Last week, I spent several hours testing Meta’s latest goggles, the Quest 3. They ship next month. The headset runs virtual reality games with a novel twist: while shooting a laser gun, catching bats in the air, and controlling a robot, you could see the real world through the built-in cameras.
This is what Meta – and its new rival, Apple, which recently introduced the $3,500 Vision Pro headset – call “mixed reality” or “spatial computing,” interchangeable terms to describe computers that combine digital data with the physical world.
These immersive computers, the companies say, could eventually They become indispensable tools that change the way we live. Imagine reading a holographic recipe out of the corner of your eye while cooking, for example, or looking at pieces of furniture with digital assembly instructions superimposed on them.
But for now, the devices are mainly used for gaming and spectacular applications have not yet appeared.
Meta’s $500 Quest 3 headset, which hits stores Oct. 10 (pre-orders begin Wednesday), has sharper graphics than its predecessor, the Quest 2, which costs $200 less. Its new standout feature is a set of high-resolution “through” cameras to view the outside world in color. They’re a big improvement over the Quest 2’s weaker camera system, which resulted in a muddy monochrome image.
After a two-hour session playing with the Quest 3, I took off my glasses and asked Meta employees the $10 billion question (that’s the amount the company invests annually in virtual reality technology) about Mixed reality: What’s the point?
Meta’s answer to that is vague. The ability to simultaneously interact with virtual and physical space, the company said, would make it easier for people to feel connected to each other while wearing glasses. Over time, this could be useful for collaborating on work tasks. What kind of job? Those apps are actively in development, a Meta spokesperson told me.
To market Quest 3, Meta highlighted mixed reality gaming. In First Encounters, a space game, I used a laser gun to shoot at a virtual wall, removing pieces brick by brick to see the real world.
In Stranger Things VR, a game based on the popular Netflix series, I took on the role of the show’s antagonist with telepathic powers. I could see virtual cracks embedded in the physical room around me; When I pointed to the cracks and spread my fingers to open them, bats flew out of the chasms. I grabbed them to crush them to death.
In Bam!, I could see other Quest 3 users in the room as we controlled miniature robots fighting each other within a virtual arena. Each player could view a virtual platform containing the arena and adjust it so that it was level with the physical table in front of them. The game was fun, but watching others fidget with their motion controllers while putting on their geeky glasses didn’t make the game any better (although it certainly made me feel more self-conscious).
The experience of socializing with others while playing reminded me of the LAN (local area network) parties of the 1990s, when gamers would bring bulky computers to each other’s houses to play games together. It was a type of social gathering that seems old-fashioned now that Internet speeds are fast enough that we can play online games from our own homes.
Some mixed reality app developers I later interviewed offered more clarity than Meta about the benefits of the technology. Naer is a startup that works on a mixed reality app for office workers to exchange ideas on virtual whiteboards and sticky notes. Developers said being able to see the real world while performing virtual tasks would make the experience less jarring for professionals who wear headsets while working alongside colleagues in an office.
“When you’re completely closed and someone touches your shoulder, it’s very uncomfortable,” said Sondre Kvam, founder of the Norway-based company. “But when you use mixed reality, you’re still part of the real world; you’re no longer surprised.”
Taking a look at the outside world could also make VR games more comfortable. Tommy Palm, CEO of Resolution gamesHe said that in mixed reality, players would probably feel safer playing games that involved quick movements.
In its game Blaston, where players shoot each other in a virtual arena, people can duck to avoid digital projectiles. Being able to see around you would help prevent collisions with objects in the room, such as furniture, he said.
Those mixed reality examples sound convincing. But after spending a few hours with the Quest 3, my impression is that the exterior cameras won’t handily solve VR’s most annoying problems, preventing it from becoming a mainstream success.
Weighing around half a kilo, the headphones felt heavy on my head after about 15 minutes, causing neck strain. The graphics were bright and intense to look at. Bending, twisting, and swinging my arms finally became tiring.
So the Quest 3 may be a fun toy for entertaining house guests, but most gamers looking for a social experience will probably prefer the old-fashioned setup of sitting on the couch with a game controller.
