the Quest Pro.

This is a timeline supported by analyst Brad Lynch, which suggests that the Meta Quest 3 update (as it will be known until then) will be revealed during Meta’s Connect 2023 event and released shortly thereafter. If the company sticks to the same schedule as in recent years, it could mean a October 2023 reveal for quest 3.

Of course, that’s a long way off, and Meta could adjust release date schedules down the line, so it’s worth taking this information with a pinch of salt for now.

While it’s probably far too early for Meta to price the upcoming headset – especially if it’s not due until late 2023 – Mark Zuckerberg has calmed the nerves of spooked VR fans by the hefty price tag of $1500/£1500 for the Meta Quest Pro.

While some worried that the Quest Pro’s high price tag might indicate a higher price tag for the entry-level VR headset, Zuckerberg confirmed in an October 2022 interview with Stratechery that the Quest 3 would be in the “range of price of $300, $400”. , or $500, that area. »

With that in mind, we expect the Quest 3 to cost a similar amount to the $399 / £399 Oculus Quest 2, but we’ll update this section if we hear anything different.

Although not planned for quite some time, the Quest 3 has already been leaked several times, which gives us a good idea of ​​what to expect from the next VR headset.

Improved performance

The Meta Quest 2 sports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR 2 platform, delivering the impressive standalone performance we’ve all come to know.

It would be safe to assume that Meta and Qualcomm would continue this relationship with the Quest 3 and the next-generation Snapdragon mobile platform, which should be available by the time the Quest 3 goes into production.

VR analyst Brad Lynch initially suggested that Meta might go a different route, instead developing its own chipset for the upcoming headset. The analyst claimed that the company was working on a chip “focused on a GPU better designed for VR loads” to “not rely on a SoC that all small XR players will use”.

However, in a late September 2021 follow-up YouTube video, Lynch now suggests that the Quest 3 will indeed sport the next-gen Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset alongside a boosted 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage.

While that doesn’t give us much to say, it does seem to confirm that the Quest 3 will have better graphics performance, which should translate to better, more immersive games and apps available on the standalone platform.

Updated LCD screens

Another prediction from analyst Brad Lynch suggests that the Quest 3 will offer a pretty big upgrade in the display department. While Lynch initially suggested a move to OLED was on the cards, more recent leaks suggest that Meta has opted for a higher resolution and faster LCD than the Quest 2.

Per Lynch via Twitter, the Quest 3 is said to sport an LCD display with a resolution of 2064×2208 per eye and at an increased refresh rate of 120Hz – that’s both higher resolution and faster than the High-end Quest Pro, which bodes well for consumers.

While the Quest 2 has offered an experimental 120Hz mode for the past few months, it’s exclusive to apps and games that support it, with Meta Home and other OS elements still rendered at 90. Hz. Jumping to 120Hz will bring a noticeable smooth jump no matter where you use the headphones.

Not much else is known about the display tech, including the field of view, but it’s still exciting.

Leaked CAD renderings

Our best look at the Meta Quest 3 comes from analyst Brad Lynch, who showed off leaked CAD renders of the upcoming headset in late September 2022, giving us a good idea of ​​what to expect from the next-gen headset.

The video provides some significant insight into what to expect from the next-gen VR headset, dubbed Project Stinson internally, which essentially appears to be a combination of the Quest 2 and the Quest Pro.

Leaked CAD renders seem to suggest the headset will be more mixed reality focused than just VR with more cameras, likely with color passthrough capabilities like the Quest Pro. It’s also said to have the same pancake lenses as the Pro headset, allowing for a more compact form factor, and it looks like there will also be a manually adjustable IPD dial on the bottom of the headset. This will make adjusting the IDP much easier than the Quest 2, which requires you to remove the headset.

The big difference between the Quest 3 and the Quest Pro? Lynch says the Quest 3 won’t include eye or face tracking, two crucial features of the Pro headset. This is probably a cost-cutting measure more than anything, allowing Meta to keep the price of the Quest 3 low and more affordable for customers, especially with inflation levels rapidly rising in many regions. of the world.

The video goes into granular detail on things like cooling and audio, so sit back and get ready for an unofficial 18-minute deep dive into Quest 3.

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