Enlarge / Look into my eyes... all three of them. (credit: Meta)

You'd be forgiven for not realizing that the Quest 3 is actually the fourth headset in Meta's popular Quest line. In fact, Meta would probably prefer that everyone forget about last year's ill-considered Quest Pro , which paired a handful of minor improvements with an absolutely massive $1,500 starting price. Even a quick price drop to $1,000 couldn't save this over-engineered stopgap gadget.

What a difference a year makes—or three years, for VR aficionados who wisely stuck with 2020's Quest 2 until now. The Quest 3 offers distinct improvements over previous Quest headsets in the areas that matter most (resolution, form factor, etc.) without many of the Pro's more expensive, heavy, and least necessary indulgences (eye-tracking cameras, rechargeable controllers, charging dock, etc.). The Quest 3 also offers a usable (but rough) suite of new mixed-reality features, providing an intriguing glimpse of a world where VR content is routinely layered over our view of reality.

Most importantly, the Quest 3 does this all at a mass-market price (starting at $500) and in a way that ensures continuity with Quest's existing software. While there's nothing here that will usher in the long-sought virtual reality revolution , this is the kind of incremental improvement the space needs if it's going to continue to increase the size of its niche .

Enlarge / Apple's Vision Pro headset. (credit: Samuel Axon)

When it jumps into a new market for the first time, Apple has a long history of releasing intriguing first-generation devices, followed by second- or third-generation revisions that realize the full potential of the original idea. Examples of this phenomenon include the second-generation iPod, which expanded compatibility beyond the Mac; the iPhone 3G refresh that increased cellular data speeds and ushered in the App Store; the 2010 MacBook Air refresh that switched to all-SSD storage and defined the template for the modern laptop; and the long-lived iPad 2 , which did most of the same things as the first iPad but in a much faster and lighter package.

Apple is already working on a next-generation version of its Vision Pro headset to address early complaints about the as-yet-unreleased first-generation model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The headset's roughly 1-pound weight has apparently "caused neck strain" among some testers, and Apple allegedly sees the not-yet-finalized optional top strap as an imperfect solution to the problem. Apple also wants to reduce the device's size along with its weight.

Apple is also considering changing the way that prescription lenses are built into the headset. The initial version will use interchangeable Zeiss lenses that attach to the headset magnetically, but next-gen versions could have prescription lenses built-in during manufacturing.

Enlarge / The Quest 3 release date is unveiled at the Meta Connect conference.

Following a small tease in July , Meta has announced an October 10 release date for its Quest 3 headset. The follow-up to 2020's hot-selling Quest 2 and 2022's overpriced Quest Pro will start at $499 for a 128GB model or $649 for a 512GB model.

The lower-end model comes bundled with a copy of Asgard's Wrath 2 (available in winter 2023), while the higher-end model also includes a six-month subscription to the Meta Quest+ software subscription service .

The new headset upgrades the Snapdragon XR2 line powering previous Quest headsets to a "Gen 2" chipset, according to specs posted online . That means double the processing power and 30 percent more total resolution than Quest 2 (2064×2208 pixels per eye; 25 pixels per degree). The Quest 3 also sports 8GB of RAM, up from the 6GB of the Quest 2 but down from the 12GB on the Quest Pro.

Enlarge / Is this the new face of the tabletop RPG player? Demeo maker Resolution Games thinks it might be.

Resolution Games today announced that a version of Demeo —the developer's popular virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) tabletop RPG simulator—is in "active development" for the Apple Vision Pro headset. The title is among the first VR/MR games to be officially confirmed for Apple's highly anticipated $3,500 wearable computing device , which is expected early next year.

After Demeo 's launch in 2021 , Resolution Games added a Mixed Reality update late last year that places in-game objects on top of a view of the real world (via passthrough cameras on compatible headsets like Meta's Quest 2 and Quest Pro and the upcoming Quest 3 ). A "Mixed Reality 2.0" update for the game, launching today, adds support for controller-free hand-tracking as well as "co-location" of mixed reality items, which can now appear in the same place for multiple users in the same physical room.

Those kinds of MR features will be useful on the Apple Vision Pro, which doesn't use handheld controllers and is primarily focused on MR apps that can be layered over a view of the real world. But Resolution Games says Vision Pro will also support a "fully virtual" version of the game that doesn't integrate passthrough images.

Enlarge / The Meta Quest Pro. (credit: Meta)

Today, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to social media to announce that his company has launched a subscription service that gives users access to VR games every month. A blog post on Meta's website confirmed the details shortly afterward.

The service, Meta Quest+, will cost $7.99 per month, or $59.99 annually. For that, subscribers can download two curated VR games for free each month. In this first month, the games are Pistol Whip , a critically and commercially successful 2019 shooter from Cloudhead Games, and 2020's Pixel Ripped 1995 , a retro-themed experience wherein players relive experiences endemic to the 1990s in low-poly VR.

Meta is positioning the service as a way to reduce the browsing and guesswork about which games to buy so users can "browse less" and "play more," suggesting that the goal here is to curate the very best of what's available on Meta's VR game marketplace.

Enlarge / This is Apple’s Vision Pro headset. It looks a bit like a particularly bulky pair of ski goggles, with the materials and design language of Apple’s AirPods Max headphones. (credit: Samuel Axon)

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Going into the Vision Pro demo room at Apple’s WWDC conference, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The keynote presentation, which showed everything from desktop productivity apps to dinosaurs circling a Vision Pro user in space, seemed impressive, but augmented reality promotional videos often do.

They depict a seamless experience in which the elements of digital space merge with the user’s actual surroundings completely. When you actually put on the headset, though, you'll often find that the promotional video was pure aspiration and reality still has some catching up to do.

That was not my experience with Vision Pro. To be clear, it wasn’t perfect. But it’s the first time I’ve tried an AR demo and thought, “Yep, what they showed in the promo video was pretty much how it really works.”

Enlarge / Apple's Vision Pro headset

CUPERTINO, Calif.—After years of speculation, leaks, rumors, setbacks, and rumblings of amazing behind-the-scenes demos, Apple has made its plans for a mixed reality platform and headset public. Vision Pro is "the first Apple Product you look through, not at," Apple's Tim Cook said, a "new AR platform with a new product" that "augments reality by seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world."

"I believe augmented reality is a profound technology. Blending digital content with the real world can unlock new experiences," Cook said.

The headset, which looks like a pair of shiny ski goggles, can be controlled without a handheld controller. It solely uses your eyes, hands, and voice as an interface, and the EyeSight system lets you "control the system simply by looking." Icons and other UI elements react to your gaze, and you use natural gestures with your hands to select them—no need to hold your hands awkwardly in front of you constantly.