The Quest 3 is an amazing piece of technology. I wasn't wowed at first, but the additions detailed below helped me to optimize my device into a daily development tool and entertainment center that I am now wowed by every day. It's a device that feels like looking into the future, but as a modern device of the present, in reality it does have some limitations and hangups, which are luckily easy to fix and improve upon.

At first impression, I can't lie that I was a bit underwhelmed; having already owned the original Oculus Rift and being a few gens behind, I was expecting some sort of immediate quantum leap forward. I was let down instantly by the resolution of the passthrough cams, as well as the Mixed Reality demo app in comparison to the original VR demo app ("First Encounters" was only kind of cool due to the current MR resolution restrictions and simple gameplay, it didn't feel like playing the future in the same way as the retro robot VHS demo for the older systems, but the new "First Hand" hand tracking demo app I played later on is very impressive). Where the mixed reality element shines is the quick passthrough to look around you, and maybe plop a screen up while doing something where you don't need to see any secondary screen around you in reality (other digital screens are often illegible in passthrough mode). The idea this will be worn while consistently doing many other things around the house or office every day is still a bit of a stretch imo: the MR elements are not quite there, they are simply a useful improvement and tool to test, not quite a selling point at the moment. This is the only thing that can't really be improved upon as a purchaser - yet.

Also important to note was my initial consideration of whether I really needed the $500 minimum upgrade in my VR headset. How much of a difference did the new lenses actually make VERSUS the inconvenience of paying for, learning, and connecting this new wireless device to a computer for a stable PCVR experience? The Quest 3 as-is could barely go more than an hour in PCVR mode even when directly connected, let alone Airlink, and it didn't seem to offer any great advantage to PCVR itself, which seemed like a dealbreaker to me. After testing for a few days, at first I didn't feel like I truly needed the upgrade and considered returning the headset and keeping the simple Rift. However it took a few weeks to fully realize the immense potential and power of the device, and more importantly how to optimize my experience, and I am now consistently amazed and enamored by this product. So yes, I do believe it is worth the upgrade, on the merit of many aspects.

First off, the battery life issue was easily fixed by simply using a 20k mAH portable power bank like ones used to charge phones on the go (I got the Anker 335 Power Bank, PowerCore 20k), just make sure it has at least 18W power output so the Quest can charge while in use, getting rid of the battery issues. I can't recommend shelling out for any device mounted battery at the moment due to claims the batteries often can't charge the power hungry Quest as it is being used, which is a must for extended play sessions. Cheap Power Bank did the trick for half the price, you can put it in a fanny pack to wear while playing if you want to cut corners while keeping up comfort and portability.

Secondly, the comfort issues were fixed by buying the AMVR facial interface and headstrap which has thankfully finally been released and makes a massive difference in comfort of use. The original strap was like a cheap jock strap with two uncomfortably stiff rubber bands that dug into your head from all angles, which I did not want to wear for more than a half hour. In comparison with the Rift I would have marathon gaming sessions comfortably with no battery concerns, I am not one to complain about comfort and would usually suck it up, but I was surprised how uncomfortable the entire head mounting setup was, from the cloth facerest to all aspects of the default strap. I'm not sure if this was to cut corners with production costs or to scam people into buying peripheral products, but for $100 it was fully fixed and now feels like your head is under the car seat of a luxury automobile with the pleather cushioning, feels great.

Finally, my main technical issue was with the Quest Link Cable and AirLink, where even when using an AMVR Link Cable with charging port, the resolution, battery life, and latency were all not up to my expectations. I have since bought a designated router with WiFi 6E (I got the TP-Link AXE5400, Archer AXE75), fixing all these issues and keeping the device wireless. By connecting the Quest 3 via AirLink using the routers 6GHz channel and setting the router to Access Point mode, the Quest's AirLink wireless connection is now amazing, with unnoticeable latency and incredible resolution. Note this was a decent hassle to get right, and took some toggling with the Oculus App, Oculus Tray Tool, Router Settings, and Quest 3 device settings to get exactly right, but now I can pop on the headset and jump right into my Remote Desktop mode or a Steam game. Upgrading the router was actually the most significant change that fully realized my hopes for the product, as the resolution and latency increase across all apps, and the ability to connect to PCVR with no strings attached while simultaneously charging the headset with a power bank for endless usage was a true game changer.

P.S. - If your Remote Desktop opens to a blank black screen in AirLink, I recommend looking up the fix for Windows Settings in the Graphics settings in the Display Section, where you set the Oculus Server Desktop app to Battery Saving Mode, which switches it to use the Integrated Graphics instead of GPU, thereby somehow solving the issue for me and many others).

These 3 additions/fixes completely unlocked the potential and optimized my experience with the Quest 3, and I am now able to wirelessly control my desktop with no latency in comfort without having to worry about my battery (just plug it into the power bank when low and keep playing while recharging, then charge the power bank up again after the Quest has recharged enough for endless play). I also bought a clip-on plastic protector for the front of the headset to protect the external cameras that I found for $10 on Amazon, and I may buy controller grips (unnecessary) and Quest-specific Prescription Lens inserts to further increase comfort and prevent scratching the Quest lenses with my glasses.

Now that I have fixed most the foibles I had with it, I am having an absolute blast exploring the many emerging and existent apps in the VR/AR/MR spaces. The Quest's UI and general interactivity is interesting and inviting, and it is easy to launch apps and browse the web while customizing your workspace with screens and whatever else you want to set up your work/play space. In short, it was worth the trouble.

Right away the Resident Evil 4 VR app had me strapped to the headset for 2 weeks in addicted awe, as a long time fan seeing this game replicated in VR around me as a standalone app was worth the price of admission alone. Every other app I've used from Asgard's Wrath to The Climb to Tribe DJ Academy has been an enthralling experience that I enthusiastically share with whoever is around me. It is also really cool to access your daily apps and websites in full 3D stereoscopic motion controlled VIRTUAL REALITY. What a time to be alive.

With the addition of a linkable keyboard which is visible in your headset, daily remote desktop becomes a breeze to work with and increase enjoyable productivity, and even without a mouse+keyboard setup I still use the Remote Desktop and other productivity apps daily. App Developmment could use some process streamlining on Oculus' part, but the hardware is still brand new so developer tutorials specific to Quest 3 will hopefully be on their way soon, and you can piece together the steps for dev work in the meantime.

So realistically, I would tentatively suggest to think of this device as an experimental standalone computer to be optimized through your own input, rather than a ready-to-go console at purchase, as it will take a lot of learning to get used to and to personalize the vanilla base product to your needs. Also expect to spend closer to $1k dollars to really make this a top of the line headset for practical purposes and also purchase all the apps/parts for a strong start, but regardless this is a high quality piece of technical equipment as well as a productivity amplifier and a standalone / auxiliary entertainment center.

It really does make you feel like you are living in the future, and I would highly recommend to any techies, developers, gamers, or media enthusiasts out there who are willing to take the time to delve into the possibilities of this amazing machine. I would also still recommend it for more casual enjoyers, but mainly just to use as a standalone device as it is pretty straightforward and enjoyable to jump right into apps without all the trimmings, so someone less tech-savvy could conceivably still get a lot of use out of it, like a more advanced Kindle you gifted to your luddite Auntie who loves it once they get the hang of it and now plays apps on it all day in her free time.

So to conclude, the Quest 3 is a technical marvel once set up properly. The screen resolution with wireless connection can be amazing (if it doesn't look incredibly crisp keep troubleshooting, it is not supposed to have the pixelated screen door effect as it did when I first started using it). The experience and comfort is now exactly where I want it to be, and overall I can't recommend this headset with the above changes enough.

It is mind-blowing to see where VR is at the moment, and if you have the means, time, and interest, I would say take the plunge, get over the initial learning curve, and take a swim in the digital sea with the Quest 3.

The best VR headset, hands down.

The meta quest 3 is the successor to the meta quest 2 and that is VERY apparent during both initial setup and usage afterwards.Pros:Clarity, Clarity is an absolute GEM with this VR headset, the pancake lenses are so good and clear that when I tried to use a quest 2 it was like looking through the pancake lenses but rubbed all over with VaselineGameplay: the increased resolution and power compared to the quest 2 are absolutely insane. To put it in perspective, The quest 2 and 3 both do a game called "beatsaber" at a lower than native resolution. Looks a little pixelated but that's what the quest 2 could do. Quest 3 can play at the quality of a PC if you tweak it right (install mods to increase resolution, quest 2 would struggle)Weight: The weight distribution is also better, even though the headset is only slightly lighter, because the headset itself is closer to yout face, the weight extrudes less meaning its less front heavy causing less strain on your neck.Middle:Comfort- Comfy headset? Heck yes! But not really with the included strap. The included strap doesn't really even out the weight and puts too much pressure on eyebrows, nose, and cheeks. I found that a halo strap (usually around $35+, mine is the bobovr m3 pro) is a MUST have. The weight makes it feel like you aren't even WEARING a headset.Cons:Space for glasses- if you wear glasses then you will need either an additional spacer for the face cover or lense inserts (I use the Zenni inserts, meta approved). They definitely helped a ton, before when I used glasses with it it put a ton of pressure on my face, which made it bruised in the middle right between my eyes, however, the lense inserts are so good cannot even feel them!Misinterpreted con:Battery life-Battery life is technically worse, however, this is because of passthrough (most of the time, anyways). Passthrough requires the headset to process both a GAME and the environment around you, It isn't just a camera displaying an image, it's 4 cameras stitching together an image in real-time and sensing depth ad well as keeping track of where you are in the plane of the 3d vr world to ensure proper tracking. Hence why it uses more Battery. The quest 3 also uses more battery in heavier more "intesive" games that take advantage of the quest 3's extra performance over the quest 2. An easy and not too expensive remedy is a Battery bank. For games in which you have to move around I recommend the bobovr m3 pro or S3 because they feature Battery packs, the m3 pro has a 5000mah battery bank that increases battery capacity by around 2-3 hours and the s3 around 4-6. And these batteries are hot swappable meaning you can buy more, charge them as you play, and when your existing batteries die you can change them! For basically infinite playtimeI totally recommend this headset for anyone either still on the quest 1, sharing a quest 2, or as your first VR headset ever. Battery life isn't really a problem and a battery bank (18watts or higher) is a great way to fix any battery life issues you'll have, especially for Mixed reality passthrough games

Hi, thanks for asking my opinion, not many companies do.
So, I love / hate my Quest 3. I have owned your first headset, the Go, then the Quest (1), then the Quest 2 and finally bought the Quest 3 on launch day. That is how much I love VR, though to be perfectly honest, lately I really started thinking about getting into PSVR. The reason for this? I am very underwhelmed with the Meta store, for one or two stellar games with great visuals (looking at you Red Matter 2 and the Secret), you have a ton of lousy, repetitive, terrible dynamics and lazy graphics from games being approved by Meta, I do think your standards of approval should be a lot higher (like apple with the iTunes store, they force their developers to upgrade their apps or...out of the store) and to push developers to excel, it really feels like anything is approved, as opposed to what is in the PSVR store, i know it is a different device since it is tethered to a computer but the graphics when i tried one were eons better over the Quest 3. Also I see way too many shooters games compared to other offerings, it s either all out shooting games or zombie games, it is tiring to pick a game because shooting is all that VR offers now in the store, I would like more -mature- offerings, i think a lot of adults use your machines and they make the purchases, not the under 10 years of age crowd. ;) Appeal to the adults and you will make a lot more money that is for sure, more games like the Secret, 7th Guest, Red Matter etc...
So I do see a - small - upgrade in visuals in the Quest 3 as far as hardware but that is it, even the mixed reality can be a bit nice however in my place even with a lot of light my environment looks nothing like in your ad, it is blurry, not crisp at all, pixelated to the max, washed out, it is not what the visual in the ad make it seem it will be.
Then the worse part, the comfort in the Quest is horrible, it hurts me to wear it though ironically the Quest 2 was way more comfortable, now the 3 feels heavier, leaves deep marks on my forehead after just 15 minutes of play, never had that with the previous headsets, it hurts within about 15-20 minutes. To give you an idea, when I got the Quest 2, I thought it was a HUGE upgrade on the Quest 1, both in graphics and in comfort, but now with the 3 I really don t think it is a big upgrade on the Quest 2, not by far, from my experience and I own a ton of games.
I do love the new controllers, smaller and intuitive so that s good but i m very underwhelm by the quality of the visuals so far. My take is, i don t understand why since you are such a huge company (Facebook), you can't force developers to update their game graphics to the latest technology of visuals so they can stay in the store. i would tell them to update the game or we take it out of the store, believe me they would, it would be a win win for both you and them, more people are wowed and buy the game and you sell more of them.
Overall if you want my honest opinion, after using my Quest 3 I have been thinking I should have kept my Quest 2 longer or get into PSVR (which may be my next move after I outgrow the Quest 3) instead of replacing it, it was basically on par with what I experience now. My last purchase was the 7th Guest and though the graphics are not bad per say, they are definitely not Quest 3 grade though it was hyped as a new Quest 3 release in the ad I saw about your device.
Also last i had a plastic cover for my Quest 2 to put on the lining so it would be more comfortable and that too does not fit on the 3 anymore, I was wondering if you could send me one, I am a good customer, I buy all your devices, bought a lottttt of games from your store (you can check) though I do not see a lot of customer appreciation on Meta's part.
Hoping you could send me something to protect my headset and make it smoother on my aching forehead. And that I would appreciate to see this kind of customer service.
Thank you again for asking my opinion, hope all this will help!
Denis
,

The Meta Quest 3 is a significant and immediately noticeable improvement over the Quest 2, which itself was a notable improvement over the original headset. For anyone who is wondering what the best entry-level VR headset (in my opinion, best VR headset period) is currently: it’s this one. You do not need to read further. If you’re looking for information on what has improved over the previous model and how that affects the experience, read on.
The improvement is immediately noticeable when setting up the headset. With prior models, you were introduced into a lo-fi greyscale version of your play area. This functioned, but was disorienting and could occasionally be frustrating to use as the cameras seemed to deliver video on a slight delay from real-time. With the added cameras on the Quest 3, you are now greeted to a (albeit still lo-fi) color-accurate version of your play area with much more responsive cameras. The software itself is more intelligent, too: whereas before you would have to draw your own play area, the Quest 3 now does it for you. And quite well at that. This reduces the frustration inherent to the previous models when the Quest would occasionally lose your saved playspace data and you would have to re-draw it: when it happens here, the Quest will now easily replace it.
The cameras’ precision allows for more accurate hand-tracking now, too, and while I’m still not a fan of using my hands in VR space as opposed to much more accurate controllers – I will admit that Meta has done a very good job on improving this aspect of the technology. This is probably because I do not use my Quest for work or to create a virtual office space: rather, I use it for gaming, and the increased precision makes for a marked improvement in games where precision is vital. Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, and OhShape are games where precision is vital for playing at the highest level, and the Quest 3 makes it easier than ever to ensure you’re aiming, swinging, and positioning exactly where you want to. The increased processing power makes these games look better than ever and I look forward to trying out Resident Evil 4 when I have some more time.
The new controllers are nice, though I’m struggling to decide whether I feel like they’re an upgrade or more of a horizontal move for the device. There really is nothing wrong with them, they function just as well as the previous model (better with the improved cameras) and like the previous controllers, feel nice to hold.
If you’re playing around in VR a lot with your Quest or Quest 2, I recommend getting the Quest 3. However, these improvements aside, if you’re not an avid VR player and you have the Quest 2, I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to rush out and buy this one. The Quest 2 is still a fantastic device, and while the Quest 3 is a significant improvement, it’s not world-changing, and the fidelity improvements are noticeable but not so massive that it makes the last generation look like a potato.
What is clear is that the Meta Quest remains the best VR headset for gaming, bar none, especially at this price point. The ability to play wherever you want, free of cords and external sensors, is still outstanding. The library of apps and games is ever-growing, and because it’s backwards-compatible with everything released previously, you do not leave anything behind by upgrading your headset. I love my Meta Quest 3, and absolutely recommend it to anyone who’s interested in entering the VR space or has the spare money to upgrade their older Quest model.