Meta Quest 3 128GB – Breakthrough mixed reality
Meta Quest 3 128GB – Breakthrough mixed reality – Powerful performance – Asgard’s Wrath 2 bundle
Meta Quest 3 128GB – Breakthrough mixed reality – Powerful performance – Asgard’s Wrath 2 bundle
Would’ve been 5 stars but there are some minor issues.
First of all, don’t get me wrong this headset is some of the best VR experience you could get around this price point.
Ok so the headset is pretty heavy and the straps are not the best so the headset gets uncomfortable if you are on it for longer than 2-3 hours which is exactly around the battery life of the headset so it’s pretty short. I plug a 15-foot cable in when in used to extend the battery life, it doesn’t fully charge even if you plug in while you play just slows down the battery depletion.
Using the controllers gives you a better experience with interacting with videos and menus as the headset sometimes reads your hand movements when there are none.
So if you can look past the discomfort and inconveniences you are in for a really good experience and like I said these are minor issues I would still recommend the headset as I use it almost daily.
8/10
My only negative comments would be that it (like it’s predecessor the Quest 2) is not very comfortable and therefore additonal comfort items like a new face cover and headstrap such as the Bobo VR M3 is basically a required purchase. The same applies to an extra battery as the battery life is not great if you don’t add some extra power.
With the negatives out of the way, the positives are plentiful so I’ll just summarise a few:
– The new pancake lens are great and so clear. I only realised just how clear when I put back on my old Quest 2 and it looked awful by comparison!
– The resolution has been bumped up a bit and at this point it’s perfectly fine for reading pretty much anything in VR and the resolution is nice enough that 4K movies now look somewhere between 1080p and 4K to your eye. Pleasing image quality, if not quite at Blu Ray levels just yet!
– On that point, you can also play 3D movies in your Quest! 🙂
– Quest 3 has received upgrades to its connectivity so you can now play even better wireless PCVR via Wifi 6E. Lots of technical detail behind that, but it’s quite critical to anyone that is investing in the headset to play with a PC
– However, I’m also pleased to say that the Quest 3 is quite a capable standalone device now too. The new chipset means it can actually play reasonably complex games (e.g. Assassin’s Creed Nexus) at a nice quality and decent framerate. To be honest, the Quest 2 just wasn’t powerful enough. It really struggled with anything beyond simple stuff like Pistol Whip or Walkabout Minigolf. Quest 3 however, actually feels like something you would choose to play bigger games in!
– Final comment: If you install the OculusGameOptimizer, you can get even nicer resolutions and framerates (at the expense of battery life) and I highly recommend any Quest 3 users look into that option!
All in all, I’m very pleased I upgraded to the Quest 3. It’s really re-energised by passion for VR!
I have been using this headset for a few weeks now and I can safely say that it is an improvement from my Oculus Rift S. The pancake lens help make everything look better and sharper. Passthrough is also impressive and was interesting to see how much better it was to my Rift S.
My only issue with the Quest 3 so far is that it can really strain your eyes. On the lowest eye-relief setting it is pretty noticeable and can really throw you off from enjoying the Quest 3. On max settings though, it is a lot better but can be noticeable at times.
Overall, I think it was worthwhile purchase and upgrade to my previous VR. I recommend playing at max eye-relief settings though so you wont experience crazy eye burns like I did. I would like to point out that I do wear glasses so it may or may not make a difference and it may differ between people.
I already own a Q2 and a Pico 4 and mainly play pcvr games.
Being a gadget geek and reading so many good reviews and watching countless YouTube videos on this device, I thought, why not and bought one.
It’s not a massive leap in visual quality over the Pico 4 bit is definitely better and the colours are more vivid.
Where this really shines and absolutely blew me away is the mixed reality mode. Oh my gosh the free included game, FIRST ENCOUNTER will blow your socks off!
You scan your room/environment and once complete the game starts. A small rocket busts through your ceiling, bits of plaster dropping everywhere and the rocket lands in front of you, complete with thrusters looking like it’s scorching the laminate flooring!
Grab your alien gun and scan the walls and ceiling etc and you can then hear the little furball aliens trying to break into your room! They make sort of minion type noises which is quite funny.
The aim of the game is to shoot as many as possible in 2 minutes meanwhile , in my case, watching my kitchen get destroyed!
Once finished , take off the headset and as if by magic, your room is fine.
Just brilliant! Best gaming experience I’ve had in all my gaming life which started back in 1979.
Briefly tried the zombie one but that takes a bit more room setting up in the headset.
Just brilliant this headset, highly recommended.
While an improvement on the Quest 2, as far as weight distribution is concerned, Quest 3 is even heavier and the supplied strap is awful. You will need to buy a 3rd party one.
Battery life can be very poor, dependent on what you’re running, with MR (mixed reality) hitting the battery harder. Going back to the replacement headstrap point, it’s sensible to buy one that has either a built in one, or a hot swappable one (but not the official one, which is 2-3 times the price and offers little extra power). Do your research on YouTube for recommendations. There is an issue with almost all battery straps, when it comes to providing enough power currently, though all the higher rated ones will noticeably make things better. There just might be a better option, a few months down the line.
Do you wear glasses for short-sightedness? In theory you can wear your glasses, but an essential purchase are prescription lens inserts, which will cost anywhere between 30-80. More expensive is not necessarily better, but it is certainly more expensive.
If you’re new to VR, you may initially experience some nausea. If you do, come out immediately and don’t attempt to go back until it’s completely abated. The next day ideally. Many games have ‘comfort settings’, consider using them until you get your ‘VR Legs’.
Now, the reasons to convince you into buying one:
Meta Quest 3 offers a clear, stable image that allows for fully immersive experiences that you cannot experience in any other way, whether that’s straight gaming, or apps that will allow you to paint in oils and even teach you, follow workout programs in the privacy of your home, learn to play piano, or many other activities. You can watch films and TV on a giant screen, even a full sized cinema screen (3D films work better in VR than any other medium). You can learn to model in 3D, or just socialise.
VR isn’t just another games console, but when it comes to games, it does them very well too, but it does them differently. For the most part you probably won’t spend as long in a session as you would on a traditional console, as playing in VR is physical. You will get tired and possibly sweaty. This isn’t couch potato fare.
+ The displays are incredible;
+ The new pass-through is truly next level;
+ The tracking has been floorless;
+ The new depth sensor makes hand tracking and boundaries a breeze;
+ The future potential with Meta’s track record of updates is extremely promising;
– Uncertainty about battery life long-term;
– Replace the fabric strap as soon as possible;
– Not a required replacement for Quest 2 owners;
– Possible audio issues (to be confirmed).
I mainly use VR linked to my PC for racing sims, 3D modeling, shooters, PC usage and general experiences.
If you’ve previously used a Quest 2 you know that you can’t just read messages on your phone or quickly check something on your PC without having to take the entire headset off. Those annoyances are no longer. I will stress it’s not perfect. But it’s actually doable now. Along with being able to record the pass-through (attached), it’s truely next gen.
The mix of the depth sensor and dual front cameras opens the door for potential 3D video recording and even 3D scanning directly from the headset and bringing it into the virtual world which would be very exciting.
If this is your first headset, you might think that the fabric strap is good enough. All I can say is once you try a proper head strap, you’d never go back. Even though it technically weighs more than the quest 2, the balance is a lot closer to your face and (with a proper strap) holds a lot nicer without causing strain on your neck.
The Quest 3 has a bigger battery, but a more powerful processor. The battery lasts around 2 hours as advertised, which does give you the opportunity to have a break. But isn’t ideal for intense sessions to be interrupted by required charging. Even while plugged into the PC only extends its life an extra hour or so and current third party battery solutions seem to not be able to even keep the Quest 3 charged while being used as well.
In regards to the audio issues, for my device it seems that the internal speakers have a occasional popping or cracking issue. Looking online it could be just a fault with my device. But will provide updates on the review if required.
Updated review here.
Can connect to pc vr games and steam vr with or without the link cable.
As long as have wifi can connect without lead, however battery will reduce but if connect using link cable via Thunderbolt 4 connection on pc then will charge headset whilst playing games etc.
Graphical display is so much crisper than previous quests etc and playing games varies depending on the game but some of the game si play show the graphics very well.
Really impressive graphics thorughout even though some cheaper games have basic graphical display.
Changed the headset band to elite aftermarket version as felt that the original headband was not sturdy enough.
Microphone and headphone side of things are really good as even though build in, the headphones can be heard clearly and same with microphone speak being very clear.
I have not come across any issues and hopefully won`t do.
It is worth getting a link cable (Kuject Link Cable 5M 19.99), which cost me 16 and USB-C to USB-C. (you do not need one which also connects the origiall charger to the cable, just connect a USB-C to USB-C to Thunderbolt 4 port on pc)
Original review below.
Had the original Oculus Rift CV1 and decided that it was time to upgrade to the latest in VR.
Meta Quest 3 came in a much smaller box than i thoguht it would but this does not have the seperate sensors like the old one.
Setup was very easy and took less than 10 minutes as it was doing update for initial use and then connecting to network and setting up avatar.
Once this was done, everything was easy to navigate and i also managed to get it to connect to my pc via the link cable i purchased which also charges it whilst in use.
If you decide to connect to pc then use the Thunderbolt 4 port as will charge whilst in use.
Love the design of the headset and the display is so much more defined as well as the pancake lenses.
Viewing through the headset is a pleasure with the graphics looking absolutely amazing (compared to the original Oculus Rift)
Might have cost more but worth every penny.
Not tried games as of yet due to time but once i do, hopefully will update this review