Seizing the Market by Storm: Meta Releases Quest 3 VR Headset with $200 Price Increase, Introduces Multi-functional Glasses Simultaneously

Before Apple's mixed reality headset Vision Pro is launched in early next year, Meta has released an upgraded version of its headset, with a price increase of nearly 70% compared to the previous generation. Despite the price increase, the selling price is still much lower than the $3,499 of Vision Pro, and it is expected to "harvest" a wave of the market during this year's holiday shopping season.

On Wednesday, September 27th, Meta unveiled the next-generation headset Quest 3 during its annual developer conference Connect, with a starting price of $499, which is $200 higher than the starting price of the previous generation Quest 2 released in 2020, an increase of about 67%. The base model of Quest 3 comes with 128GB of memory, and the version with upgraded internal storage space to 512GB is priced at $649.99.

Quest 3 started accepting pre-orders on Wednesday and will begin shipping on October 10th.

Media comments suggest that unlike the previous Quest 2, which was only a virtual reality (VR) headset, Quest 3 is more like a mixed reality (MR) headset that combines VR and augmented reality (AR) like Vision Pro. Some comments also suggest that this marks Meta's transition from VR to MR.

Palwasha Khatri, the product manager of Quest 3, introduced that this device "does not require wires or battery packs." Some media outlets have said that this rhetoric shows that Meta is trying to position the product as a more mainstream MR head-mounted device.

In terms of specifications, Quest 3 is equipped with the faster Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor and has 8GB of RAM. Meta claims that the graphics performance of Quest 3 is twice that of Quest 2, and even better than Quest Pro, which runs on the first-generation XR2 chip.

Quest 3 has the best display performance ever released by Meta. Its single-eye resolution is 2064 x 2208 pixels, and the dual-eye resolution is 4128 x 2208 pixels, which is 30% higher than Quest 2 in terms of pixel count.

Due to the use of Pancake lenses, Quest 3 is 40% thinner than Quest 2, with a weight of 515 grams, slightly heavier than Quest 2's 503 grams. Meta claims that the design has been modified to make it more comfortable for users to wear. Meta also stated that the battery life of Quest 3 is roughly the same as Quest 2, which means it can last between 90 minutes and 3 hours.

Quest 3 offers a horizontal field of view of 110 degrees and a vertical field of view of 96 degrees, which is about 15% larger than Quest 2 and slightly larger than Quest Pro. Users can easily find the right position with the newly added sliding adjustment for the lenses on the headset.

Like the previously released Quest Pro, Quest 3's Touch Plus controllers also do not use tracking rings and instead use infrared sensors to track the user's position. Quest 3 has also improved haptic feedback, allowing users to feel more instinctive vibrations while playing games. Quest 3 also supports hand tracking, allowing users to completely do away with controllers.

In terms of functionality, Meta still primarily sees Quest 3 as a gaming device. In addition to all the content compatible with Quest 2, Quest 3 also has some new games available, such as "Roblox," "Assassin's Creed Nexus," and "Asgard's Wrath 2."

Since Meta has already partnered with Microsoft last year, Quest 3 users can enjoy Xbox Cloud Gaming services and play Xbox games directly.

Thanks to apps like Supernatural, Meta also positions Quest 3 as a fitness and health device.

Quest 3 will also be able to provide an augmented reality version of Lego games. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta's mixed reality devices will allow users to "understand your space so you can play with the world around you" and enable users to solve problems or "create on any flat surface in your room."

Meta also released a charging dock for Quest 3 and its controllers, priced at $129.99. This is the first time Meta has equipped a headset with a wireless charging dock. Dolphin Research released a new version of its smart glasses, the Meta smart glasses, during the Connect event on Wednesday. The glasses are priced at $299 and are available for pre-order starting Wednesday, with a release date of October 17th.

The new version of the smart glasses is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 chip and features an audio system similar to that of Amazon Echo Frames and Bose Tempo series, allowing users to listen to music that only glasses wearers can hear. Dolphin Research has also significantly upgraded the microphone system of the glasses, with one of the five microphones located at the user's nose bridge, ensuring clearer phone calls and voice commands.

In addition to functioning as a camera, the glasses have a small camera on the right temple, allowing users to store approximately 500 photos and 100 30-second videos on the glasses, all of which can be synchronized through Meta's App View.

Apart from taking photos and recording videos, users can also livestream with the glasses. By lightly tapping on the temple, users can start livestreaming on Facebook or Instagram. When recording a livestream, a white light around the camera will flash to indicate that the user is recording.