Meta Quest 3 revealed by Zuckerberg & it looks even better than we thought

The new VR headset from Meta has been announced through Mark Zuckerberg’s Instagram and plans to launch the Quest 3 later this year.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has announced the Meta Quest 3 just days ahead of the Apple WWDC show where the rival company is expected to launch its own XR headset.

The Quest 3 will cost $499, compared to the current price of the Meta Quest Pro which sits at $999, and launched at $1500. It does cost the same as the PlayStation VR2 but doesn’t require any other hardware to power it.

Meta is going all in on the mixed reality side of things, with a large portion of the advert dedicated to the new passthrough features. Mixed reality is a combination of virtual reality and augmented reality.

The passthrough allows for AR experiences, with “natural depth perception” which the company is hoping to “transform your home into a virtual playground”. This is powered by new three sensors or cameras on the front of the device.

New design makes headset 40% lighter

The Quest 3 will be 40% smaller than the Quest 2, despite the added hardware onboard. This is largely due to its pancake lenses. It’ll also be compatible with the new controllers introduced with the Meta Quest Pro. These controllers have “TruTouch haptics”, adding to the overall experience when inside virtual reality.

Inside, a Snapdragon processor powers the whole headset, which is suspected to be the same processor as the one inside the Meta Quest Pro.

While specs are a little scarce right now, Zuckerberg does say that we’ll hear more about the device at the Connect conference on September 27. Apple is expected to announce the XR headset later next week on June 5, and this is clearly a shot against the bow to assert dominance.

However, the Apple device is aiming for more professional users, with estimated pricing at $3000 in comparison to the cheaper Quest 3.