Meta Quest 3 was visiblely absent from Meta Connect in 2022, but it took not long before it would fall back into the headlines.
After Meta Connect''s first reported on by UploadVR, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sat down for an interview with Ben Thompson of Stratechery (opens in new tab) during the event. Zuckerberg says the Quest 3 will cost $300, $400, or $500, according to Zuckerberg.
The Quest 3 will likely arrive at Meta Connect in the coming year, or at a stand-alone event, according to many observers.
During a YouTube video where CAD pictures of the Quest 3 were leaked, analyst Brad Lynch indicated that a launch in 2023 is likely, so Zuckerberg can help solidify that theory. Unfortunately, it''s likely that another 12 months before Meta will come up with additional hardware out of line with Meta Quest Pro accessories.
More Microsoft and Meta collaboration to come
What should we do in the near future? Microsoft 365 and specifically Microsoft Teams will be fully utilisable in VR. Teams is being designed as an immersive experience that will allow you to collaborate in Quest as if you were in an in-person meeting. Teams will also work in Metas Horizon workrooms and adopt Metas avatars (now with legs).
The rest of Microsofts productivity Office applications will work as 2D versions in the Quest headset are projected, rather than being completely integrated with virtual reality.
Microsoft announced that Xbox Cloud Gaming will utilize Quest headsets in the near future, although we are debating whether Xbox on Quest will be a useful feature.
Microsoft and Metas collaboration will not come to an end, according to Nadella. As long as Meta remains the leader in virtual and mixed reality, then anticipate Microsoft to develop new applications for the Quest platform.
Metas projected Quest lineup
With this information from Zuckerberg, we have had a very clear understanding of Metas'' projection for its Quest headsets for some time. The Meta Quest 2 will then serve as a more professional device, allowing for increased collaboration and mixed-reality experiences as compared to the Quest 2.
Given the same price points, the Meta Quest 3 will come out at some point in the near future, and it would then replace the Quest 2. It appears to be that the Quest 3 will effectively steer Meta Quest from virtual reality to mixed reality.
What remains to be seen is how powerful the Quest 3 will be. Early rumors suggest a significantly more powerful GPU and Qualcomm CPU are expected to form a second-generation Snapdragon XR2 chipset. But the next-generation headset may miss out on the eye-tracking and face-tracking features we got with the Meta Quest Pro.
Stay tuned to our Meta Quest 3 rumors page for all of the most recent updates.