The gist of it: Meta has a lot invested in the headset space. A lot. It seems to be ready to take the fight to Apple. That doesn’t change the laws of physics, or the market potential, for these types of devices, but it could also be that it creates a swell of interest among consumers, drawn in by the pyrotechnics of battle, and that pushes up short-term adoption rates.
Bloomberg has a detailed hands-on review of the yet-to-be-announced Meta’s Quest 3, an upcoming virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headset that is poised to compete with Apple’s new headset in the extended reality (XR) market. I have summarized the key points below.
| Feature | Meta Quest 3 | Apple’s Headset (rumored) |
|---|---|---|
| Type of Reality | Mixed Reality (XR) | Mixed Reality (XR) |
| Price | Possibly higher than $400, not finalized | Rumored to be more than $2000 |
| Design | Lighter, thinner than Quest 2. Three vertical sensor areas on the front | Not specified |
| Sensor/Camera Tech | Two color cameras, a depth sensor | Rumored to have around a dozen cameras |
| Interface & Performance | Speedier navigation, launching apps, and games due to a new Snapdragon chip | Not specified |
| Software & Gaming | Advantage in top-flight VR games; no “killer app” yet | May provide access to hundreds of thousands of iPad apps and tools to convert iOS/iPadOS software into xrOS titles |
| Controllers | Redesigned hand controllers; lacks face and eye tracking | Not specified but might include face and eye tracking |
| Video Pass-through | Night-and-day improvement over Quest 2 | Not specified, but expected to be superior due to higher number of cameras |
