Meta Unveils Quest 3 Ahead of Apple’s Rumored Headset Reveal

By Andrew Hayward

Apple is widely rumored to be announcing a mixed-reality headset at its annual WWDC event keynote next Monday, and Meta apparently hoped to get in front of the expected news, today revealing that its own Quest 3 mixed-reality headset will be released this fall.

The Meta Quest 3 is the successor to the social media giant’s popular Quest 2, and is similarly a self-contained headset that doesn’t require a PC, console, or smartphone to operate. The new headset boasts a 40% slimmer body than the Quest 2, plus double the graphics power and a higher-resolution display to pump up the immersive experiences.

However, the biggest shift may come from the move from a primarily virtual reality (VR) headset into a full-fledged mixed-reality device that’s built for augmented reality (AR) experiences as well. AR apps and games overlay digital elements onto your real-world surroundings via the headset’s screen, using outward-facing cameras.

The Quest 2 only had black-and-white passthrough cameras to help wearers navigate their surroundings, but the Quest 3—like last year’s pricier Quest Pro headset—will feature full-color vision to enable such AR games and experiences.

However, the Quest 3 will be more expensive as a result. It will start at $499.99 for a model with 128GB of internal storage, per Meta, with a higher-capacity model also available.

The Quest 2 was priced at $399.99 until today, but now has dropped to $299.99 with the new model on the horizon. Meta originally launched the Quest 2 at that price, but then raised it by $100 last July. The Quest Pro debuted at $1,499.99 last fall, but the price was quickly cut to $999.99 following middling reviews and apparently limited demand.

Still, the $500 Quest 3 price point could be dramatically cheaper than Apple’s expected headset, which will reportedly be a high-end device that analysts and reporters have pegged at a price point around $3,000.

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