Meta unveils Quest 3 mixed reality headset ahead of Apple’s VR debut
- Priced from US$499, the Quest 3 will be 40 per cent thinner than the previous headset and feature colour mixed reality, which combines AR and VR elements
- Zuckerberg’s announcement comes less than a week before Apple is expected to unveil its first mixed reality device, a high-end product costing around US$3,000
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday revealed the company’s next generation mixed reality headset, the Quest 3, as the company braces for Apple to potentially reshape a nascent market that Meta has dominated so far.
Priced starting at US$499, the device will be 40 per cent thinner than the company’s previous headset and feature colour mixed reality, which combines augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) elements, Zuckerberg said in an Instagram post ahead of Meta’s annual gaming conference.
Meta also said it would lower the prices of its existing Quest 2 headsets, while adding performance upgrades to those devices aimed at delivering a smoother user experience.
The Quest 3 will have a new Qualcomm chipset with twice the graphics performance as the Quest 2, Zuckerberg said. He said the device would launch in the autumn and promised more details at the company’s annual AR/VR conference on September 27.
Zuckerberg’s announcement came less than a week before tech rival Apple was expected to unveil its first mixed reality device, a high-end product with a price point around US$3,000, according to a Bloomberg report.