The Oculus Quest 2 from Facebook has reached number 1 in the steam charts for most used VR headset. This leaves a good chance for a successor of the throne and it's got everyone asking the question, "What is the release date for Oculus Quest 3?".
The big CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg stated in a earnings call not too long ago, "the company is still working on new hardware as well. The new hardware will kind of fit the same platform." The Zucks also said Facebook is wanting "content compatible with the Oculus Quest 2 should have forward compatibility," implying their plans to generate more Virtual Reality headsets very soon.
Oculus Quest 3 Release Date
First things first is the possible hint of the Oculus Quest Pro headset that might be on its way... courtesy of Facebook's VP of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. The Quest 2 was released in fall of 2020, so it'd be too soon for a 2021 release date of the Oculus Quest 3. The beauty of the Quest line is it's constant updates and improvements of functionality, which gives the current Quest 2 plenty of life left in it. Arguably the biggest update to the Quest 2 is the recent 120Hz refresh rate update. Aside from the battery life, the Quest 2 is still one of, if not the biggest VR contenders on the market.
Oculus Quest 3 Specs, Rumors, Confirmations
The most noted upgrade we can expect the Quest 3 headset to have is the 120Hz display refresh rate. Though the Quest 2 currently has the ability to support 120Hz, it's not native and requires special apps and upscaling content in order to achieve this. Going from 75Hz to 120Hz is a massive jump and will definitely be exciting to experience, not to mention the reduced motion sickness we'll feel if any.
A Qualcomm chipset is likely to be on the spec list, hopefully with a lot more power to run those graphically intense games like Medal of Honor.
One more thing we're expecting to see is a big improvement in the battery life department. Though we get by with adding an external oculus quest battery pack, it'd be nice to have it all within the headset avoiding more cables and storage management requirements.
What We'd Like to See in the Oculus Quest 3?
Playing with the Quest 2 compared to the Quest 1 was exciting but after the first play session it was easy to point out the areas of improvement for the next headset.
Here's a few upgrades we're hoping for:
Rechargeable Controllers - The single AA battery format is far too outdated to be used, they should be following suit with Playstation.
Higher Refresh Rate - 120Hz is a very welcome upgrade, but achieving 144Hz or even 164Hz would be phenomenal and make a world of difference.
Improved Hand Tracking Controls - Hand tracking feels almost like a gimmick at this point, it's fun yes but can be tedious and doesn't register 100% like the controllers.
More Games - The Oculus game library has grown quite significantly in the past year but compared to steam, they're playing little league.