If you’re disappointed by the astronomically high price of the Meta Quest Pro, don’t be too disheartened – Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that the upcoming Oculus Quest 3 will cost somewhere between $300 and $500 (roughly £270 to £450 / AU$480 to AU$800).
While we didn’t hear anything about the Oculus Quest 3 at the Meta Connect 2022 keynote – instead we were treated to the full reveal of Project Cambria, a.k.a. the Meta Quest Pro – Zuckerberg hasn’t let the event pass by without mentioning the true successor to the Oculus Quest 2.
In an interview with Stratechery, the Meta CEO reaffirmed that the Oculus Quest 3 was on its way, but “not this year,” and that it will be in the “price range of $300, $400, or $500, that zone.”
The low-key announcement follows a massive leak back in September which revealed the Quest 3 might look similar to the Quest 2, although thanks to new 'pancake lenses it should be thinner (and hopefully a bit lighter) than its predecessor.
Disappointingly though, the Quest 3’s leaked design doesn’t show us any signs of eye-tracking – a feature that's present on the Meta Quest Pro, and which the upcoming PlayStation VR 2 headset will also have. Meta had given us the impression that these were key features that it wanted to bring to its budget-friendly headsets as soon as it could, but that may not be the case.
However, as we always say, leaks should be taken with a pinch of salt. The headset leaked in September could be for an earlier or alternative prototype of the Quest 3, or it could be a complete fake. The only way to really know what the Oculus Quest 3 looks like is to get it in our hands – and based on Zuckerberg's comments it’s at least a year away.
Analysis: a headset worth waiting for
If you aren’t sold on the Oculus Quest 2, and are instead weighing up the Meta Quest Pro and the Oculus Quest 3, we’d recommend thinking about what you most want out of a VR headset.
If you’re after a headset that’s got powerful components under the hood, is comfier than any other standalone headset we’ve used, and is available to buy today, then the Meta Quest Pro could be the device for you; however, at $1,500 / £1,500 / AU$2,499 it’s not exactly cheap, and from our experience it’s going to be much better suited to mixed reality experiences than VR ones.
That’s because it’s designed to give you a fairly clear view of the real world out the sides and bottom of the headset, while a more traditionally designed VR headset completely obscures your view of reality.
If you’re instead looking for a budget-friendly device that will completely immerse you in the best VR games, without you needing to buy an additional attachment like with the Quest Pro, then you might want to wait for the Oculus Quest 3.
Alternatively, you could check out our picks for the best VR headsets out there, and if you’re in the UK you might want to think about grabbing the Quest 2’s new rival: the Pico 4.
