Meta Connect 2023 – 5 things the Meta Quest 3 needs to win the VR headset war
Zuckerberg will be delivering a keynote dedicated to showing off the Meta Quest 3 features in today's Meta Connect event and here's what I'm hoping we'll see.
With the two-day Meta Connect 2023 event set to kick off tonight, I'm eager to see what's in store for the Meta Quest 3. As a VR fanatic, my Meta Quest 2 is one of my main gaming platforms but I'm the first to admit that the VR headset has its flaws. The Meta Quest 3 needs some serious upgrades to keep up with the current state of the VR market, especially considering the fact that it comes in at a very similar price point to Sony's PSVR 2 headset which will
On top of that, there are some glaring issues around the Meta Quest 3 price that will only be exacerbated if Meta offers a 256GB model.
After being announced earlier this year, Meta has been quite tight-lipped about the upcoming Meta Quest 3 but Meta Connect 2023 will be featuring a keynote from Mark Zuckerberg himself, covering all of the details of the headset. Here are the features I think the newest VR headset needs in order to compete with the competition.
1. Elite Strap included or discounted
Using the Elite Strap for the Meta Quest 2 made such a major difference to my experience. The Elite Strap makes the headset infinitely more comfortable, meaning I could enjoy longer play sessions. The only downside is that it's a fairly pricey accessory coming in at £60 / $50 / AU$90, making it difficult to justify the purchase. Having it offered at a lower price or bundled with the Meta Quest 3 at a discounted rate would be the next best option.
Meta Quest 3 – everything we know so far including price, specs and rumours
2. AR support
We know that the Meta Quest 3 will have high-fidelity colour passthrough but it's not clear whether or not the device will be optimised for seamless augmented reality use like the Meta Quest Pro. Other crucial factors that need to be considered for AR to work correctly are headset tracking, and whether or not the cameras are able to correctly register objects in your play space and at floor level – things which constantly plagued the Meta Quest 2.
Meta hasn't confirmed whether or not these features have been upgraded on the upcoming Meta Quest 3 meaning despite the fancy high-fidelity colour passthrough being, the device may not have AR compatibility. If it does, I'm looking forward to seeing more AR titles hit the Meta Quest storefront and take advantage of this tech.
3. Wireless charging dock
One major downside of the Meta Quest 2 is that the controllers rely on AA batteries, and being realistic for a second, no one has spare batteries lying around in 2023 anymore. Another reason the Xbox wireless controller needs to ditch them. I often have to go out of my way to buy batteries solely for my Meta Quest 2 controllers.
We already know that the Meta Quest 3 controllers are going to follow suit, with a reliance on batteries again but I'm still hoping that we may get a wireless charging dock similar to the PSVR 2. Ideally, this dock would charge both the headset and the controllers because getting an alert about a low-battery level in the middle of an intense Beat Saber session is starting to drive me up the wall.
4. Eye tracking
As I noted in my PSVR2 review, I was really impressed by just how well the eye tracking worked – a feature that's missing from the Meta Quest 2 entirely. Expecting Meta Quest 3 eye tracking is definitely optimistic given there has been no confirmation from Meta that it's something being worked on for the VR headset, but I'm going to continue to hold out hope.
Eye tracking is, in my opinion, a key feature of a VR headset – it creates less strain on the GPU since objects in your peripheral vision are rendered with a lower fidelity. Given that the Meta Quest 3 is an all-in-one VR headset, the chip won't be anywhere near as powerful as the one in the PS5 which the PSVR 2 runs off of, meaning eye tracking could've been its saving grace. Fingers crossed.
5. Better comfort for glasses wearers
This is definitely more of a personal issue but I'm sure my fellow glasses wearers out there will agree that even with the included attachment, the Meta Quest 2 is a finicky mess to put on. I'm constantly finding myself reaching into my Meta Quest 2 and adjusting my spectacles – something I don't have to do with the PSVR 2. So let's hope the Meta Quest 3 follows suit.
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