Meta Quest 3 512GB + Active Straps

So this purchase is my introduction into the VR world, I have to say i'm blown away by it. The level of immersion far exceeds my initial expectations. There are 2 cons to this headset, which i will get out of the way. The 1st is battery life. For gaming on the big AAA VR titles, you are looking at around 2 and a half hours... other lighter use, maybe longer. The 2nd is the weight and bulkiness. The headset strap isn't the best and at times wearing the headset feels cumbersome. There are plenty of after market ones that solve the above 2 cons.. decent headstraps with built in battery to extend use. I purchased a link cable with built in charging and I'm quite happy having the headset charging while I'm using it so i dont have to worry about the battery running out. Now onto the positives; Game selection is vast through the Meta Quest store, a lot of big titles are there, these will cost you around 20-50 pounds, depending on the title. There is a subscription for Quest + which gives you around 20 titles to download and play for free. Linking to PC to 'stream games' from Steam is fairly straight forward and can be done 'Wirelessly' through steam link or link cable. Wirelessly streaming games from your PC means you don't have to be in the same room as your PC, it just depends on your internet speed and wifi connection to your network. There can be small amount of lag due to latency issues but nothing to make it unplayable. Link cable requires you to be in the same room to your PC and will require an aftermarket link cable purchase. There is far less latency issues using the cable. The Headset itself has an excellent resolution and reading other reviews seems to be one of the best. Which means the area for the sweet spot is quite large so its easy to adjust the fit to your head and no blurr/fuzzy edges. There is a little light bleed from around the nose guard, but again nothing that spoils the immersion. The Controllers require batteries, they do come with batteries supplied, however its something to bear in mind. Aftermarket charging stations along with rechargeable batteries seem to be a fix to that, however in the time ive had mine, I've gone through 1 battery swap on the controllers. Storage is great, apps aren't massive downloads so on the 512gb storage you can fit plenty of apps/games without worrying about clearing space. The Quest 3 can also be set up for full body tracking with the use of additional hardware and apps and connection to a pc. Ive not explored that area yet, so a simple google should explain everything you need to know. Overall, Id highly recommend the Quest 3 for VR / PCVR experience. Those that want a standalone VR experience but also the PCVR experience, for the money, its the best option right now.

I've had an OG "Oculus" 64Gb Quest 2 for 3.5 years now which I used for both native and PCVR gaming and was pretty happy with it. I wanted a Quest 3 but wasn't prepared to pay the £619 RRP. I decided to wait until it was under £500 before taking the plunge. Once the 3S was announced they dropped the price of the 512Gb model (whilst discontinuing the 128Gb and Quest 2) to a very reasonable £469 with Batman Arkham Shadow and 3 months free Quest+ subscription. I was impressed with the jump in hardware quality verses the Quest 2. The pancake lenses and resolution being immediately noticeable, as well as a much snappier overall response from the CPU/GPU. Being a PCVR gamer too I'm used to high end graphics and can honestly say the graphics on the Quest 3 are very impressive for the hardware limitations. Batman Arkham Shadow and Asgard's Wrath 2 for example, look fantastic. Even older titles that looked washed out on Quest 2 look significantly improved, with a lot of them getting "upgrades" for Quest 3. I'd say it's on a par with Xbox 360 graphically. It misses out on the usual GPU intensive additions such as high end textures, shadows/lighting etc. which are to be expected, but still very impressive for mobile hardware. Air Link/Steam Link/Virtual Desktop all work as expected for PCVR gaming and again, the pancake lenses really make everything look so much crisper than the blurry Quest 2 lenses with their tiny sweet spot. These are the positives of the Quest 3. The negatives are mainly to do with what I'd deem as mandatory third party additions: 1. Head strap with battery (this is pretty much essential if you want to play for a long time without interruption and proper comfort). If you have to make one extra purchase, this would be top of the list. 2. Facial interface (whilst improved vastly over the Quest 2, it's still not comfortable enough and also has no nose guard to block light which breaks immersion). 3. Grips (the wrist grips aren't really that good, so proper grips are also required) 4. Prescription lenses (not everyone needs glasses, but if you do, these are much better than wearing glasses, even with the built in spacer and they slot in perfectly). I've been using it a full month now and it's been great, it's such an improvement over Quest 2 and feels like Meta are really going in the right direction with VR. I hope this continues and they keep pushing the hardware, because it's certainly putting out some great VR gaming experiences so far, with Metro Awakening (which supports cross-buy) on the horizon (at time of review), for example. UPDATE: The only other negative is Meta's obsession with Horizon Worlds, which imo is very poor, they seem to be pushing this "app" more than the actual "games" the platform was built upon. I uninstalled it (but it appears it's going to be baked into the forthcoming v76 build whether you want it or not!). UPDATE: Six months later and it's definitely still a worthy purchase. If you sideload Quest Games Optimizer, you can immediately improve graphical fidelity, by instantly improving resolution and/or CPU/GPU performance with profiles. A real game changer, with just the resolution increase alone. You can also sideload ports of older games via SideQuest, such as Doom 3, Castle Wolfenstein, Quake 3 etc. so even more options for gaming. Due to the extra cost of third party peripherals, I would give it 4.5 stars overall (Updated April 2025)

Upgraded from a Quest 2 a couple of years ago and boy that was the right call. This headset is incredible, the pancake lenses with the upgraded resolution makes for an incredible experience. I Played Half Life Alex as a benchmark, and It was incredible, unfortunately it's the only game that can really make use of VR to its full potential, but it's incredible. I stand by the title of this review, there are better headsets like the big-screen beyond or the Pimax etc, but in terms of price, quality and game availability, this one is the winner.

I've upgraded from a Quest 2 to a Quest 3. Quest 3 has better lenses/gpu/cpu so much better image quality and performance. Indeed, vs. the Quest Pro, I believe the only loss is eye tracking and the 3 is better specified than the pro in many respects. So, bang for buck, the '3' wins over all currently available standalone headsets. I currently use the stock head strap on the 3, which is much more comfortable than Quest 2. The only disadvantage vs. Quest 2, apart from the large price premium, is slightly lower battery life. But (a) I prefer playing VR in 30-60 minute bursts and (b) there are workarounds with third party headstraps/batteries if needed. As an Oculus Quest product, you have access to a huge number of games and experiences in the Quest Store, some of which (not many, yet) have already been enhanced to take advantage of the Quest 3's improved graphics power. I played through Red Matter 2 on Quest 2, which at the time was the 'reference' title for what could be graphically achieved on a standalone VR headset and was blown away. But with the Quest 3 enhancements it's even more stunning. At present, there are not too many titles that take advantage of the Quest 3's graphics or mixed reality capabilities. These will come, I'm sure. In the meantime, existing titles will look sharper on the 3 purely because of the improved lenses and processing power. I bought the 512Gb version because I had run out of space on my 64Gb Quest 2. You would think 128gb would be enough for a '3' but bear in mind that when games incorporate Quest 3 graphics enhancements they will require more installation space. You can offload games you're not currently playing to reinstall on your device later but reinstallation takes time, quite a lot depending on the speed of your internet connection and the size of the game. Finally, and I think this only applies until 26th Jan 2024, getting the triple-A new title 'Asgard's Wrath 2' free with the headset, is great. It is an amazing game that has blown me away with its scale and quality. So, in conclusion, a fantastic VR experience. It's quite a price hike vs. the '2', especially now the '2' has been reduced. If you want the best, most future-proof headset which will run all current and future (next 2-3 years minimum) games then get the '3'. For a first-time, toe in the water experience maybe the '2' at its new low price is worth considering. The 3 came out around 3 years after the 2, so assuming the same release cycle getting the '2' now, enjoying it and then getting the '4' in 3 years is an option!

Great so far, pass through isn’t as clear as I thought it would be but give it another 5 to 10 years and it will be. The games are like the psvr2. Psvr2 is still good for big games but this you can travel with and move around the home at ease. The battery does die fast but nobody should have over 2 hrs in VR without resting the eyes. So I just charge it before another session. I like to watch movies on it from YouTube and prime video, Netflix. My favourite games so far is pencil, miracle pool, crazy golf game and Batman Don’t by a dock if you want to change the strap and don’t put a silicone face cover over it as it will overheat. Use the plastic ones instead to protect it. I have mine in a case only to charge as the dock I asked for wouldn’t fit with the protective face cover on it. The controller batteries don’t need rechargeable either as they have lasted me weeks without changing them and you can go hands free with most things I do on it.

Amazing VR beadset, especially paired with a gaming PC for air link. I've never had VR before and It is excellent, the lens quality is lovely, can be worn with glasses and it can by adjusted to give you the best position. Best purchase I've made in a long time. I bought a 6000mah battery head strap to go with it and I recommend you do the same.

I was initially sceptical about Vr and have avoided them so far. I like games, but I’m not a gamer, and I saw them as a gimmicky gaming device with poor resolution. No more! They are so much more than that now. I have been using mine since I got it and I have only just tried out my first actual game, and loved it. The exploration apps are awesome inspiring. Looking around the Parthenon, or Pyramids, or the street where I lived as a child was amazing. The fitness apps are worth the price of the device, which is still a considered purchase and a decided hit on the pockets to most, but I doubt I’ll be going the boring expensive gym again and Amazon finance let me pay over a period of months rather than in one go. I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten so exhausted and happy exercising. The apps don’t feel like exercising though and an hour feels like minutes, as they’re fun. The dancing apps are also good and make you exercise more than you realise. The drawing apps for drawing in 2d and 3d have all been excellent. The 3d jigsaw puzzles are fantastic and can be really difficult depending on your settings, and there are lots of meditation and relaxation apps. The app Ocean Rift is definitely my favourite to decompress. You are in the Ocean as creatures swim around you. It’s so relaxing, especially after exercising. I haven’t been impressed by the language learning provision so far, but more apps are constantly being developed, so it may improve, and I haven’t tried anywhere near everything yet. You can also watch movies in a cinema like environment or buy animated movies as apps that are interactive. For those who like games, you can use stream etc. if they’re not on the meta site and you can tether to the pc for a better experience. I haven’t tried either, but I have checked it out and it looks good for those who like games. I can say that the device is incredible. I’d advise buying an additional headset with a battery to increase comfort and battery life, a silicone face protector to be able to wipe any sweat away without it being absorbed by the fabric, a rubber protector for the front to prevent damages to the lenses, and a felt covering for the lenses inside to prevent scratches or dust getting on them when not in use. These are not expensive at present when you consider the price of the device. The display is crystal clear. I was incredibly surprised and happy at how clear it was and how much space you feel around you with them on. It is as immersive as they say, and getting the 3 rather than the 3s was well worth it to me for that clarity alone. I also feel that I will need the extra storage provided by the 3. It is very easy to get carried away and download lots of apps. As it comes with Batman and 3 month’s subscription worth of meta quest + games which you will naturally want to instantly download, I can see the storage quickly being used up over time if you want them all downloaded and available instantly or offline, so 512gb is definitely a plus and worth the extra money over the 3s for me. In short, I’m very pleased with my purchase and can foresee many years of using it, and I haven’t even gotten to the games yet.

Normally I don’t write reviews, but I feel so strongly about this Quest 3, If felt I had to. I researched this for a few weeks, mostly on YouTube. I’ve been taking 360-degree photos for years now and I wanted a device that would do them justice, so I purchased this 512GB Quest 3 as it had dropped in price due to the new 3S model just announced. I had watched video’s on how to connect it to a Windows PC and Mac, and it looked really good. I mostly use a Mac so I downloaded SideQuest and was ready to go. You have to follow a set of instructions the first time. You have to register as a developer to gain access to the quest on the meta site. When the Quest was connected to SideQuest I had to three folders of images to put onto the Quest. The first folder went on, the program crashed half way through the second folder. I tried again and the same thing happened. I downloaded a £7.99 app called SKYBOX VR which had a 4.5-star rating. Only 4 out of my 100 images in the first folder were viewable. When I loaded the first image, SKYBOX crashed and a message came up stating not enough memory to run the app. I manged to get another image working, by which time the battery was down from 100% to 58% with only 30 minutes use. I then used a windows PC to connect the Quest. According to Meta, you plug the Quest in and it comes up as an external hard drive in Windows, and you just drag and drop files. I tried several times and even reset the quest to factory default and tried again after about 30 minutes of updates. All the quest would do is charge when connected to the PC. I then read a review of the SKYBOX app where a customer explained that the App now allows a user to plug in an SSD and play files from that. I thought great, this is the answer. I plugged in my Samsung T7 1TB SSD. It came up in the app, I selected a 360 image and the App crashed again. I uninstalled and reinstalled and the same thing. I then tried a 1080p HEVC video. It started to play, then after 20 seconds, it started to buffer every other second. Meta goes on about how powerful the Quest 3 is, and it can run complex 360 games and so on, but it can’t play anything that I’ve thrown at it. A standard 1080p video and a 36mp 360 image should not be a problem. I have a Doogee T30 pro tablet which was £159.99. This tablet plays all my 360 photos and 1080p HEVC files. It even plays 4K HEVC video files and its processor is about a third of the power of the Quest 3, so something is very wrong somewhere! I tried their standard player that is built in the Quest and the video still buffers, so I have given up and Amazon can have it back. Being a technology geek, I am absolutely amazed at what I have experienced compared to everything I have watched about the headset online. Meta say they have invested billions into VR. I would say get a refund! I also found the battery life very, very poor. The resolution is nowhere near a 4K TV, not even close. The headset is front heavy, and I found it pulling down on my face, and every time I would take the headset off my glassed would come off my face with the headset, even though the spacer was set to the maximum, that should allow for my glasses. The headset would steam up, this maybe me, being frustrated at dropping £500+ for something that just didn’t do what I wanted it to do. I spent several hours trying to get this working, and it's the most frustrated I have been for many years. The unit has been designed not to be repaired. If you need the battery replaced, it is the last thing an engineer can get to. He has to strip down the whole headset down. Meta have gone out their way to make this process as difficult as possible. Over the two days I had it, I charged the battery four times, this is how bad the battery life was. The battery will be knackered after a year I recon with average use. Meta could have quite easily put the battery on the back of the head strap, like a lot of the third party accessories that are available for the Quest. This would balance the device better. They could have made the battery quick release, so you could hot swap them. The reason they did not is make more money! They want you to buy one of these every 2 years. Buying something new should be a pleasurable experience, but this was hell! VR is not for me in 2024.