After a three-year hole between the Oculus Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3, it is truthful to guess that we might not see a Meta Quest 4 till 2026. But it is simply that: a guess.The Quest 1 and Quest 2 have been simply 17 months aside. Meta and Reality Labs have deliberate and canceled a number of Quest 3 successors already, based mostly on leaks. And relying on how the Quest 3 resonates with shoppers, we might see a Quest 4 sooner reasonably than later.A report from The Verge earlier this 12 months unveiled the present Quest roadmap: a supposed Quest 3 Lite (codenamed Ventura) in 2024 and a brand new Quest 2 Pro prototype (La Jolla) in 2025. We additionally know of a number of canceled Quest prototypes — codenamed Cardiff, Hermosa, and Funston — and one (Cardiff) was beforehand rumored to be a Quest 3 Plus that may improve on the Quest 3 in key methods.All of this to say, Meta’s roadmap has modified so quickly over the previous couple of years that it is not possible to say when the Quest 4 will arrive. What we do know is that it will have the duty of enhancing on the Quest 3 and competing with premium headsets just like the Apple Vision Pro.Based on the weak factors revealed by our Meta Quest 3 hands-on, together with a number of Meta Quest non-consumer prototypes the corporate has unveiled previously couple of years, this is a completely speculative checklist of what we would love the Meta Quest 4 to ship, from seemingly upgrades to pie-in-the-sky requests.Eye monitoring(Image credit score: Brittainy Newman)It’s an comprehensible omission, however a disappointment nonetheless, that the Meta Quest 3 would not have eye monitoring just like the PSVR 2 and Quest Pro.With eye monitoring, you’ll be able to allow foveated rendering, a graphical trick that concentrates the processor’s efforts wherever the person is trying. The Quest Pro presents 30% higher graphical efficiency because of this trick, whereas the PSVR 2 supposedly will get as much as 3.6X sooner GPU body time with foveated rendering and eye monitoring.Aside from that, Sony makes use of eye monitoring on the PSVR 2 to inform you in case your present headset’s interpupillary distance (IPD) matches your eyes. The Quest 3 has an improved IPD wheel to extra precisely mirror your face, however you continue to must measure your eyes with a ruler and regulate the wheel everytime you hand the headset off to another person.We requested Meta about why the Quest 3 did not have eye monitoring, and so they mentioned it was a easy cost-saving measure. To hit its $499 value level, it needed to make compromises. Other Quest 3 vs. Quest 2 upgrades to the show, lenses, audio system, and so forth took precedence, and the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip offers you a 2X GPU increase by itself.Still, we will hope the expertise will progress sufficient by the following era that it could affordably be added with out compromises. If the PSVR 2 might add it at a $550 value level, hopefully, the Meta Quest 4 can add it too.Leave LCD behind(Image credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)The Quest 3 shows acquired a 30% decision increase over the Quest 2, supplying you with a formidable 2064 x 2208 pixels per eye, or 1,218 pixels per inch. That’s 445 extra PPI than the Quest 2, and we might hardly ask for extra at this value level.The draw back to the Quest 3 visuals is that it nonetheless depends on LCD reasonably than QLED (Quest Pro) or OLED (PSVR 2, the unique Oculus Quest).OLED offers you richer colours and deeper blacks, whereas LCDs can wrestle with darker video games, making them seem grey. And regardless of the Quest Pro’s decrease decision, we appreciated its 500 native dimming zones, black-level enchancment, and wider colour gamut.Eventually, we would like to see a return to OLED, which might reproduce extra immersive colours as you sink into improbable worlds. We’ll see if the Quest 4 can ship this whereas sustaining an inexpensive value.Built-in Elite StrapA Meta prototype (Holocake 2) with ultra-thin lenses and built-in Elite Strap (Image credit score: Meta)Meta’s price-saving alternative of a material strap over an Elite Strap is sensible on the floor. It pushes the fee onto the patron to spend the additional $80 for higher consolation, whereas the lighter material strap lets them say the Quest 3 is comparatively light-weight.That being mentioned, we will as soon as once more have a look at rivals just like the PSVR 2 — with its built-in halo strap and again adjustment knob — and the Pico 4 — with its Elite Strap knock-off design — to see that it is doable to offer a greater match on this value vary, even when each provide downgrades in different areas.The Quest 3 material strap has a extra considerate design than the Quest 2’s, no less than, with twin straps on each side of your head for higher assist and rear plastic loops that hold it securely set at a particular match. The solely draw back is that these facet straps sit straight above your ears and might trigger a little bit of friction or stress there, whereas a padded Elite Strap that grips your head and a single high strap is extra snug and safe.So we will hope that the Quest 4 does with out the fabric straps totally and sticks to an Elite Strap out of the gate.Cloud gaming(Image credit score: Ubisoft)We do not essentially need this subsequent characteristic, but it surely’s one thing we all know from leaks that Meta is engaged on.Earlier this 12 months, VR analyst Brad Lynch claimed {that a} supply had advised him about Project Razor, “a partnership between Meta and US-based ISP/MNOs, i.e., Verizon, AT&T, etc., to help build connectivity improvements and get the internet ‘metaverse ready.'”We additionally noticed from Quest 3 FCC filings that Meta might need examined the current-gen headset’s 5G capabilities, which is sensible given its Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip might simply assist 5G. But as Meta Connect 2023 made no point out of this characteristic, we will assume Meta nonetheless has work to do to implement it.Cloud gaming’s upside is that the Meta Quest 3 or 4 might play PC VR-quality video games without having to depend on cell {hardware}; this, in flip, might permit Meta to maintain future Quest headsets lighter with out as a lot sturdy {hardware}.The worrying draw back is that cloud gaming has latency points, which might set off nausea or frustration in VR video games when your sport actions do not match your individual. We additionally do not know if Meta will cost for this service, and never each space has dependable 5G connectivity.So, whereas we’re curious if the Quest 4 depends on 5G networks to reclaim the defunct Rift model’s concentrate on high-end gaming with out a high-end PC rig. But we additionally don’t desire the Quest 4 to rely on the cloud. For now, the Quest 3’s graphical enhancements ought to hold most VR avid gamers joyful.Varifocal or holocake lenses(Image credit score: Meta)We’ll spherical out our checklist with one thing we all know Meta is engaged on however is extremely unlikely to be prepared for consumer-priced VR headsets anytime quickly.At the SIGGRAPH 2023 convention, Meta confirmed off its Butterscotch Varifocal prototype, the “first prototype headset to achieve varifocal with a retinal resolution display of roughly 60 pixels per degree (PPD), which is sufficient for 20/20 visual acuity.”Currently, VR lenses have a set focus the place textual content and objects are within the clearest focus, so builders should plan round this. With varifocal lenses, the Quest prototype can focus electronically on objects which might be near or far-off from the person within the digital world.This prototype additionally hits the passthrough gold customary for seeing your environment as if you happen to weren’t sporting a headset, however that is one thing you will see on a future Quest Pro headset that does not must hit an inexpensive value level. And it at the moment solely has a minuscule 50-degree discipline of view, proving this idea has an extended strategy to go earlier than it is viable.(Image credit score: Meta)If Meta can provide varifocal lenses on the Quest 4 (or one other future Quest headset), it will dynamically change how sport builders design one of the best Quest video games, eradicating the visible restrictions that make it arduous for avid gamers to correctly learn issues round them in VR.The different Meta VR prototype we noticed, pictured above, is the Holocake 2. Holocake lenses are the following step after the Quest 3’s pancake lenses, including a holographic layer that removes the necessity for convex or concave lenses. With it, the Quest 4 could possibly be skinnier in entrance than ever, providing some actual weight reduction to the already-comfortable Quest 3.
Until the next-gen arrives
The Meta Quest 4 is years away from a hypothetical launch, so for now, the Quest 3 is one of the best standalone VR possibility you might hope for. It has enhanced graphics and visuals, full-color mixed-reality adequate to learn your cellphone display along with your headset on, and a extra snug design.