Mark Zuckerberg teases $499 Meta Quest 3 VR headset – days before Apple is set to unveil its device

This has been announced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg the company’s next-generation mixed reality headset, the Quest 3, on Thursday as part of its annual gaming conference.

The white-colored headset starts at $499 and is touted as “the first mainstream high-res color mixed reality headset.”

Zuckerberg teased the technology in an Instagram post, stating that Quest 3 is 40 percent thinner and more comfortable than its predecessors, but is compatible with the entire Quest library with more titles to come.

The announcement came less than a week before tech rival Apple was expected to unveil its first mixed-reality device, which combines augmented and virtual reality elements.

Meta currently dominates the AR/VR device market, with a share of nearly 80 percent of the 8.8 million headsets sold by 2022, according to an estimate by market research firm IDC.

Thursday’s announcement was just a preview of the upcoming official reveal.

Shots and video show Quest 3 has three front cameras that allow users to immerse themselves in a digital world, but still get in touch with reality.

The video noted that it improved “natural” depth perception for the wearer and touted graphical improvements for gaming.

“High-performance color pass-through, innovative machine learning, and spatial awareness let you interact with virtual content and the physical world simultaneously, opening up limitless possibilities to explore,” Meta shared in the announcement.

These features allow users to play a virtual board game on a real table or decorate their living room with virtual art.

Quest 3 (right) is 40 percent thinner and more comfortable than its predecessors – the Quest 2 (left)

Shots and video show Quest 3 has three front cameras that allow users to immerse themselves in a digital world, but still get in touch with reality.

Meta also “completely redesigned Quest 3’s Touch Plus controllers with a more streamlined and ergonomic form factor”

Employers could use this to simulate high-risk scenarios in staff training, while teachers could use it for immersive learning experiences.

The headset is the first in the range to feature a next-generation Snapdragon chipset co-developed with Qualcomm Technologies.

The chip delivers more than twice the graphics performance of the previous generation Snapdragon GPU in Quest 2.

Meta also “completely redesigned Quest 3’s Touch Plus controllers with a more streamlined and ergonomic form factor.”

The white-colored headset starts at $499 and is touted as “the first mainstream headset with high-res color mixed reality

The outer tracking rings have been removed, making controllers feel like a natural extension of the user’s hands.

And TruTouch haptics were also added to the devices.

‘Hand tracking is supported out-of-the-box, so you can explore without controllers, thanks to Direct Touch that lets you use only your hands to interact with virtual objects,” the announcement reads.

Quest 3 can be used to play the 500+ VR games designed for Quest 2, but there are many more titles to come.

Meta said the official launch will take place later this year at its annual Connect event around September 27.

The announcement also states that Quest 2 will have a lower price of $299.99 for the 128 GB SKU and $349.99 for the 256 GB SKU.

Apple is expected to unveil its much-anticipated VR headset Monday at its annual World Wide Developer Conference.

The headset, which is expected to be called “Reality Pro,” will transport notifications, messages, directions, and more from your iPhone right in front of your eyes.

But at a rumored $3,000, the device could be limited to only the most ardent – and wealthy – Apple fan