Meta Quest 3 launches later this year, costs $500

Meta Quest 3 has just been announced for launch later this year, and Meta says this will be its "most powerful headset yet."

The 128GB Quest 3 will ship "in all countries where Meta Quest is currently supported this fall," and will launch for $499.99 USD. The early marketing info is light on concrete details, but in a press release, Mark Zuckerberg has some notable hyperbole: "The first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality. 40% thinner and more comfortable. Better displays and resolution. Next-gen Qualcomm chipset with 2x the graphics performance."

The Quest 3 features a "40% slimmer optic profile" and redesigned Touch Plus controllers for better ergonomics, according to the official site. It will also be backwards compatible with Quest 2 games and apps. We'll learn more about the headset during the Meta Connect event on September 27, which will hopefully include some more concrete details on specs and performance.

As of June 4, the Quest 2 is getting a major price drop: $299.99 for the 128GB model and $349.99 for the 256GB. An upcoming software update also promises some major performance improvements for existing headsets, including "an up-to 26% CPU performance increase with an up-to 19% GPU speed increase for Quest 2 and 11% for Quest Pro."

That price drop might ring a little hollow, however - it was just a year ago that Meta raised the price of the Quest 2 by $100. At least we've once again got a lower ceiling for the best Meta Quest 2 deals, I guess.

All this news comes just ahead of the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase later today, a VR-focused stop on the E3 2023 schedule. Meta Quest 2 is the most accessible option on our list of the best VR headsets - here's hoping the Quest 3 is a worthwhile follow-up.

Dig into the ranks of the best VR games.