Mark Zuckerberg teases $499 Meta Quest 3 VR headset – days before Apple is set to unveil its device

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the company’s next-generation mixed reality headset, the Quest 3,  on Thursday as part of its annual gaming conference.

The white-colored headset starts at $499 and is touted as ‘the first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality.’

Zuckerberg teased the tech in an Instagram post, stating that Quest 3 is 40 percent thinner and more comfortable than its predecessors – but is compatible with the entire Quest library with more titles coming.

The announcement came less than a week before tech rival Apple was expected to unveil its first mixed-reality device, which combines augmented and virtual reality elements.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the company’s next-generation mixed reality headset, the Quest 3, on Thursday as part of its annual gaming conference

Meta currently dominates the market for AR/VR devices, with a nearly 80 percent share of the 8.8 million headsets sold in 2022, according to an estimate by market research firm IDC.

Thursday’s announcement was just a tease of the upcoming official reveal. 

Shots and video show Quest 3 features three cameras in the front that could let users immerse themselves in a digital world but still engage with reality.

The video noted that it had improved ‘natural’ depth perception for the wearer and touted graphics improvements for gaming. 

‘High-fidelity color Passthrough, innovative machine learning, and spatial understanding let you interact with virtual content and the physical world simultaneously, creating limitless possibilities to explore,’ Meta shared in the announcement.

These features let users play a virtual board game on a real-world table or decorate their living room with virtual art.

Quest 3 (right) is 40 percent thinner and more comfortable than its predecessors – the Quest 2 (left)

Shots and video show Quest 3 features three cameras in the front that could let users immerse themselves in a digital world but still engage with reality.

Meta also ‘completely redesigned Quest 3’s Touch Plus controllers with a more streamlined and ergonomic form factor’

Employers could use this to simulate high-risk scenarios in staff training, while teachers may use it for immersive learning experiences.

The headset is the first in the line to feature a next-generation Snapdragon chipset developed in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies.

The chip delivers more than twice the graphical performance as the previous generation Snapdragon GPU in Quest 2.

Meta also ‘completely redesigned Quest 3’s Touch Plus controllers with a more streamlined and ergonomic form factor.’

The white-colored headset starts at $499 and is touted as ‘the first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality

The new tech lets users play a virtual board game on a real-world table or decorate their living room with virtual art

The outer tracking rings have been removed, allowing controllers to feel like a natural extension of the user’s hands. 

And TruTouch haptics were also added to the devices.

‘Hand tracking will be supported out of the box, so you can explore without controllers, thanks to Direct Touch that lets you use just your hands to interact with virtual objects,’ reads the announcement.

 Quest 3 can be used to play the more than 500 VR games designed for Quest 2, but many more titles will come.

Meta said the official launch is set to take place later this year at its annual Connect event around September 27.

The announcement also notes that Quest 2 will have a lower price of $299.99 for the 128GB SKU and $349.99 for the 256GB SKU.

Apple is expected to pull the wraps on its long-awaited VR headset on Monday during its annual World Wide Developer Conference.

Expected to be called ‘Reality Pro’, the headset will transport notifications, messages, directions and more from your iPhone to the right in front of your eyes. 

But at a rumored $3,000, the device could be restricted to only the most ardent – and wealthy – Apple fan