The Oculus Quest 3 (now known as Meta Quest 3) appears to be delayed. While much has changed recently for Oculus, not mainly because the company is now known as Meta, this is due to the news that Meta is working on an altogether separate VR device.
Price of Oculus Quest 3
The Oculus Quest 2 comes in two sizes: a 128GB model for $400 / AU$630 and a 256GB version for $500 / AU$790. So it would sound right for the sequel VR headset to cost around the same as its predecessor, albeit the Quest 3 might cost somewhat less than the Quest 2.
As a result, we may see Meta release Quest 3 at a lower price than Quest 2 to make it more accessible to new customers (a technique it employed with the Quest 2, which launched at a cheaper price than the first Oculus Quest). Alternatively, it may follow Apple’s lead and raise the price of its products to make them appear more appealing.
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Release date of Oculus Quest 3
Meta’s next Quest headset is unlikely to arrive until 2023. there are indications that an Oculus Quest 3 might be released in 2022.
However, the lack of hardware announcements during the 2022 Meta Quest Gaming Showcase implies that only one gadget will be released this year. Multiple gadget announcements at one event may make an already crowded market even more crowded.
If they are released concurrently, the Quest 3 and Cambria may undercut each other’s sales. With a 2023 release date looking likely, we’d go so far as to say that the Quest 3 will be released in October 2023.
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Rumored features
Increased performance
The Oculus Quest 2 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR 2 platform, which provides the excellent standalone performance we’re all used to.
The Quest 3 will have the next-generation Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 CPU, a higher 12GB of RAM, and up to 512GB of storage.
While this isn’t much to go on, it seems to suggest that the Quest 3 will have improved graphics performance, resulting in better, more immersive games and apps accessible on the standalone platform.
OLED displays
Another forecast from analyst Brad Lynch is that the Quest 3 will offer a significant advance in the display sector, supposedly replacing the Quest 2’s LCD panels with far superior OLED tech, an updated OLED type.
This could result in brighter visuals with deeper, vivid colors for a more immersive, authentic virtual experience on the future headset. OLED has already been used in high-end VR headsets, but this is the first time it will be used in a mass-market entry-level VR headset.
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Leaked Design
According to the leaked CAD renderings, the headset will focus more on mixed reality than virtual reality, with additional cameras, most likely with color passthrough features like the Quest Pro.
It’s also believed to utilize the same pancake lenses as the forthcoming Pro headset, allowing for a more compact form factor, and it appears to have a manually adjustable IPD wheel on the bottom. That will make adjusting the IDP much more accessible than in Quest 2, which requires you to remove the headset.
Verdict
As Meta Quest 2 was a success, Meta can tweak Meta Quest 3 and have a winner. However, they are going even farther by shifting into mixed reality.
VR and mixed reality are still new fields with little appeal. However, if Meta can create immersive virtual experiences, the realms of virtual reality, mixed reality, and perhaps augmented reality may become more common. That should mean more applications and games to satisfy our ravenous eyes and hands.
