Which VR headset is finest for you: the Meta Quest 3 or the pricier Meta Quest Professional? It may be powerful to decide, so we’ve ready this information that will help you make the proper selection.
For a extra in-depth take a look at each headsets, you may learn our Meta Quest 3 review and our Meta Quest Pro review, however right here you’ll discover a TLDR that highlights the core variations between the 2 VR headset fashions.
You may also wish to skim by our listing of the best VR headsets to find the choices except for Meta’s Quest 3 and Quest Professional.
Meta Quest 3 vs Meta Quest Professional: Value
The Meta Quest 3 arrives in two fashions; a 128GB model at $499.99 / £479.99 / AU$799.99 and a 512GB one for $649.99 / £619.99 / AU$1,049.99. In the meantime, the Meta Quest Professional is $999.99 / £999.99 / AU$1,729.99 for 256GB of digital cupboard space.
So, if you happen to’re on a price range then the Meta Quest 3 is the clear winner right here, with its most cost-effective mannequin costing roughly half the Quest Professional. Sure, you’re getting totally different specs (extra on that under) and half the cupboard space, however with regards to the latter, it may not be as large a problem as you may assume.
VR video games and apps don’t have very large file sizes, so 128GB can maintain a good few of them – and we should always know; this author did simply tremendous with their 64GB Quest 2 for years. Whereas file sizes are getting a bit larger within the Quest 3 period (builders are benefiting from its souped-up efficiency), they’re nonetheless removed from huge. Plus, if you happen to run out of storage then it doesn’t take lengthy to unencumber area by deleting apps that you just don’t use and downloading the software program you wish to use subsequent.
Meta Quest 3 vs Meta Quest Professional: Specs and efficiency
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Meta Quest 3 | Meta Quest Professional |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 184 x 160 x 98mm | 265 x 127 x 196mm |
| Weight | 515g | 722g |
| Show | Two LCD panels | Two LCD quantum dot panels |
| Show decision | 2,064 x 2,208 pixels per eye | 1,832 x 1,920 pixels per eye |
| FOV | 110 levels horizontal, 96 levels vertical | 106 levels horizontal, 96 levels vertical |
| Refresh fee | 72Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz | 72Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 1 |
| RAM | 8GB | 12GB |
| Storage | 128GB or 512GB | 256GB |
| Battery life | 2 hours 12 minutes | 2 hours |
Specs-wise, the Meta Quest Professional has a bonus when it comes to uncooked efficiency with its 12GB of RAM (in comparison with the Quest 3’s 8GB), however the graphical capabilities of the Quest 3’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset are higher than the Professional’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 1. When exploring VR worlds utilizing the Quest 3, for instance, you may anticipate shadows and reflections to behave extra realistically, and for areas to really feel extra closely populated with interactable gadgets and NPCs.
The Quest 3 additionally has a bevy of different benefits over the Professional. Its shows provide 2,064 x 2,208 pixels per eye somewhat than simply 1,832 x 1,920 pixels per eye; you’ll get a 110-degree horizontal subject of view up from 106 levels (and 96 levels vertically on each); and the shows have a most refresh fee of 120Hz as a substitute of 90Hz.
Aside from its larger RAM, the one {hardware} superiority the Quest Professional options is that its shows use quantum dot expertise with native dimming – so anticipate extra vivid colours and higher distinction in darkish environments – in addition to eye and face monitoring. In experiences that assist it, this enables your VR avatar to imitate your face and eye actions – though, admittedly, there aren’t many makes use of for it.
As for battery life, each headsets are pretty comparable. The Meta Quest 3 delivers 2 hours and 12 minutes of use, whereas the Meta Quest Professional lasts 2 hours.
Meta Quest 3 vs Meta Quest Professional: Design
Each devices could be worn in your head, however they provide fairly totally different designs in a number of key methods.
Firstly, the Meta Quest Professional doesn’t create a seal round your eyes because the Quest 3 does. Because of this – except you buy an optionally available visor – you may at all times see the actual world to the perimeters and beneath the display held in entrance of you. That is nice for immersing you in blended actuality experiences, since your imaginative and prescient is a mix of actual and digital; however not as useful for digital actuality immersion.
The 2 headsets additionally characteristic totally different straps. The Quest 3’s is produced from elastic, and whereas it really works pretty nicely, the Quest Professional’s extra inflexible padded strap gives higher consolation and match. Not solely is it outfitted with a wheel for adjusting how tight it’s, however the Quest Professional’s battery is discovered in the back of the strap – and serves as a counterweight for the display and elements housed on the entrance of the headset.
You will get the identical impact with the Quest 3 by utilizing the Elite Strap with battery, however you may should pay an additional $129.99 / £129.99 / AU$219.99 for it.
Lastly, whereas each controllers look comparable, with each having ditched the Oculus Quest 2 controllers’ monitoring rings, they differ of their monitoring accuracy. The Quest 3’s handsets are tracked by cameras on the headset and AI, whereas the Quest Professional’s controllers have built-in cameras to allow them to do their very own monitoring. The benefit of the Professional’s strategy is that you just’ll nonetheless get correct monitoring when the handsets are hidden from the headset’s view.
The Quest 3’s monitoring is usually good, however the Meta Quest Contact Professional controllers have an edge – though we’re unsure they’re value the additional $299.99 / £299.99 / AU$479.99 if you wish to decide them up for the Quest 3 individually.
Meta Quest 3 vs Meta Quest Professional: Software program
On the time of writing, each the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Professional have similar software program catalogs. When you can obtain an app on the Quest Retailer for one headset, then you may obtain it on the opposite.
The one distinction you’ll discover is that any options that require eye and face monitoring received’t work on the Quest Professional. This will likely imply that side-loaded apps – that you just supply from third-party shops similar to SideQuest, for instance – received’t run on the Quest 3 in the event that they require these monitoring options.
That stated, eye and face monitoring isn’t as extensively utilized by apps as you may assume. Whereas there are some attention-grabbing potential makes use of similar to foveated rendering (when the headset solely absolutely renders the digital objects you are , which permits for extra environment friendly processing energy utilization), it hasn’t actually been used to its full potential. This leaves it feeling a bit gimmicky.
Meta Quest 3 vs Meta Quest Professional: Blended actuality
On paper, each the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Professional ship full-colour blended actuality. In observe, the Quest Professional delivers vastly inferior MR in comparison with the Quest 3.
The primary concern is that the Quest Professional’s passthrough is especially grainy. In brilliant rooms it is satisfactory, however barely, and it’s fairly unusable in darker areas. The Meta Quest 3 makes use of a further digital camera, so its passthrough seems to be loads clearer. It nonetheless is not fairly excellent, however we discovered the expertise to be extra fulfilling and worthwhile on the Quest 3 – we are able to truly see ourselves utilizing MR repeatedly with the brand new headset.
On account of its depth sensor and improved AI, you’ll additionally discover the Quest 3 is healthier at detecting objects and mapping out your room than the Quest Professional. This permits its blended actuality experiences and MR objects to exist extra realistically in your real-world area – offering one more enchancment for the Quest 3.
Meta Quest 3 vs Meta Quest Professional: Verdict
Bang to your buck, the Meta Quest 3 is the higher of the 2 VR headsets – and on the whole, we expect it’s the best VR headset out there for most people. You’ll get good blended actuality, implausible digital actuality, and entry to a wonderful software program library for under $499.99 / £479.99 / AU$799.99.
The $999.99 / £999.99 / AU$1,729.99 Meta Quest Professional does have a bit extra energy, although, with 12GB of RAM (as a substitute of simply 8GB), sports activities a greater design, and comes with distinctive options similar to eye and face monitoring. It additionally has extra vivid quantum dot shows – though they’re barely sharp; providing simply 1,800 x 1,920 pixels per eye as a substitute of the two,064 x 2,208 pixels per eye of the Quest 3. Until these components are deal breakers for you (and also you don’t care about blended actuality efficiency) then this headset isn’t the one we’d advocate.
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