Zuckerberg announced the Meta Quest 3 only days ahead of Apple’s scheduled announcement.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, took the opportunity to unveil the company’s latest VR headset, the Quest 3, just ahead of when Apple is expected to make a similar unveiling.
The new virtual reality device will start at $499, according to a video Zuckerberg posted on Instagram.
In Zuckerberg’s post, he pointed out that the new Meta VR headset will be the first one with “high-res color mixed reality.” Those interested in the technology will also be interested to know that the Quest 3 is 40 percent slimmer than the Quest 2.
That said, the unveiling was essentially a strategically timed tease, as it did not provide a tremendous amount of detail.
“High-fidelity color Passthrough, innovative machine learning, and spatial understanding let you interact with virtual content and the physical world simultaneously, creating limitless possibilities to explore,” said a subsequent release from Meta.
Based on what was visible in the video, it has at least three cameras on the front, which have the potential to provide a better pass-through/augmented reality experience in which the wearer is still able to see the real world around them, only with apps overlayed. The video specified that the wearable device offers better “natural” depth perception and that its graphics offer an enhanced gaming experience.
The new Meta VR headset is being released at a considerably higher price point than the Quest 2.
When the Quest 2 was first released in the second half of 2020, its starting price was $299, substantially lower than the price tag of the Quest 3 starter at $499. It will ship with a next-generation Qualcomm chipset, according to the news release, but further details will be held until the Connect conference on September 27, 2023.
Apple is expected to debut its own first VR headset this week at the company’s June WWDC event. It will be in direct competition with Meta’s recently unveiled virtual reality device. That said, Apple’s is expected to be a mixed-reality device, also incorporating augmented reality tech. It is rumored that its price will be in the $3000 range.
