Long before the Apple Vision Pro sees the light of day next year, Meta gets first crack with yet another headset of its own — the Meta Quest 3. It’s not official that the mixed reality headset will launch at Meta Connect, the annual gathering of developers affiliated with the company formally know as Facebook. But logic dictates that Mark Zuckerberg and company will want to get a jump on Apple and release their headset in time for the holiday season.
So we’re expecting to see the Meta Quest 3 at some point during the opening keynote Meta Connect today (September 27). The two-day event begins with a talk from Mark Zuckerberg himself, starting at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/6 p.m. BST. And we’ll be on hand to cover everything coming out of that presentation.
Meta Connect’s potential announcements don’t begin and end with the Meta Quest 3. Meta has also forged a smart glasses partnership with Ray-Ban, and it’s likely more details about the fruits of that relationship could emerge during today’s keynote. Plus, Meta still has its fingers in a number of the services some of us use everyday — everything from Facebook to Whatsapp to Instagram — and there could be news on those fronts as well.
Still, it’s the Meta Quest 3 that we’re here to see. So strap in for updates from Meta’s Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters and beyond, as we bring you up to the minute news about all of Meta’s mixed realty announcements and more. Check back throughout the morning as we wait for Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote to begin.
How to watch Meta Connect 2023
We’ve got a full guide on how you can can watch Meta Connect 2023, but the easiest method is to go to Facebook’s Meta page, where a live stream of the event should appear.
In addition to the 1 p.m. ET keynote from Zuckerberg, a Developer State of the Union talk begins just after the main keynote, Meta says that will begin around 2:45 p.m. ET/ 11:45 a.m. PT / 7:45 BST. You’ll need to head to the Meta for Developers Facebook page for that second keynote.
What we expect at Meta Connect 2023
We’re keeping an eye out for two potential product announcements during the opening keynote — the Meta Quest 3 mixed reality headset and potential products stemming from Meta’s partnership with Ray-Ban.
Meta Quest 3: Announced earlier this summer, the Meta Quest 3 is the company’s “most powerful headset yet,” according to Zuckerberg. It will feature an LCD panel using pancake lenses to achieve 2.2K resolution, and we’re expecting Meta to confirm that a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset is running the show.
An array of cameras on the headset itself means the Meta Quest is no mere virtual reality headset, but one that offers mixed reality where virtual object can be laid on top of the real world. Meta has already confirmed the entry-level model will stat at $499 while last-minute leaks indicating a second model will cost $649.
We expect Zuckerberg to confirm the Meta Quest 3 ship date during Meta Connect. Our best guess is October 10.
Ray-Ban Stories 2: Smart glasses also figure to be on the agenda in the form of Ray-Ban Stories 2, a follow-up to the original glasses capable of capturing photos and video. Along with expected upgrades like better batty life and improved cameras. There could also be a live streaming component that ties into Facebook.
We already know that the Meta Quest 3 is going to start at $449 for the 128GB version — Mark Zuckerberg told us as much back in June when first announcing the successor to the Quest 2. But the company also said a larger version was in the works, too, without announcing how much storage it would offer, let alone the price.
A spec sheet leak from earlier this month gives us a better idea of how much storage the higher-end Meta Quest 3 will offer — it will reportedly be 512GB. More recently, leaked promotional materials reportedly from a source at Gamestop suggested that this 512GB version will cost $649.
We’ll find out soon enough just how accurate these rumors about the second Meta Quest 3 will turn out to be.
Heading into Meta Connect, we have a pretty good idea of the Meta Quest 3 specs, based on rumors as well as information that Meta’s already confirmed. To separate fact from potential fiction, we’ll note which specs have been confirmed in the chart below.
We’re hoping we get more information to confirm, or refute, some of those specs during the keynote itself.