Quest 3 Specs may have all already been leaked

In two weeks, Meta will launch the Meta Quest 3, and everyone in the community is excited about that. The problem is that there’s no space left for surprises because we already know everything about it.

Meta already teased some details in June before the Apple Event, and over these weeks we had all the information revealed through leaks and rumors. The only thing left to discover for me were the specifications, but today browsing the VIRTUAL REALITY community on Facebook, I’ve found that they have been leaked by UnboundXR, too. Looking at the cached page on Google of its Quest 3 listing, it is possible to see that they have written all the specs on their website. And since they have all the renders of the (yet unannounced) Quest 3 accessories, it is clear they already have access to all the information about the new headset, so the information that is on that website should be reliable.

So let me recap what we know from all these rumors, keeping in mind that this is not information confirmed at 100%, but I would say that we are almost sure about that.

Specifications

• Resolution (per-eye): 2064 x 2208
• Display Type: LCD
• Refresh Rate: 120Hz
• Lens type: Pancake
• Processor: Snapdragon XR2 Gen2
• RAM: 12GB
• Battery Life: 2–3 hours
• Field of View: 97° horizontal, 93° vertical
• IPD Adjust: hardware-based. Eye relief is also supported
• Audio: integrated
• Weight: 509g
• Storage: 128GB or 512GB
• Connectivity: USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
• Tracking: inside-out
• Depth sensor: available
• Mixed Reality: full-RGB cameras for color passthrough

(The RAM size is not visible in the cached copy of the UnboundXR listing, but according to this Reddit thread it was visible at a certain point)

The specs talk about a nice upgrade from Quest 2. It’s nothing mindblowing on the VR side, but a nice linear update. In particular, I’m very curious about the next-gen Qualcomm chip: I want to know how much of a graphical upgrade it can give to the content on Quest. We often complain about the potato quality of Quest games, and I want to see how big will be the jump in visuals with this headset.

Of course, the big selling point for Meta is the mixed reality support, with high-resolution cameras and a depth sensor to perform environment scanning. I’m a big fan of mixed reality, but I’m not entirely sure how much average people are interested in it (I wrote about it in this other post). I guess it all will depend on the content that Meta and its partner studios will be able to create using it. Resolution Games has already revealed it is dedicating many resources to mixed reality content and this is a great piece of news in this sense.

Unboxing

There is online a full unboxing video of the headset, that you can watch here below:

As you can see, the packaging has nothing fancy, but it is effective. The box contains the headset, two controllers, and a little box that may contain some accessories (I guess a USB cable, and maybe a charger)

Price and release date

The base (128GB) version of the Meta Quest 3 is going to be released for $499, while the higher storage version (512 GB) is coming for $599. Considering the leaks on Amazon and MediaMarkt, the device will probably be available starting from October, 10th, 2023. Preorders most probably will start on the day of the Connect, so on September, 27th.

Accessories

Meta will sell the usual overpriced accessories for this headset. Thanks to the same leak (reported by Road To VR), we can estimate that the accessories will be:

• Meta Quest 3 Silicone Face Interface (Black) for $39.99
• Meta Quest 3 Carrying Case for $59.99
• Meta Quest 3 Elite Strap with Battery for $119.99
• Meta Quest 3 Charging Dock for $119.99

It’s interesting that UnboundXR already published the pictures of these items. And from this, it is possible to see that Meta has tried to solve on Quest 3 the problems it had with the accessories of its other devices.

I can tell this by looking at the picture of the charging dock. I have a Quest Pro and the experience of the charging dock is simply horrible: you have to slightly move the headset and the controllers while they are on the dock until they touch a magical point that is the right one to make them charge. With this new charger, there are instead some specific holders for both the headset and the controllers: it seems that the charger has been studied so that you can put the elements in only one way, the right one to make them charge. This is a very needed upgrade.

What surprises?

This was the list of what we already know about the Quest 3. As I’ve said, take all of this with a pinch of salt, but I’m pretty convinced that these leaked pieces of info are the right ones. In this case, we already know everything about the headset, and in my opinion, Zuck should just go on stage and say “Well, you already know it all” and go off the stage, closing the Meta Connect in 25 seconds.

What I hope to see is some surprises, maybe because some of the above-reported information is not correct. Or even better, I hope to be surprised on the content side. Will GTA VR finally launch? Is there some other AAA content in the works? How is Meta working to make mixed reality compelling for the average consumer? Will Meta pivot away from gaming and orient the Quest 3 towards a more general-purpose use? This is why I will still tune in on September, 27th to see what the Zuggity will be talking about! And you?

UPDATE (2023.09.11): My friend Eminus commented that there are rumors that the specs linked here may be slightly off with regard to the actual device. I love this rumor about rumors… let’s see if this will be true!

(Header image by Meta)