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Meta Quest 3: What to Expect in 2023

Meta’s next headset should be a lot less expensive than Apple’s, and is arriving this year. Could it have an edge?

This has been a big year for new VR headsets: the PlayStation VR 2 and Vive XR Elite are already here, and Apple’s mixed reality headset should be announced in a matter of weeks. The biggest product of all of them, however, could be the Meta Quest 3.

Meta’s sequel to the most popular VR headset in the world right now will be a 2023 product, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg has already confirmed it will be priced similarly to the Quest 2. That should mean it’ll be a far more affordable headset than what Apple is readying. 

Will it also be the best? Here’s what we expect.

Meta Quest Pro virtual reality headset Meta Quest Pro virtual reality headset

The Quest Pro (left) next to the Quest 2 (right). The Quest 3 may be smaller in the front like the Pro, but with the Quest 2’s elastic head straps.

Scott Stein/CNET

Price: Somewhere around $400?

Meta’s work-focused Quest Pro headset that debuted last fall was a misfire, starting at $1,500 and now reduced to $1,000. Meta’s Quest 3 should fall in line with the $400 price of the Quest 2 headset (although that’s an increase from the Quest 2’s original price of $300). Although considering it will likely have better performance and features, it could end up being a little more expensive. 

That price would be less than the PlayStation VR 2, which also needs a PlayStation 5 to work. And it would likely be thousands of dollars less than what the Apple headset is expected to cost, which many industry watchers are pinning at $3000. 

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Watch this: Meta Quest Pro Half a Year Later: Why I Wear It and Why You Should Wait for the Quest 3

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Features: Mixed reality, but maybe not eye tracking

The future of VR is already moving towards mixed reality, blending VR with real-world surroundings using passthrough cameras projecting real-time footage in-headset. The Quest Pro and Vive XR Elite already do it, and Apple’s headset is expected to do the same.

The Quest 3 should have color passthrough cameras, much like the Quest Pro, Vive XR Elite and Pico 4 do. The Quest 2 has only a basic monochrome passthrough camera. The Quest 3 could also have better depth sensing capabilities, either through improved on-headset sensors or computer vision algorithms. Meta’s selection of mixed reality apps is pretty bare right now, but a mainstream Quest 3 that also taps into the possibilities could spark a lot more apps and games.

VR/AR YouTuber Bradley Lynch detailed a bunch of Quest 3 features last year based on leaks from Meta, which details a lot of what to expect: a depth sensor is planned to be onboard.

Eye tracking may be left out. The Quest Pro has eye tracking and face tracking, which can be turned off in settings and isn’t used for all apps. The PlayStation VR 2 uses eye tracking frequently to optimize graphics performance, but it’s also tethered to the PS5, and doesn’t have to deal with battery drain concerns. The Quest 3 might skip the feature to save on cost, or perhaps because Meta isn’t ready to deal with the privacy ramifications yet. 

A new processor is expected, though. The aging Snapdragon XR2 chip could get a true follow-up (reports say it’ll be a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2), improving graphics and speed for the new headset, and maybe battery performance as well. Qualcomm already has a multi-year partnership with Meta, unveiling new XR chips that will roll out to other devices in the future. This could be the debut of a new chip, much like the XR2 was for the Quest 2.

Storage sizes and RAM might be upgraded as well, according to Lynch’s report from last year, with a 512GB storage option finally becoming available. 

pico-4-vs-quest-2-size pico-4-vs-quest-2-size

The Pico 4 (left) is significantly smaller in the front than the Quest 2 (right), but the battery gets moved to the larger back strap. The Quest 3 should also be smaller, with the battery staying in the front.

Scott Stein/CNET

Slimmer design

Meta’s improved «pancake optics» lenses for the Quest Pro slimmed down the front of the VR headset versus the Quest 2, with a clearer lens to boot. The Pico 4 headset, another affordable Quest 2-range VR headset, added pancake optics last year. The Quest 3 should get this upgrade too, adding up to a much smaller headset size than the Quest 2.

Smaller could mean more portable. Will new cases and accessories emphasize this? Being able to take a Quest 3 on trips more easily would be a big advantage. HTC’s Vive XR Elite folds down into the size of a pair of (big) glasses, with an optional tube-shaped carry case.

Meta Quest Pro virtual reality headset Meta Quest Pro virtual reality headset

The Quest Pro controller (right) is a big redesign over the Quest 2 controller (left).

Scott Stein/CNET

It could work with Meta’s new Quest Pro controllers

Meta updated its controllers with the Quest Pro, adding cameras for better tracking consistency and shrinking down the size. These controllers are currently an expensive upgrade for Quest 2 owners, they sell for $300 separately, but would Meta include them with the Quest 3? Or could they still be optional upgrades?

Another possibility could be another redesigned set of controllers. Meta doesn’t seem ready to get rid of controllers completely for the Quest, although that seems to be the long-term strategy as hand tracking continues to improve.

Lynch also showed leaked looks at the headset last year that suggested the Quest 3 might charge in the current Quest Pro dock.

Games should be a major focus, once again

Meta’s experiments in work and social apps – aka, the metaverse – haven’t taken off, which means gaming is still the biggest use for the Quest 2 (along with fitness). Meta’s upcoming games showcase on June 1 is emphasizing that the Quest 2 is, first and foremost, a game console.

With an expected fall debut, the Quest 3 will likely be positioned again as a game console with a lot of potential fitness, work and social benefits. It’s Meta’s safest bet, and with its expected console-level price, not an absurd proposition in a year where there aren’t expected to be any other new game console debuts to compete with.

Will Quest 3 spark a wave of mixed reality apps?

The Quest 3’s bigger mixed reality focus, and its lower price than the Quest Pro, should finally trigger a wave of new apps that aim to use mixed reality more often. It’s the Quest 3’s biggest new feature, and with Apple likely to show off mixed reality quite a bit as well, it might mean developers are finally going to think in a more AR-like mindset. It’s Meta’s biggest opportunity to try to advance the Quest experience beyond its VR-minded status.

If you’re looking to buy a headset, you should wait

At this point, the fall isn’t far away. The Quest 3 looks like it’ll be the best Meta VR headset, and could be one of the best options for its price when it arrives. Anyone looking for a headset right now should hold off and see what’s coming, especially with both this and Apple’s headset on the horizon.

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Tariffs Explained: Latest on Trump’s Shifting Import Tax Plan, and What It Means

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Apple, I’m (Sky) Blue About Your iPhone 17 Air Color

Commentary: The rumored new hue of the iPhone 17 Air is more sky blah than sky blue.

I can’t help but feel blue about the latest rumor that Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 17 Air will take flight in a subtle, light-hued color called sky blue.

Sky blue isn’t a new color for Apple. It’s the featured shade of the current M4 MacBook Air, a shimmer of cerulean so subtle as to almost be missed. It’s silver left too close to an aquarium; silver that secretly likes to think it’s blue but doesn’t want everyone else to notice.

Do Apple employees get to go outside and see a real blue sky? It’s actually vivid, you can check for yourself. Perhaps the muted sky blue color reflects a Bay Area late winter/early spring frequent layer of clouds like we typically see here in Seattle.

«Who cares?» you might find yourself saying. «Everyone gets a case anyway.» I hear you and everyone else who’s told me that. But design-focused Apple is as obsessive about colors as they are about making their devices thinner. And I wonder if their heads are in the clouds about which hues adorn their pro products.

Making the case for a caseless color iPhone

I’m more invested in this conversation than most — I’m one of those freaks who doesn’t wrap my phone in a case. I find cases bulky and superfluous, and I like to be able to see Apple’s design work. Also, true story, I’ve broken my iPhone screen only twice: First when it was in a «bumper» that Apple sent free in response to the iPhone 4 you’re-holding-it-wrong Antennagate fiasco, and second when trying to take long exposure starry night photos using what I didn’t realize was a broken tripod mount. My one-week-old iPhone 13 Pro slipped sideways and landed screen-first on a pointy rock. A case wouldn’t have saved it.

My current model is an iPhone 16 Pro in black titanium — which I know seems like avoiding color entirely — but previously I’ve gone for colors like blue titanium and deep purple. I wanted to like deep purple the most but it came across as, in the words of Patrick Holland in his iPhone 14 Pro review, «a drab shade of gray or like Grimace purple,» depending on the light.

Pros can be bold, too

Maybe the issue is too many soft blues. Since the iPhone Pro age began with the iPhone 11 Pro, we’ve seen variations like blue titanium (iPhone 15 Pro), sierra blue (iPhone 13 Pro) and pacific blue (iPhone 12 Pro).

Pacific blue is the boldest of the bunch, if by bold you mean dark enough to discern from silver, but it’s also close enough to that year’s graphite color that seeing blue depends on the surrounding lighting. By comparison, the blue (just «blue») color of the iPhone 12 was unmistakably bright blue.

In fact, the non-Pro lines have embraced vibrant colors. It’s as if Apple is equating «pro» with «sophisticated,» as in «A real pro would never brandish something this garish.» I see this in the camera world all the time: If it’s not all-black, it’s not a «serious» camera.

And yet I know lots of pros who are not sophisticated — proudly so. People choose colors to express themselves, so forcing that idea of professionalism through color feels needlessly restrictive. A bright pink iPhone 16 might make you smile every time you pick it up but then frown because it doesn’t have a telephoto camera.

Color is also important because it can sway a purchase decision. «I would buy a sky blue iPhone yesterday,» my colleague Gael Cooper texted after the first rumor popped online. When each new generation of iPhones arrive, less technically different than the one before, a color you fall in love with can push you into trading in your perfectly-capable model for a new one.

And lest you think Apple should just stick with black and white for its professional phones: Do you mean black, jet black, space black, midnight black, black titanium, graphite or space gray? At least the lighter end of the spectrum has stuck to just white, white titanium and silver over the years.

Apple never got ahead by being beige

I’m sure Apple has reams of studies and customer feedback that support which colors make it to production each year. Like I said, Apple’s designers are obsessive (in a good way). And I must remind myself that a sky blue iPhone 17 Air is a rumored color on a rumored product so all the usual caveats apply.

But we’re talking about Apple here. The scrappy startup that spent more than any other company on business cards at the time because each one included the old six-color Apple logo. The company that not only shaped the first iMac like a tipped-over gumdrop, that not only made the case partially see-through but then made that cover brilliant Bondi blue.

Embrace the iPhone colors, Apple.

If that makes you nervous, don’t worry: Most people will put a case on it anyway.

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Astronomers Say There’s an Increased Possibility of Life on This Distant Planet

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are working to confirm potential evidence of life on a distant exoplanet dubbed K2-18b.

Astronomers are nearing a statistically significant finding that could confirm the potential signs of life detected on the distant exoplanet K2-18b are no accident.

The team of astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, used data from the James Webb Space Telescope (which has only been in use since the end of 2021) to detect chemical traces of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), which they say can only be produced by life such as phytoplankton in the sea. 

According to the university, «the results are the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on a planet outside our solar system.»

The findings were published this week in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and point to the possibility of an ocean on this planet’s surface, which scientists have been hoping to discover for years. In the abstract for the paper, the team says, «The possibility of hycean worlds, with planet-wide oceans and H2-rich atmospheres, significantly expands and accelerates the search for habitable environments elsewhere.»

Not everyone agrees, however, that what the team found proves there’s life on the exoplanet.

Science writer and OpenMind Magazine founder Corey S. Powell posted about the findings on Bluesky, writing, «The potential discovery of alien life is so enticing that it drags even reputable outlets into running naive or outright misleading stories.» He added, «Here we go again with planet K2-18b.Um….there’s strong evidence of non-biological sources of the molecule DMS.»

K2-18b is 124 light-years away and much larger than Earth (more than eight times our mass), but smaller than Neptune. The search for signs of even basic life on a planet like this increases the chances that there are more planets like Earth that may be inhabitable, with temperatures and atmospheres that could sustain human-like lifeforms. The team behind the paper hopes that more study with the James Webb Space Telescope will help confirm their initial findings.

More research to do on finding life on K2-18b

The exoplanet K2-18b is not the only place where scientists are exploring the possibility of life, and this research is still an early step in the process, said Christopher Glein, a geochemist, planetary researcher and lead scientist at San Antonio’s Southwest Research Institute. Excitement over the significance of the research, he said, should be tempered.

«We need to be careful here,» Glein said. «It appears that there is something in the data that can’t be explained, and DMS/DMDS can provide an explanation. But this detection is stretching the limits of JWST’s capabilities.»

Glein added, «Further work is needed to test whether these molecules are actually present. We also need complementary research assessing the abiotic background on K2-18b and similar planets. That is, the chemistry that can occur in the absence of life in this potentially exotic environment. We might be seeing evidence of some cool chemistry rather than life.»

The TRAPPIST-1 planets, he said, are being researched as potentially habitable, as is LHS 1140b, which he said «is another astrobiologically significant exoplanet, which might be a massive ocean world.»

As for K2-18b, Glein said many more tests need to be performed before there’s consensus on life existing on it.

«Finding evidence of life is like prosecuting a case in the courtroom,» Glein said. «Multiple independent lines of evidence are needed to convince the jury, in this case the worldwide scientific community.» He added, «If this finding holds up, then that’s Step 1.»

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