Draugoth
Gold Member
THE GOOD
- Better, more comfortable hardware
- Much-improved displays
- Doubles Quest 2 GPU performance
- Sharp new screens and lenses
- More compact than Quest 2
- Crisper graphics with 30% more pixels
- Mixed reality cameras make it easier to see the real world
- Adjustable for glasses
- Mixed reality is good enough to use a phone
- Depth sensor automatically maps your room
THE BAD
- Much more expensive than the Quest 2
- Not enough mixed reality content
- Passthrough cameras isn’t quite sharp enough
- Only 128GB of storage to start
- No battery life improvements
- No silicone cover included
The Verge - 7.0/10.0
IGN - 9.0/10.0Maybe this is the headset before the headset, the one that helps entice developers to make cool stuff that turn into killer apps for the Quest 4. Heck, maybe none of this matters until the device itself is less “headset” and more “glasses” and until we’ve had a series of societal debates about whether you should make fun of people who wear these things in public. It’s going to take a lot of technical and social change to make mixed reality mainstream, and it’s probably going to take a few years.
Wired - 8.0/10.0The Quest 3 continues Meta’s legacy of offering a cost-effective headset that doesn’t require an expensive gaming PC, but can still benefit from one if you have it. That’s a unique feature that sets it apart from almost every other VR headset out there, other than its own predecessors. The Quest 3 goes even further by offering us a ticket to mixed-reality gaming with a full-color passthrough mode that’s sharp enough to read things in the world around you, the lightest and most precisely tracked controllers available, and more. The sheer amount of upgrades are well worth the $200 generational price increase. For everyone else who is willing to make the splurge, the Quest 3 sets the new standard for VR and mixed reality gaming.
Engadget - 88/100Dramatically improved object detection and hand tracking. Enhanced visuals with greater FOV. Full color, higher resolution pass-through is a dramatic improvement …
… but pass-through is still noticeably fuzzy. OS and UI remain stubbornly dated (you still can't organize apps!). Much higher price points than Quest 2. Horizon Worlds is a ghost town.
NPR - RecommendedIf you’ve seen my PlayStation VR 2 review, you’ll know I’m pretty ambivalent about the state of VR at the moment. The headsets are getting better, but the games and industry just feels stagnant. The Meta Quest 3, at the very least, seems like a better option for VR newcomers than the $550 PlayStation VR 2. It’s pricey, but it delivers solid VR without a PlayStation 5. While it’s no Vision Pro, the Quest 3’s stab at mixed reality makes it a headset you’ll likely use long after your VR honeymoon is over.
PocketLink - RecommendedIt's a promising line-up, but Meta missed an opportunity to come out with a bang at launch with more than one great mixed reality experience. However, the impressive hardware could be enough to justify the $500 for existing enthusiasts and well-heeled holiday shoppers. By the time late November rolls around, there might be just enough to make mixed reality look enticing.
Eurogamer - RecommendedSimply put, if you want the best standalone VR experience available today, the Meta Quest 3 is the headset to get. It brings meaningful upgrades in just about every area: A slimmer and more comfortable design, better optics, better displays, improved audio, a more powerful processor and all-new MR capabilities.
Evening Standard - 4.0/5.0Overall then, I'm really impressed with the Quest 3 and I'm confident that it will become a full time replacement for my Quest 2 in all aspects. I honestly never enjoyed using native apps on my Quest 2 due to the rather ropey visual quality but going forwards I'm way more interested in giving them a shot. There's a few negatives from my first experiences sure, battery life being one of the major ones, but the positive points really do outweigh the issues I have.
Digital Trends - 9.0/10.0The Quest 3 really does feel like a big step forward for Meta: thinner, sleeker, more powerful and capable of fantastic graphics. The only issue, of course, is price point. This is not a cheap bit of kit, but you get what you pay for, and the novelty of mixed reality makes everything feel fresh and fun.
I strongly recommend the Meta Quest 3 to anyone, even if you’re considering the Apple Vision Pro. It might take a year or more for Apple’s library of VR titles to reach a satisfying depth. Meanwhile, the Quest 3 can run all Quest 2 games with better-quality graphics without slowing the frame rate. Some developers are already updating games to take full advantage of the Quest 3 hardware.
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