Meta Quest 3 reviews are in — 3 things people hate about it

The Meta Quest 3 ship date is on Tuesday, and ahead of its arrival, tech outlets — from The Verge to Engadget — have dropped their critiques of the Quest 2 successor. Mashable also rolled out its own review of the new-generation VR headset, too, but we thought it’d be a great idea to peruse through other reviews to get a broad overview what people truly think of the Quest 3.

As it turns out, there’s a consensus. Meta can breathe a sigh of relief because, for the most part, the Quest 3 is praised as the greatest standalone VR headset in the market. There is some disappointment over the price hike (it has a starting price of $499 while the Quest 2 costs $399), but overall, reviewers agree that the upgrades are worth the extra $100. The top features that reviewers are raving about are the Quest 3’s sharper, more colorful dual displays, easy setup, enhanced 3D speakers, and most importantly, color passthrough.

What’s color passthrough? It’s a feature that lets you still see the real-world environment while you’re still wearing your headset. The Quest 2 has passthrough, but it’s a grayscale nightmare. The Quest 3, on the other hand, now has two dual RGB cameras that facilitate color passthrough, and by extension, it allows mixed-reality experiences.

However, while the Quest 3 attracted a lot of praise, I couldn’t help but notice a common thread. Reviewers did not like three specific aspects of the Quest 3.

What reviewers disliked about the Quest 3

Color passthrough delivered a major gen-over-gen upgrade. After all, unlike the Quest 2, you can incorporate your real-world surroundings into your virtual experience, allowing you to dive head-first into the wonders of augmented reality (AR). However, while many reviewers appreciated color passthrough, they couldn’t help but point out one irksome issue.

1. Color passthrough is not detailed enough

Whether it was The Verge, Wired, or Digital Trends, reviewers commented that color passthrough is a welcome upgrade, but the picture isn’t as defined as they’d like it to be.

“It struggles badly in low light, turning everything grainy and low-res,” The Verge’s David Pierce said about his mixed-reality experience. Pierce also noticed some warping: his hands and the floor looked distorted at times. However, Pierce added that color passthrough is “mostly accurate” in well-lit spaces. I can attest to Pierce’s experience. I, too, spotted some warping with the Quest 3; my hands and arms appeared to bend at odd angles sometimes.

Wired also pointed out that color passthrough is still “noticeably fuzzy.” DigitalTrends noted that the Quest 3’s color passthrough is clear enough that one can still use their phone while wearing the headset, but added “the resolution isn’t so good that I would use my phone for an extended period that way.” I concur; I can vaguely make out the apps on my phone screen, but there’s no way I can start texting anyone via Quest 3’s passthrough mode.

The Verge would agree: “[Color passthrough] good enough that you can see your cup of coffee; not good enough to see if it’s coffee or tea. Good enough to see the time on your watch; not good enough to read the text of your notification.”

2. No battery life improvement

Mashable got less than two hours of battery life on the Quest 3 and other reviewers experienced a similar runtime.

• “A hair over two hours” — The Verge

• 2.2 hours — Tom’s Guide

• 2.2 hours — Venture Beat

• “Just under two hours for wireless play” — PCGamer

• 1.5 to 3 hours — Reviewed

• 2 hours and 12 minutes — TechRadar

Fortunately, the Quest 3 has a new charging dock, so you can charge your headset and your controllers simultaneously between sessions.

You can also squeeze out more battery life out of your Quest 3 if you outfit it with the Elite Strap, an accessory with a built-in battery that can replace the out-of-the-box straps to make it much more comfortable (thanks to its fit wheel).

3. Where are all the mixed-reality apps and games?

The Quest 3 has a free game called First Encounters that encapsulates the headset’s AR capabilities. It involves a gang of colorful, aggressive alien space critters crashing into your home, wrecking havoc. And it’s up to you to regain control with nothing but an underpowered weapon in your hand. It perfectly blends your environment with virtual extraterrestrial creatures. When I played it, it really did feel as if my dining room was under siege.

However, like many other reviewers noticed, First Encounters set the bar high. It’s difficult to find another mixed-reality game in the Quest Store that meets or exceeds the caliber of AR immersion you experience with the extraterrestrial game.

“There’s almost nothing compelling to do in mixed reality on the Quest 3,” The Verge said. “The single most fun MR experience I’ve had so far is First Encounters.” See? It’s not just me. And other outlets expressed similar sentiments.

“Beyond [First Encounters], it’s hard to find good uses for [mixed reality], at least during the review period,” Wired said before adding that Rube Goldberg Workshop and Zombies Noir: Mixed Reality weren’t half bad. I tried to play the latter on the Quest 3, but I was told that my play area was too small to truly experience the breadth of the game.

“I’m excited to see what comes in the future, but at present, it’s fair to say that there aren’t a lot of games utilising mixed reality,” Pocket-Lint said.

Despite a few flaws, I still would recommend the Quest 3 in a heartbeat. The display quality, while not even close to being high-fidelity, is a significant step up over its predecessor. And while mixed-reality experiences are scant, it’s only a matter of time before a swarm of AR games hit the Quest Store. After all, Meta has promised that over 100 new and updated titles are coming our way in the near future.