The Best VR Headsets (2024), Tested and Reviewed

The Meta Quest 3 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is simply a monolithic upgrade implicit its predecessor successful astir each category. It has improved specs crossed the board—slightly higher resolution, a faster processor, much RAM, and the enactment for up to 512 GB of interior storage—but the biggest alteration is the mixed-reality upgrade. The erstwhile model, the Quest 2, had external-facing cameras for orienting itself successful the satellite and a pass-through diagnostic that fto you spot the country you're successful to debar obstacles. The Quest 3 takes it respective steps further, making immersive augmented world halfway to the experience.

For starters, the pass-through cameras tin present amusement you a colour representation alternatively of achromatic and white. It's besides somewhat higher resolution, truthful it's easier to archer what you're looking at. It inactive feels a spot similar you're looking astatine an aboriginal 2000s-era YouTube video of your surviving room, but it's worlds amended than not being capable to spot your surroundings astatine all. This tech enables immoderate innovative new games and experiences. One of my favorites, PianoVision, is designed to assistance you larn the soft by overlaying adjuvant accusation and adjacent soft rolls onto a video of your actual, carnal keyboard. It turns practicing the instrumentality into a Guitar Hero–like experience, and it's thing that wouldn't beryllium imaginable with VR alone.

The downside? The Meta Quest 3 is much costly than the Quest 2 ever was (even aft its midlife terms hike). Starting astatine $500, it's connected par with buying full crippled consoles, truthful it's not rather an impulse buy, but if you're looking for the champion stand-alone VR headset with the widest room of games and apps that enactment some VR and mixed reality, the Quest 3 is the headset to beat. It's worthy noting that the institution down it each is Meta (aka Facebook). You mightiness not similar that, fixed Meta's less-than-stellar history of managing idiosyncratic information (not to notation how that information is used). At slightest you don't request a Facebook relationship anymore to usage a Meta headset.

Supports room-scale VR, pass-through mixed reality, tin run with oregon without a PC, and comes with 2 controllers.