Hands-on review of Meta’s latest wireless virtual reality headset – Ryan Schultz
Housekeeping Notes: I first started writing this blog post in November 2023, but never had a chance to finish it until now! It is one of the following giant I have a backlog of half-finished blog posts (30+) that I plan to complete and publish soon. So stay tuned!
This blog post also created a new blog post category called Review. We will now use it to display all the hardware and software reviews we write here on the RyanSchultz.com blog.
As a librarian at my university, I am a member of the Faculty Association along with professors and instructors. One of the benefits we receive is a set amount of travel and expense (T&E) funding each year that is used to pay for professional memberships, conference registration and travel costs, book and journal subscriptions, and computer equipment. ! So, I used some of my T&E money this year to purchase Meta’s newest wireless VR headset, the Meta Quest 3. Meta Quest 3 was announced at the Meta Connect event on September 27, 2023. here).
Now, while I absolutely have the right to scoff at some aspects of the Meta Connect event itself (Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton appear as AI chatbots? really?!??), I still believe Meta makes great virtual reality hardware! So I ordered a Meta Quest 3 (512GB model), an Elite strap with battery, and a carrying case to take it with me.
This will be my test device, and I will be evaluating how well it fits into the hardware selection that will form part of the virtual reality lab for my university library system (more details here). A committee that helps drive the project forward.
As I unpack and set up Meta Quest 3, I’ll compare it to my previous experience with Meta Quest 2. You can read our review of the Quest 2 here: A Hands-On Review of the Meta Quest 2 (256GB model, Elite Strap (battery included)
My first impressions: Wow, these boxes are getting smaller and lighter every time! and: Wow, the hand controller looks small. Anyway, without wasting any time, I started unboxing.
I scanned the QR code on the inside of the Meta Quest 2 box and this was the first thing it showed on my iPhone.
Regular readers of my blog will remember my disgust with Meta’s level of consumer surveillance. immediately Hit the don’t share button! I feel like Meta is already vacuuming up a huge amount of my personal data!
Since I already had the Oculus app installed on my work iPhone when I set up the Meta Quest 2, the QR code didn’t really do much. I was a bit annoyed that there wasn’t a paper set of step-by-step instructions for setting up the Quest 3, so I did some searching and found this webpage. This webpage has provided a helpful video and some tips on how to install it. It has begun.
The head strap that comes with the Meta Quest 3 is serviceable, but doesn’t really help with repositioning the heavy headset on the front (the Quest 3 weighs about the same as the Quest 2, but is noticeably thinner). So one of the first things I did was unpack the Elite strap with the battery and replace the stock strap. The sturdy strap design not only adds hours to your Quest 3’s usage time, but also reduces pressure on your face and evenly distributes the overall weight for a more comfortable fit (which also helps with longer usage).
The Elite Strap has a handle on the back that can be adjusted to fit your head, or can be used to make it more compact to fit into a sturdy-feeling carrying case.
One thing I’m not happy with is that the charging cable is ridiculously short! Meta, would you have lost your life if you had included a longer charging cable? Don’t be too cheap!
At first I thought the Quest 3’s hand controller was much smaller than its predecessor, but it’s actually about the same size. Only the top “loop” is missing, and this has been replaced with improvements to the overall tracking system. (I have enabled hand tracking, i.e. the ability to use hand gestures instead of hand controllers, but haven’t tested it yet.)
Update March 2, 2024: I haven’t had much opportunity to try out Meta Quest 3 recently, but I had it in my carry-on bag when I flew to Alberta to spend last Christmas with the rest of my friends. I used this device to give several families a virtual reality experience into the world of their loft apartment via VRChat. (My go-to place to give people their first VR experience is my favorite tropical beach world on VRChat. dark blueUnfortunately, it only works with high-end tethered PVCR headsets, like the Valve Index on the Vive Pro 2.) In my opinion, the Meta Quest 3 is the perfect portable device to introduce people to the world of virtual reality!
You can also use the fiber-optic Quest Link cable (available for CA$109.99 through the Meta website) to connect the standalone Meta Quest 3 to a high-end Windows PC with good graphics, turning it into a PCVR headset. card.
I wanted to mention what a visual improvement Meta Quest 3 has over its predecessor, Meta Quest 2. The so-called “screendoor” effect (where you can see the gaps between pixels in the headset view) has been greatly reduced, the graphics have really improved, and tasks like reading text have become much easier. However, where there is a real noticeable improvement between Quest 2 and 3 is full color pass-through! According to Meta:
With full-color pass-through, Quest 3 and Quest Pro provide a more comfortable, high-fidelity, real-time representation of the physical world around you. These advancements in Passthrough not only enhance the VR experience as we know it today, but are also the basis for new features that allow us to interact directly with the real world while in VR. Activities supported by full color passthrough include:
- Use mixed reality apps that combine and use items from the real and virtual worlds.
- Use a real keyboard and other objects on a real desk.
- (Meta Horizon) Interact with others in the same space as part of a collaborative experience, such as holding meetings in Workrooms.
I look forward to spending more time with Meta Quest 3 over the coming months, exploring a variety of apps and platforms, and will report more often on how things are going!
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