The Meta Quest 3 is a major improvement over the Quest 2. It is just superior in every way: more cozy, more potent, simpler to understand, more enjoyable to use for extended periods of time, etc. That settles all of your questions about the newest headset from Meta. Even if you bought a Quest 2 only a few years ago and may not have used it as much as you thought you may, the passthrough improvements alone make this an upgrade that is beneficial. The hardware in Quest 3 is remarkable and significantly better than it was in Quests 1 and 2.

The Quest 3 is sometimes referred to in Meta as "the first mainstream mixed reality headset." The Quest 2 starts at $299.99. However, at $499.99 for the 128GB device and $649.99 for the 512GB variant, it is still on the right side of the too-expensive line, especially when compared to Apple's upcoming $3,500 Vision Pro. And unlike the mixed reality products from Magic Leap, Microsoft, and many others, this one is genuinely available for individual purchase by consumers. However, Meta would really like for this to be more than just the greatest affordable headset. It wants the Quest 3 to be the one that significantly increases interest in, use of, and development for mixed reality.

Additionally, Meta reduced the size of its Touch Plus controllers by eliminating the sensor rings that made the earlier model bulky and occasionally difficult to store. The manufacturer claims that the improved sensors on the headgear plus some AI/machine-learning upgrades that can better predict your hand and finger movements are what allowed it to do this.

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The haptics in the new controllers are substantially more realistic, in addition to being much more convenient. In other circumstances, they feel substantial and tactile, giving me comforting feedback when I push a virtual button or charge a blaster. However, sometimes they can still feel like old Nokia phones buzzing when games trigger the most basic vibrations.

More sensors and cameras

The two new RGB cameras and depth projector might make it obvious that the Quest 3 is designed for mixed reality experiences if Meta's marketing didn't already. With the new headset, you can more accurately reproduce your surroundings in full color and measure how close and far away objects are, reports ZDNet.

Professional-looking pancake lenses Users will be happy to discover that the 4K+ Infinity Display pancake lenses seen on Meta's more costly VR headset are now present on the Quest 3, and for almost a third of what the Quest Pro originally went for. This greatly enhances the sharpness and detail of text and images while also widening your field of vision (FOV), or how much of the screen you can see from one corner to the other. A new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform, which promises to deliver 2x better graphics performance than the Quest 2, powers the displays and the overall system.