The pace of releases virtual reality headsets has slowed down, but Meta hits a big blow with the successor to the excellent Quest 2.
A real cannon shot in the world of virtual reality, the release – on October 13, 2020 – of the Quest 2 had left its mark: not content with being of quality, the headset signed Meta was at a very low price.
Today, there seems no question of repeating this feat. The announcement of the Quest 3 seems to augur a high quality product, but the asking price is significantly higher than that of the little brother.
An SoC twice as powerful
Through its announcement, Meta effectively confirms that the release of its Quest 3 is imminent, scheduled for October 10. Pre-orders are even already open with an exclusivity system per country.
In France, it is the FNAC/Darty couple who benefit from this exclusivity and on the pages of the two brands, we can discover the pre-order of the Quest 3 at 549 euros for the 128 GB version and 699 euros for the variant, equipped with 512 GB of storage space. Remember that like the Quest 2, this new virtual reality headset is an autonomous model. In this sense, it does not need to be connected to a PC.
It can of course be used to replace any VR headset, but it is not essential thanks to this storage space which complements the SoC XR2 Gen 2 processor from Qualcomm. On this subject, Meta indicates that it is “ Featuring twice the powerful GPU, reducing loading times and delivering smoother gameplay than Meta Quest 2 “.
© Meta
Xbox Cloud Gaming soon on the program
Meta emphasizes this video game aspect by presenting a video which illustrates the progress made at all levels. The aesthetic aspect is by far the one that wins the most in this sequence of The Walking Dead.
To continue on the technical side of things, it should be noted that the XR2 Gen 2 is supported by 8 GB of RAM, again a clear increase compared to the Quest 2 (+ 33%). The screens are not left out: the definition of each eye increases to 2064 x 2208 compared to 1832 x 1920 on the Quest 2. On the other hand, the refresh rate remains stable at 90 Hz even if Meta advances the test. ‘a frequency of 120 Hz.
Viewing angles are unchanged at 110 degrees for horizontal and 96 degrees for vertical. Meta has not integrated head movement tracking like on the PS VR2 for example, but hand tracking is on the menu and the comfort of the headset should be improved. If the weight remains the same or almost (515 grams versus 503), we are talking about pancake lentils offering “ a 40% thinner optical profile for better comfort “.
© Meta
Meta emphasizes the quality of the headphones or the ease of installation of the Quest 3. We prefer to focus on an announcement that will make noise: Meta specifies that the Xbox Cloud Gaming will arrive next December on the Quest 3. In addition to the “ 500 games and immersive experiences » from the Quest Store, it will be possible to “ play Halo Infinite, Minecraft Legends, Forza Horizon 5 and hundreds of other high-quality Xbox games “.
Source : Meta
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