Now that the Oculus Quest 2 is selling very well, there’s a very good chance that a third-generation Quest is in the works. And the Oculus Quest 3 could be coming soon.
Here’s everything we know about Meta’s next-generation virtual-reality headset, its rumored specs and design, and when it could arrive.
Given the Oculus Quest 2 is our pick for the best VR headsets you can buy right now, we’d be keen to see an Oculus Quest 3. Information is thin on the ground here, so a lot of what’s ahead is speculation for the time being. But here’s what we know and want from the Oculus Quest 3 so far.
Oculus Quest 3 news (updated February 11)
- There’s not a lot of chatter around the Oculus Quest 3, so it may raise questions on if it will arrive this year.
- A report says that Meta will launch two new headsets this year: the Oculus Quest 3 and the Oculus Quest Pro, also known as Cambria.
- One analyst suggested that the Oculus Quest 3 and the Oculus Quest Pro could arrive in the second quarter of 2022.
- During an AMA, Facebook’s VP of AR and VR hinted that a more premium Oculus Quest Pro could be on the way. But nothing is confirmed.
Oculus Quest 3 release date
There have been bubbling rumors that the Oculus Quest 3 will make its debut this spring. But there haven’t bene any recent leaks or titbits to hammer that home.
As such we’d be a little cautious in saying that a Quest 3 is coming rather soon. Towards the second half of the year might be a better bet.
Still, the Quest 2 has plenty of life left in it and looks set to get a form of 120Hz refresh rate upgrade. So it should have enough features to stay relevant for a while.
Oculus Quest 3 price
The Quest 2 costs $299 for a 64GB model and $399 for a 256GB model. Both have sold very well; check out our where to buy Oculus Quest 2 article for more. As such, we’d expect the Oculus Quest 3 to be a direct replacement for its predecessor, likely keeping the same price bands.
Ideally, we’d like to see it come in at a slightly lower price just to open up the world of virtual reality to others. But we suspect the Quest 3 isn’t likely to drop below the $250 mark. Given its higher specs, the Quest Pro will probably remain at the $299/$399 price.
Oculus Quest 3 specs and rumors
The most obvious spec the Oculus Quest 3 and Oculus Quest Pro (Cambria) will have is a 120Hz display by default. The current Quest 2 can support a 120Hz refresh rate but it needs apps to upscale content to do so. A speedy refresh rate out of the box would be much appreciated, especially by those who can suffer from motion sickness when using VR headsets.
According to Brad Lynch, a VR analyst, the Cambria will use mini-LED technology, whereas the Quest 3 will have uOLED displays. Both should look better than the Quest 2’s current screens.
Aside from that, we can expect there to be an upgraded chipset, likely from Qualcomm. This could be custom silicon, rather than an off-the-shelf chipset.
Improved battery life would also be a boon. And a cable bundled into the box, rather than an expensive optional extra, to let you plug the Quest 3 into a gaming PC, would also be on our wishlist.
Oculus Quest 3: What we’d like to see
We were very impressed with the Oculus Quest 2, but there’s still room for the Quest 3 to deliver improvements. Here’s what we’d like to see.
Rechargeable controllers: The Quest 2’s controllers relied on a single AA battery each, which delivered around 30 hours of juice. That’s not bad, but we feel a USB-C rechargeable battery pack would be a boon, as well as more environmentally friendly.
Boosted hand-tracking controls: Improved hand-tracking would be appreciated in the Quest 3, as we found that in the Quest 2 it could be a little finickity and not hugely intuitive.
Even higher refresh rate: A 120Hz refresh rate is great, but a 144Hz or higher refresh rate for super-smooth VR games and experiences is on our wish list.
More Oculus apps: The Oculus Store is not short on VR apps and games, but we’re always keen to see more. Games that really deliver immersive VR experiences, rather than more arcade-like action, could help the Quest 3 stand apart from its predecessor.
Oculus Quest 3 outlook
The success of the Quest 2 means Facebook can simply refine the Oculus Quest 3 and be on to a winner. Ideally, we’d rather see it push things further on both the hardware and software sides.
By offering an all-in-one VR system that can deliver truly immersive virtual experiences, we could then see the still reasonably niche world of virtual reality become increasingly mainstream, leading to more apps and games to feed our greedy eyes and hands.