Oculus Quest 3: Rumors, predictions and release date

Here's everything we know about the Oculus Quest 3

A lot has changed at Facebook and Oculus in recent months. First, Facebook as a company now called Meta , and his upcoming VR headset, dubbed Project Cambria, is actually not a Quest device at all. 

Project Cambria, by contrast, is an all-new IP headset designed to introduce users to revolutionary virtual reality technology that will help Facebook — sorry, Meta — establish the early days of its metaverse. 

So what's left of the Oculus Quest 3?

Well, the Meta explained that development of the next generation of lower-priced VR headsets is still ongoing, which is good news for those concerned that Project Cambria could send the Quest 3 to its grave.

At the company's earnings call earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors that Meta had been working on "new hardware [that] would fit on the same platform [as the Quest 2]" for some time. We're still not sure if these comments were made in regards to the Oculus Quest 3 headset, the newer Oculus Quest 2, or indeed this newly announced Project Cambria, but we expect to hear more about it soon. 

As it turns out, the new and improved Quest 2 model is now on the shelves, packing 128GB of storage for the same price as the existing base version, making it a better value and easier recommendation than ever. 

But we're still very excited to see what new Quest products the Meta can have up its sleeve, beyond the pricier Project Cambria.

So what do we know about this potential Oculus Quest 3 headset? Below we've rounded up all the latest news, rumors and predictions for the most anticipated product in the VR world.

OCULUS QUEST 3 RELEASE DATE

We didn't expect to see a new Oculus device until 2022, but with the projected launch of Project Cambria next year, we can assume the next Meta Quest headset will be delayed until 2023.

However, we'd be surprised to see it launch this late, given Meta's apparent appetite for establishing itself as the home of mainstream VR gaming. But with potential conflicts between its own hardware becoming a reality, the company may distance itself a bit between VR releases.

However, with Quest 2 launching in October 2020, just a year and a half after the original, there's still a chance that Quest 3 could follow a similar timeline. 

The signs are promising too, and as the year progresses, more and more information about the next Quest device emerges. In an interview The Information Not only did Zuckerberg confirm that Quest 3 is definitely in development, but that the company is already in the early stages of working on Oculus Quest 4.

“Because of the way hardware is designed, you need to know what your next three products will look like at the same time,” Zuckerberg said. 

“It's not like the software where we change it every couple of weeks. We have development teams currently working on the next few generations of VR and what Quest 3 and 4 will look like."

While there is a big difference between creating these products and defining what they "will look like", this is good news for those who want to know more about Quest 3.

However, this is not all positive news. In April 2021, details of a recent online chat between two key Oculus execs were released suggesting that its next device is likely to be an optional Oculus Quest 2 Pro upgrade rather than a full Oculus Quest 3 sequel - but then again, that could be a reference to the aforementioned updated Quest 2 available now.

In a recent Twitter interview, Meta Reality Labs VP Andrew Bosworth said that right now the Quest 3 headset is still "unfinished" but that a 2022 arrival could still be a reality.

Either way, we have our fingers crossed.

OCULUS QUEST 3 FEATURES AND FEATURES

Given the improvements Quest 2 has made over its predecessor, we expect Quest 3 to remain a standalone VR headset with the usual improvements in battery life, processing power, and resolution. The Quest 2 boasts 50% sharper images than the original device, which is an impressive benchmark for the Quest 3. 

Quest 2 also upped the refresh rate to 90Hz, up from the original Quest's default 72Hz, and bumped that up again to 120Hz earlier this year.

It follows that the Quest 3 will feature a 120Hz refresh rate, though time will tell if future VR games can take full advantage of the upgrade, given that most games don't yet support this higher refresh rate.

Interestingly, the Swiss virtual reality technology manufacturer CREAL recently demonstrated its breakthrough in light field display technology by demonstrating a headset capable of focusing at long distances and rendering high-resolution images up close. This technology is capable of generating images that accurately represent how we see light from the real world, and while it's not yet available to the mass market, it could be what we see in Quest 3.

CREAL also claims that its display is capable of running at 240Hz - double the 120Hz refresh rate set by the Quest 2 update - although that seems too big leap for Quest 3.

We could also see changes to the form factor, perhaps further reducing weight or focusing on comfort-related changes. According to recent rumors, we've seen several clips showing a device dubbed Seacliff - the proposed codename for the new Oculus VR headset - which could indicate some design changes to the next Meta device.

In these videos, one of which you can find below, we see a new VR headset (which appears to be wireless, like the Oculus Quest 2) with a much less bulky front visor, with the weight spread across the front instead, with a backpack in the back.

However, after the cryptic announcement of Project Cambria, we're fairly certain Seacliff is the codename Project Cambria - though the video nonetheless hints at potential shape changes we might still see in the new Quest headset. 

We're sure any new Oculus device software will also be updated to improve hand tracking - especially since the haptic feedback we're seeing in the PS5 DualSense controller seems like it could improve the VR experience if it comes to Quest.

However, an almost inevitable feature of Quest 3 will be its integration with the Meta ecosystem, meaning you'll likely need a Meta account to access the platform. This precondition means you'll be subject to Meta's data-monitoring methods again - so if you're morally against Quest 2's data-monitoring methods, you're out of luck again.

OCULUS QUEST 3 COST

How much will the Oculus Quest 3 model cost? Well, the Oculus Quest 2 comes in two variants, a 64GB model priced at $299 and a 256GB version priced at $399.

That's a significant savings over the starting price of the original entry-level Oculus Quest. We don't expect the Quest 3 to be that much cheaper, though, and we've already seen Oculus' ability to inherit the same price with the Oculus Rift's transition to the Rift S.

That being said, given Meta's plans to turn its hardware into a mainstream VR platform, it's safe to assume it won't be more expensive than the current Quest 2 model.

OCULUS QUEST 3 PREDICTIONS

In tests of the Oculus Quest 2, it was hard to find fault with the VR headset, which proved to be immersive, comfortable, and easy to use. And yet, while it clearly leads the VR market, it still falls short of some of the challenges that the technology as a whole suffers from. Here is a list of updates we want to see in Oculus Quest 3:

Improved motion sickness prevention

One of those technology pitfalls, and perhaps inevitable, is the motion sickness that often occurs with any VR headset. Depending on your tolerance for buzz and blurriness, Quest 2 can be one of the biggest contributors to dizziness. While there is no clear path to making any VR headset immune to user vertigo, we'd still like to see an improvement in Oculus Quest 3.

Ease of wearing

The same is true with the landing of the device. While the Quest 2 is really comfortable when it sits on your head, it can still be a little claustrophobic to achieve a nice, snug fit. Again, this is a problem that almost all VR headsets face, and a baseline problem that a new generation of hardware should at least try to better address. Design rumors suggest that the new Oculus device could solve some of these problems.

Improved Oculus Store

Other improvements we'd like to see include a more efficient Oculus store in VR. While the equivalent in-browser and in-app store makes it easy to discover new releases and search for upcoming games, the store within the headset itself seems to roll the dice on which apps are shown, with no way to quickly navigate to new content. This makes it difficult to pre-order games and discover new titles to purchase while using the device, a key part of making the headset replayable. 

Social space in the style of the quarter 

While Quest 2 has a smart party invite system so you can jump from one game to the next with friends, it doesn't have a place to chat with other players. It would be interesting to see Quest 3 introduce a virtual social space in the same vein as the NBA 2K area to share downtime with others. What's the use of multi-seat furniture in today's home environment if there's no one to share it with?  

Improved media sharing

Sharing screenshots and videos on Oculus devices has never been an easy task, and Quest 2 has tried unsuccessfully to address this issue. You still need to jump through a few hoops before you can share your VR content, which is often captured by accident anyway, which is why we wish Oculus 3 made it all more accessible. 1080p video, app integration, proper audio sync would be nice too.  

Prospects for Oculus Quest 3

While VR gaming is a medium that has certainly gained popularity in recent years - Quest 2 reportedly received five times as many pre-orders as its predecessor - it is still considered to have failed to captivate the mainstream market.

At least that's the opinion of Mark Zuckerberg, who reportedly said in 2018 that 10 million VR users are needed to ensure the Oculus platform is "sustainable and profitable for all types of developers." However, he added that "once we cross that threshold, we think the content and ecosystem will just explode" (as reported by RoadtoVR ). 

There's a gaping hole in the market right now that the Oculus Quest 3 may be aiming to fill. The Valve Index is one of the best VR headsets we've tested so far, but transistor shortages have effectively shut down device production over the past year, leaving the headset in short supply. Thus, the new Oculus device will be able to learn from the success of the Valve headset and firmly gain a foothold in the virtual reality industry. 

Of course, there are rumors that an Apple VR headset is in the works (along with an Apple car, smart glasses, TV, etc.), which could mean some serious competition in the coming years. However, a few tech heavyweights vying for the top spot can only be good things for VR gaming, so we're waiting with bated breath to see what Oculus Quest 3 can bring to the table.

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