Final yr Meta launched the Quest 3, a $500 VR headset that shares some options of the costlier Quest Professional. When you’d wish to discover digital actuality for video games, leisure, and work, there are a number of factors to contemplate earlier than making a choice between the Quest 3 and Quest Professional.
The working system and app library are just about the identical. So we have to study the value, efficiency, picture high quality, consolation, and particular options to find out the perfect VR headset and enable you to establish which is true to your wants.
In some ways, the Meta Quest 3 is a game-changing VR headset that raises the bar for low-cost standalone options, as you possibly can learn in our Meta Quest 3 evaluation. Nonetheless, its design is nearer to that of the Quest 2, whereas Meta launched a number of new ideas within the Quest Professional (learn our Meta Quest Professional evaluation for extra particulars).
Consolation
Consolation is typically neglected in VR since there’s a bent to think about the headset as expertise, like a pc, pill, or gaming console. In reality, it’s a wearable, so consolation is a vital think about usability.
It would come as a shock that the Meta Quest 3 is 207 grams lighter than a Quest Professional. Regardless of this truth, the Quest Professional might be extra comfy for most individuals.
The edges and backside of the Quest Professional are open. Additionally, the battery is behind the headset, so the load is extra evenly distributed.
The Quest 3 has a full mild defend and battery within the entrance. The slimmer profile and improved mushy strap ease face stress, and I discovered it comfy for about an hour of gameplay, however my pores and skin did get a bit irritated.
“VR face” is a typical impact of spending an hour or extra sporting a Quest 3. A crimson ring within the form of the headset stays for fairly a while after eradicating it. It’s extra noticeable for some individuals than others, and accent headbands usually assist alleviate this drawback. In case you have delicate pores and skin, the Quest 3 may put noticeable stress in your face after an hour of use.
The Quest Professional’s design leads to the show hovering in entrance of your eyes with out stress in your nostril or cheeks. I can put on it for hours with out discomfort. The draw back is that the load, balanced as it’s, rests upon your brow. It’s a bony space that may bear extra weight, however some customers discover it uncomfortable.
The Quest Professional’s extra open facial interface helps when understanding in VR or enjoying intense video games which may trigger sweating and steaminess in a Quest 3. Most individuals contemplate the Quest Professional to be extra comfy total. With both headset, it takes time to refine the match, so enable per week or so to regulate to the headset you select.
Efficiency
Units designated as the professional mannequin are often sooner, however that’s not all the time true when evaluating totally different generations. The Quest Professional launched in October 2022, whereas Meta’s Quest 3 arrived a full yr later.
In expertise, even a couple of months can deliver massive adjustments. The Qualcomm XR2+ Gen 1 processor powering the Quest Professional was a step up from the Quest 2, however the Quest 3 is considerably sooner with its Qualcomm XR2 Gen 2 chip.
Meta says the Quest 3 has twice the GPU efficiency of the Quest 2. The margin over the Quest Professional isn’t identified, however it’s important. Most video games will goal Quest 2 compatibility for one more yr or two, however there are a number of already benefiting from the Quest 3’s improved graphics functionality.
The Quest Professional has 50% extra reminiscence, 12GB versus the Quest 3’s 8GB. That would enable higher multitasking and productiveness, however I haven’t observed that in my testing.
Picture high quality
Meta gave the Quest Professional a giant enhance in readability through the use of pancake optics as an alternative of the older Fresnel lenses of the Quest 2. The Quest 3 advantages from that analysis and in addition makes use of pancake lenses, which eradicate “god ray” artifacts and develop the candy spot for higher edge-to-edge readability.
The Quest 3 has Meta’s highest-resolution show, with 30% extra pixels and a barely wider discipline of view than the Quest Professional. The Quest 3’s refresh price can attain 120Hz, whereas the Quest Professional has a most of 90Hz.
Nonetheless, the Quest Professional options mini-LED backlighting for deeper blacks and a better dynamic vary. For visible high quality, it’s a matter of desire. Do you favor a sharper picture or higher dynamic vary? The Quest 3 delivers the previous, whereas the Quest Professional affords the latter.
Blended actuality
One of many headline options of the Quest Professional, a coloration mixed-reality view that blends graphics into your bodily surroundings, caught the eye of the media. Meta’s VR headset offered a convincing glimpse of what’s going to be potential in AR glasses of the longer term.
Whereas it’s attention-grabbing for demonstrations, few video games and apps supplied a compelling motive to make use of blended actuality. It’s enjoyable to play a digital board recreation in your desk, however generally the expertise is healthier in VR the place your pals have faces, even when they give the impression of being cartoonish.
AR is likely to be a characteristic that works greatest as glasses if you’re shifting round and on the lookout for laptop help in each day life. VR is supposed to be immersive so you possibly can lose your self in one other world.
For fogeys and pet house owners, nevertheless, there’s a very good motive to remain conscious of your surroundings. Blended actuality video games mean you can see what’s occurring in the actual world so you possibly can keep away from stepping on a cat or crashing into somebody strolling by way of your play house.
Whether or not or not you’ve gotten a robust curiosity in blended actuality, the Quest 3 will outperform the Quest Professional on this space. The Quest 3 additionally features a depth sensor to robotically map your room, whereas marking out a secure play space on the Quest Professional is a handbook course of.
Controllers and dock
The Quest Professional nonetheless has some unique options lacking from the Quest 3. Eye-tracking and face-tracking are solely potential with {hardware} constructed into the costlier Meta headset.
The Quest Professional comes with a handy charging dock to high up the battery the second you set it apart. Plugging in a cable isn’t a giant trouble, and the dock additionally concurrently expenses the controllers.
The Quest 3 makes use of AA batteries, so there may very well be instances when your controllers die and also you’re out of batteries. The Quest 3 controllers look just like the Contact Professional controllers of the Quest Professional, however lack their precision monitoring. The Quest 3’s cameras should see the controllers to trace them, whereas the Contact Professional controllers are self-tracking.
Meta does promote a Quest 3 dock with rechargeable batteries for the Contact Plus controllers, however it provides $130 to the value.
Value
There are execs and cons for each headsets, however the Quest 3 is a more recent gadget with higher picture high quality and superior efficiency at a cheaper price. For $500, it’s onerous to go flawed with a 128GB Meta Quest 3.
Nonetheless, the Quest Professional wins on consolation and ease of use. It comes with twice as a lot storage and 50% extra reminiscence. Professionals may select the Quest Professional for these causes alone. Add in eye-tracking and face-tracking for VR chats and conferences and you’ll see the place it may very well be value the additional price.
The Meta Quest Professional at the moment sells for $1,000 with 256GB of storage. The Quest 3 is $500 with 128GB of storage. The 512GB mannequin prices $650 and has double the storage of the Quest Professional.
Which is best for you?
For most individuals, the Quest 3 is a simple, automated selection. If you need a low-cost VR headset for gaming, health, 360 films, and customarily exploring digital and blended actuality, it’s an thrilling new headset with an enormous library and an extended future forward of it. Meta will preserve promoting the Quest 2, now at $250, for these on a good price range.
The Quest Professional is nice for individuals with delicate pores and skin who wish to keep away from irritation from the stress of the gadget on their face. When you’re going to pop into VR all through the day and might’t wait an hour for the results of VR face to fade, Meta’s premium headset largely solves that drawback.
When you plan to make use of a VR headset for work and might be going out and in ceaselessly, the dock and rechargeable controllers preserve batteries full and able to go at a second’s discover with the Quest Professional. For digital conferences, the Quest Professional can animate the face and eyes of your avatar for a extra pure look and nonverbal communication.
In the end, if the Quest Professional prices an excessive amount of, the Quest 3 will work nicely for most individuals. When you can afford both, take a second to contemplate the way you’ll use the gadget earlier than making a choice. There’s a motive Meta will promote each.
Continuously requested questions
Is Quest 3 higher than Imaginative and prescient Professional?
Like with many different product comparisons, the reply to this query largely is determined by your wants, preferences, and price range when it comes shopping for one in every of these headsets. To make the fitting choice for your self, it could be useful to see a complete comparability of the 2 headsets’ options. Fortunately, we have now simply the information for that. When you’re considering of shopping for a Quest 3 or a Imaginative and prescient Professional, take a look at our Meta Quest 3 versus Imaginative and prescient Professional comparability information.
Does Meta Quest Professional have eye monitoring?
Sure, the Meta Quest Professional has eye monitoring. If you wish to be taught extra about different options the Quest Professional has, check out our evaluation of the Quest Professional.
Which video games ought to I check out with my Meta Quest 3?
Some video games you may get pleasure from enjoying in your Meta Quest 3 embrace: Asgard’s Wrath II and The Strolling Useless: Saints & Sinners. If you need extra particulars on these video games, otherwise you simply want extra options for video games to play, take a look at our record of the perfect video games on Meta Quest 3.
