Meta Quest 3 V/S Apple Vision Pro – Which one to Buy?
Meta Quest 3 V/S Apple Vision Pro – Which one to Buy?
Apple unveiled its first mixed reality (MR) headset, Apple Vision Pro on June 5, 2023. This happened after Meta revealed its upcoming headset Meta Quest 3 in Meta Connect and it will start shipping on October 10, 2023. We can’t decide between two devices without examining them, both headsets are dissimilar to each other and serve different purposes.
The conflict between Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro isn’t just about hardware, it’s a clash between two tech ideologies. The future of XR looks promising with the release of these two devices. Meta Quest 3 is available at the price of $499 and the price of Apple Vision Pro is $3499.
Meta Quest 3
It is a mixed reality (MR) headset developed by Meta as a successor to the Quest 2. The headset has new hardware that incorporates components from the Quest Pro. It also includes extra sensors and colour passthrough cameras for use with mixed-reality applications.
The Quest 3 uses the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor. According to Meta, it has more than twice the raw graphics (GPU) performance of the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1, which is used in Quest 2 and other similar standalone headsets. The “Touch Plus” controllers that come with the headset are like the Touch Pro controllers used by Quest Pro. They are not powered by rechargeable batteries like the Touch Pro controllers, and they lack on dedicated processor and cameras for on-board positional tracking.
Apple Vision Pro headset
It is one of the most advanced MR headsets, it brings a new world of Spatial computing. These Apple VR headsets are made to be as comfortable as possible while providing an immersive online experience. You can browse through apps, movies, photos, and much more. You can do everything you want, from anywhere in the world, including playing games and going to meetings at work.
Apple Vision Pro uses advanced 3D cameras and sensors that sync perfectly to offer the greatest spatial computing experience. The front-facing laminated glasses serve as the best surface for these cameras and sensors to view your surroundings.
The Apple headset works using vision OS, an operating system specifically designed to control the entire virtual ecosystem using eye expressions, voice commands, and hand gestures. With the glasses, you can see the available applications as you can lay over your wall or the environment that you are in. You can use hand, eye, and voice commands to control the apps.
Comparison between Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro headsets
| Features | Meta Quest 3 | Apple Vision Pro |
| Price | $699 | $3499 |
| Design | It does not have an external screen to display your face while wearing it, but it does include external cameras and a depth sensor to allow full-color augmented reality passthrough. | Vision Pro headset has 12 cameras, 6 microphones and 5 sensors to track your eyes, hands, and voice commands. It is a custom, comfortable fit headset. |
| Display | Quest 3 also manages 4K resolution, but not in each eye. Two 2 pancake lens LCDs, each with 2064 x 2208 pixels per eye, make up the 4K+ Infinite Display. | It offers twin internal displays with resolution greater than 4k. Apple claims that the screens’ combined pixel count exceeds 23 million, directly targeting your eyes. |
| Power & Battery | Quest 3 is not going to be an upgrade over the Quest 2 but it just beats out the Vision Pro’s external battery pack. According to Meta, the battery lasts 2.2 hours on average with a peak battery life of 2.9 hours when used for media playback. | You have to give up either portability or battery life in order to power this computer for your face. The headset can only be used when plugged in, either to an external battery that lasts for two hours or to a wall outlet for continuous usage. |
| Performance | Quest 3 delivers more than twice the graphical performance as the previous generation Snapdragon GPU in Quest 2. | Advanced computer vision techniques are implemented by the M2 processor, which runs visionOS. R1 chips handle microphone, sensor, and camera inputs. |
| Apps and Games | Meta Quest 3 uses Androids open source operating system. It lets you play over 500 games, which were already available for Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro. | Apple uses its newly developed OS – Vision OS. You can play more than a hundred Apple Arcade games with Apple Vision Pro. |
| Controllers | Meta Quest 3 lacks face and eye tracking, it uses Touch Plus controllers instead. Quest 2 and Quest Pro tracking rings will no longer be present on Meta Quest 3’s Touch Plus controllers. | Apple Vision Pro uses precise hand and finger tracking to navigate the operating system. |
So, which one is the best – Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest 3?
Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro have separate functions. While Apple Vision Pro is primarily focused on assisting professionals in increasing their productivity, Meta Quest 3 is mainly concerned with providing improved XR experience.