Almost 10 years ago, VR virtual reality was still a very science fiction thing. In just a few years, VR has changed from a product in science fiction movies to a digital product that can be purchased online. In the development process of VR equipment, there are HTC, which did well at the beginning but was expensive, Pico, the leader in domestic VR all-in-one machines, and Meta, which currently has one of the top market shares.
Meta still sounds a bit unfamiliar. Before the name was changed, it was called Facebook...
After Meta acquired Quest, it launched several VR devices one after another. Among them, Quest2 has relatively complete functions and a price of more than 2,000 yuan, making it the first choice for many people around the world to experience the VR world for the first time.
For example, Tony and many colleagues in the office, almost everyone among us VR enthusiasts has a Quest2.
But our goal is not something as illusory as the Metaverse. We bought it just to play games...
Quest2 performs well in this regard and is very smooth to use. It can run games on the main body, and can also be streamed to PC to run VR masterpieces.
But it also has many obvious shortcomings, such as limited performance, a bit blurry picture, bulky handle, etc.
Three years after its release, Quest 3 is finally here.
Let’s start with a brief introduction: This is a comprehensively upgraded VR device that is very mature in all aspects. The existing functions have been further improved, and some new things have been added.
In terms of appearance, Quest3 still looks like the stereotypical VR device, a headset and two controllers, but their appearance and configuration have been greatly optimized.
The first is the headset, which is significantly thinner than the previous generation and will be more convenient to wear. The weight has almost remained the same. Tony personally feels that the wearing comfort is a little better than the previous generation.
This is because Quest3 uses Pancake optical modules, and the similarly designed domestic VR all-in-one PC Pico4 is much thinner and lighter than the previous generation.
At the same time, there are three more black strips on the front, making it look more cybernetic.
But this is not a random addition, because several more lenses and sensors are inserted into it, giving Quest3 higher accuracy and supporting MR mixed reality functions.
How to play this specifically, we will show you later.
Tony is quite satisfied with the overall design of the headset. There are no earth-shaking changes, but it is also expected.
It's a pity that the way of wearing it still uses a three-point style to "lock" the device with the head...
Although a strap on your head can make the device very secure, once you put it on, you won't want to lose your hairstyle...
Therefore, this generation of Quest3 is still a generation that is very unfriendly to hair styles.
The changes in the handle are much more obvious. The silly-looking ring on the previous generation handle is finally gone...
In addition to the disappearing ring, the grip of the handle has also been optimized, making it smaller than the previous generation, and the vibration will be more delicate.
The appearance looks very good, right? It fits many people’s imagination of VR equipment?
In actual experience, Quest3 is also worthy of such an appearance, and the experience in all aspects is significantly better than that of the previous generation.
The most obvious change in the use experience is that due to the addition of several cameras, you can now see the outside situation more clearly when wearing Quest3.
Some people may say that this is unnecessary? Why do I need to see the real world clearly even though I’m wearing VR?
This statement is wrong. If you have used VR equipment for a while, you will know how important this function is...
It is precisely because you cannot see the outside when wearing it, but in order to ensure the safety of the surrounding environment, you need a function that can quickly check the situation without taking off the headset.
Although the switching method of Quest2 and 3 is the same, you only need to tap the right side of the headset twice, but the previous Quest can only capture very blurry black and white images, similar to this:
How can I put it, the photos I took with the door lock are clearer than this...
In comparison, Quest3 can be regarded as an epic upgrade. Not only has the camera clarity been greatly improved, but it is also in color!
Even if you are wearing VR, you can clearly see the surrounding environment and what the people around you are doing.
Although the overall picture still has a lot of noise and is a bit like a film camera, it is not impossible to just use the mobile phone to reply to the message...
In this way, even if we use head-mounted devices, we can communicate with the outside world conveniently, conveniently and safely.
In addition to this, there is another more important feature, which is that Quest3 supports mixed reality images.
Mixed Reality MixedReality is referred to as MR. Simply put, MR is to integrate virtual images into real content so that the two can cooperate with each other.
The $3,499 VisionPro from Guozi a few months ago also focused on this feature.
The Quest3 is only $499, a fraction of that.
Having said that, if you don't know how to play MR, then the game "First Encounter" that comes with Quest3 is a good MR tutorial.
When playing for the first time, you need to scan the surrounding environment. The scanning speed of Quest3 is quite fast, which is a bit beyond my expectation.
It seems that the performance of the Snapdragon XR2Gen2 chip is indeed good, and Qualcomm has made great contributions this time.
The reason for scanning is because the game needs to be coordinated according to the real environment. For example, in the game, the ceiling will be broken and something in the shape of a spaceship will fall from the sky.
As a shooting game, if you hit the wall, the wall will break, revealing the "outside world".
This is the general gameplay of mixed reality. This kind of picture that combines reality and reality is sometimes more fun and more immersive than pure virtual pictures.
After talking about MR mixed reality, next I plan to talk to you about Quest3’s new interaction method.
As mentioned earlier, the handle of Quest3 has a smaller and more exquisite appearance, fine vibration, accurate pointing, and a very good experience.
But this time, you don’t need a handle and can operate it directly with your hands!
If you have watched some science fiction movies, you should have seen the characters in them pointing at the virtual screen in the air with both hands.
And when you put on Quest3, this operation can also become a reality.
This set of gesture operations is very easy to use. The clicking and sliding operations are almost the same as playing on a mobile phone.
You can also grab the edge with your fingers just like grabbing something in real life, and then drag the page directly.
If you are too lazy to reach out, you can also directly "retrieve objects from the air". After looking at the location, lightly touching it with your thumb and index finger can replace reaching out and clicking.
Scenes that once appeared only in science fiction movies are gradually being transformed into reality by technology.
Isn’t it a coincidence? Guozi’s VisionPro also has a similar function...
The accuracy of this set of gesture operations is indeed good, but unfortunately, apart from simple interface operations, most of the time the controller is more efficient...
If you want to type in the void, then I can tell you responsibly that the feel and efficiency of a mechanical keyboard can kill this thing...
Typing requires high gesture recognition accuracy and response speed, but currently Quest3 cannot reach this level.
Unless, you are a "One Finger Zen" player...
There are still many shortcomings in Quest3. For example, Xiao Zha still can’t forget the metaverse and insists on making a VR meeting software that is difficult to use...
In comparison, the progress of pure virtual images is not as shocking as that of MR. Although the resolution has been improved, it has not yet reached the level where the real thing is completely fake.
There is another thing that many people need to know. Although Quest3 comes with a Chinese interface, it does not have a Chinese version.
Of course, if you are a surfing master, then you can just go to Amazon and order this product without any thought.
As a matter of fact, for many products sold overseas, Tony basically orders them passionately through Amazon...
Although the products purchased are all foreign gadgets, the shopping process on Amazon is basically the same as that on Donghe and Xixi. You can place an order with just one click and you're done.
Recently, it happened to be Black Friday, which is equivalent to Double Eleven for foreigners. The discounts on some products may be lower than you think. Friends who want to buy overseas can go to Amazon to package them back.
Finally, if you are a PCVR player, of course it can also be streamed using wired or wireless methods, treating it as a pure VR head-mounted display device.
Games such as "Half-Life: Alyx", "Boneworks" and "Asseto Corsa" VR mode can all be streamed using Quest3.
However, the specific gaming experience depends on your computer configuration...
Generally speaking, its starting price of US$499 is indeed much higher than the previous generation. After all, it is more than 3,000 yuan in RMB.
But the comprehensive experience of Quest3 makes Tony feel that it is worth the price.
More accurate and faster response, the addition of MR mixed reality and the blessing of gesture operations make Quest3 a very versatile consumer-grade VR head-mounted display device.
My Quest3 has all the functions that Apple VisionPro has, and the price is only a fraction of yours...
Also, I don’t need an external battery.
Of course, this is a joke. VisionPro is not on the same track as the Quest series in terms of display effects and super computing power. Its official name is "Spatial Computing Device".
But for ordinary consumers, Quest3 is the toy that more people can afford.
For the current positioning of this type of head display, it is still a more advanced toy than mobile phones and computers, and it is also the entrance to give us a glimpse of the future.
As for metaverses like "Ready Player One" and virtual conference rooms, let's just put them aside. We, the bad gamers, just want to have fun in VR.