Meta Quest 3 Is Coming This Fall, & Quest 2 Prices Have Dropped

Immersive VR + Breakthrough Meta Reality in a Single Device

Mark Zuckerberg just revealed Meta Quest 3, our next-generation virtual and mixed reality headset, which will be available later this year.

Pritish Bagdi

It has a greater resolution, more powerful performance, groundbreaking Meta Reality technology, and a thinner, more comfortable form factor. This autumn, Quest 3 will be released in all countries where Meta Quest is currently available. The 128GB headset is priced at $499.99 USD, with an additional storage option available for individuals who require more space. Mark your calendars because we'll have much more to discuss at Meta Connect, which returns on September 27 this year.

Quest 3 is the powerful all-in-one headset you've been looking for, with no wires. Sign up to be among the first to find out about Meta Quest 3.

Mark Zuckerberg's communique on MQ3, "Quest 3 combines our highest definition display with pancake optics to produce content that looks better than ever before. This will be the first headset to use a next-generation Snapdragon chipset created in conjunction with Qualcomm Technologies to power those additional pixels. In Quest 2, the next-generation Snapdragon chipset delivers more than twice the graphics capabilities of the previous generation Snapdragon GPU, resulting in smoother performance and exceptionally sharp details in immersive games.

On Quest 3, our best-in-class Meta Reality technology allows you to effortlessly blend your physical and virtual worlds. These new experiences go beyond today's mixed reality by intelligently comprehending and responding to objects in your actual area, allowing you to navigate it in natural, intuitive ways that were previously practically impossible. High-fidelity colour Passthrough, unique machine learning, and spatial awareness let you to interact with virtual information and the physical world at the same time, opening up a world of possibilities. You can now play a virtual board game on your kitchen table with Demeo, adorn your living room with virtual art thanks to Painting VR, or immerse yourself in a totally immersive universe to achieve things that were previously impossible.

Quest 3 brings Meta Reality to even more people at a lower price point, making it our first mass-market offering to combine cutting-edge VR and MR experiences in a single device, establishing a new standard for future headsets.

With a 40% slimmer optic profile* compared to Quest 2, Quest 3 is a sleeker, more comfortable headset. We also completely redesigned Quest 3’s Touch Plus controllers with a more streamlined and ergonomic form factor. Thanks to our advances in tracking technology, we’ve dropped the outer tracking rings so the controllers feel like a more natural extension of your hands and take up less space. We also included TruTouch haptics that first debuted in Touch Pro to help you feel the action like never before. You can even upgrade to our fully self-tracked Meta Quest Touch Pro Controllers for a premium experience. And 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.

Quest 3 is compatible with the Quest 2 catalog of over 500 VR games, apps, and experiences (and counting), and we’ve got even more exciting new VR and MR titles lined up for launch. That means Quest 3 will have the world’s best library of immersive experiences on day one. Be sure to tune in to today’s Meta Quest Gaming Showcase for a rundown of new games and updates coming to the Quest Platform — plus a sneak peek at Quest 3’s AAA flagship adventure.

Quest 2 Gets New Lower Prices, Plus a Performance Upgrade

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New report suggests metaverse could be five trillion dollar sector by 2030

Mumbai (India), July 05: A new report by McKinsey & Company has suggested that the metaverse’s potential economic value could see it generate up to five trillion dollars in impact by 2030.

Swati Bhat

According to the management consulting firm, digital worlds are quickly becoming the biggest new growth opportunity for a number of industries over the next decade, including e-commerce, which it estimated could have a market impact of up to 2.6 trillion dollars by 2030.

The report said the virtual goods economy, for example, was estimated to contribute nearly 75 percent towards global gaming revenues, with about 79 percent of consumers active in the metaverse to have made a purchase, mostly to enhance their online experience.

Out of products bought, 47 percent of consumers had made in-game purchases, 37 percent bought virtual cosmetic items and 33 percent purchased real-world items.

“Consumer behavior has largely shifted toward adopting digital personas, yet many brands have yet to provide a solution,” noted AnamXR co-founder and CEO, Irene-Marie Seelig, in a statement for the report. “This opens up a whole new revenue model for brands who can supply digital assets like clothing, for example.”

McKinsey said that businesses already leveraging the metaverse “may build lasting competitive advantages”, noting that leaders should be developing a strategic stance by establishing metaverse goals and the role they want to play in it.

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How digital and physical identities will intertwine in virtual fashion design

Amsterdam [Netherlands], June 18: The metaverse, while not an entirely new concept, is still under continuous development. It's not one tangible facet but a multiverse of different virtual environments that allow users to explore online spaces and their place in them. It was this particular aspect that was investigated during a panel discussion at Met Ams, a newly established conference in Amsterdam entirely focused on making the metaverse more accessible.

Swati Bhat

Pic Courtesy: Set Vexy, Met Ams 2022

The panel, held on Thursday, the second day of the two day event spanning June 15 to 16, consisted of a number of influential individuals in the digital fashion sphere, each of which contribute to varying elements of virtual design development. Founder of digital creative agency Mad XR, Ashumi S, senior lecturer at Amsterdam Fashion Academy, Giancarlo Pazzanese, and Kerry Murphy, the founder and CEO of digital fashion platform The Fabricant, each spoke of their own take on the merging of digital and physical identities in the metaverse space.

When discussing the actual meaning of ‘identity’, the panellists mostly referenced links to their upbringing and personal experiences that helped shape who they are. They noted that these can often collide with how we unconsciously want to be perceived in the metaverse too, despite it essentially being a clean slate – something they all said we should work to move away from.

“In the world we live in, we have these limitations around us, especially when it comes to the laws of physics,” said the panel’s moderator, metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) strategist, Diego Borgo. “The exciting part of the metaverse and virtual reality is how you are breaking those boxes, so you can be whoever or whatever you want. I think that is exciting, especially when it comes to fashion and digital fashion.”

“You can have multiple different personas…”

Pazzanese agreed with Borgo’s sentiment, adding that this idea also works for clothing too. Designers are able to completely reimagine the silhouettes of standard clothing, reshaping what we know about an item and taking it beyond the boundaries that exist in the physical realm. The panelists each agreed that fashion brands should be taking advantage of this freedom that working in the digital space actually provides, exploring the new ways it allows users to express themselves and the fluidity of identity in virtual reality.

“We are not set to be this one person, you can have multiple different personas,” The Fabricant’s Murphy said. “That’s really the power of the metaverse and the Web3 space. It brings us the tools to be able to express ourselves in much more unique ways. Hopefully, experiences in the metaverse will also come into our physical lives, where we may be brave enough to express ourselves in new ways that we wouldn’t normally have done.”

Mad XR’s Ashumi said that she had observed children forming their identities through role playing in the real world, directly translating their experiences in metaverse gaming environments and ultimately contributing to the formation of their own expression and way of dressing. However, Murphy added that even children are facing the brunt of offline social constructs, often showing resistance towards using digital clothing in ways that could be negatively perceived offline, like a boy wearing dresses.

“We need to make it a safe space..”

“It’s funny how those social constructs come into that space as well – that we take it with us into the metaverse,” he commented. “I still think there is some type of learning to be done for kids to break down those barriers. It's a space where kids can learn to express themselves in a much richer way than their physical lives, but we need to make it into a safe space, not just where we bring in the same social constructs, because otherwise we aren't going anywhere.”

Pazzanese said that it was this safe space that was an important yet often overlooked part of the metaverse, noting that bringing our unconscious biases into these spaces could hinder its development. “In order to be free, express ourselves and try these clothes, we need to feel safe,” he said. “There is a lot of invisible diversity, and that is what creates a community, when you are recognised and accepted for the aspects that you don’t see but want to express somehow.”

However, to get to this point, the panelists emphasised the need for diversifying the space itself, with each of them noting that there is an obvious lack of women and cultural inclusivity within the Web3 and metaverse-based industries. This is evident in the often overtly sexualised female avatars present in online games, and created by male designers, or the sparse diversity in characters and digital creators. All agreed that it was imperative to change these elements in order to move forward.

“There is a responsibility for the images we put out there as designers,” Pazzanese added. “The metaverse needs to be built by people with a long term vision, not just in the technical space. It is important to bring other builders into it – people that can define the values of the metaverse because it's a male driven environment. Otherwise, we are just replicating the same space we already have. The metaverse is an extension of our existence and it's supposed to be a place that is better to be in, rather than worse.”

Ultimately, while the metaverse allows for much freedom and flexibility, companies should still take accountability over the images that they put out there, the lecturer continued. In doing so, Pazzanese hopes that the metaverse can become this ‘safe space’ for those looking to explore their identity, dismantle social constructs and promote a more inclusive environment.

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