Leaked video gives glimpse of Meta Quest 3's passthrough quality
Meta Quest 3 has much better passthrough than Meta Quest Pro. A leaked video confirms this.
The video shows an unannounced Quest 3 version of the AR collaboration platform Campfire. The startup announced in May that it was working on a Quest version of its software. The video says that the recording was made using Meta Quest 3, and the new ringless Touch Plus controllers can also be seen.
The video was posted by Twitter user Luna. I asked where the video came from, but haven't heard back yet (Update: According to Luna, the video surfaced on Campfire's Vimeo channel, where it was publicly available but later removed. Meanwhile, a PR representative for Campfire asked us to take down this article due to "inaccurate details". We've since removed the screenshot and video, and embedded Luna's tweet below). My guess is that it's from an upcoming product announcement. Meta Quest 3 will be unveiled in detail at Meta Connect 2023 on September 27.
Less warping, no overexposure
The video shows two users interacting with a 3D model in passthrough mode and gives a first impression of the passthrough quality of the Quest 3. Luna points out that the video was compressed twice: once when it was downloaded and again when it was uploaded to Twitter.
This is the app Campfire3D, running on a Meta Quest 3 devkit.
You can see that the user is holding a Touch Plus controller (with the Oculus logo on the home button as some devkits have) confirming this.
Gives another glimpse at what we can expect from the passthrough quality. pic.twitter.com/onpWYFDMPa
— Luna (@Lunayian) September 19, 2023
In the video, you can see that the image shows less warping and doesn't overexpose compared to Quest 2 and Pro. When looking out of the window, the outer surroundings can still be seen clearly. With the Quest 2 and Quest Pro, you can barely use the smartphone due to overexposure.
Of course, you cannot make a final judgment based on a video. The visual experience will differ from what you see with your own eyes when wearing the headset. Poor and changing lighting conditions will also play an important role.
A "big improvement" over Quest 2
So far, the only verbal testimony to the passthrough quality has come from journalist Mark Gurman. He said in May that Quest 3 allowed him to read the time on his Apple Watch and text on his iPhone while wearing the headset. "I'm not saying it's crystal clear, like you're looking through regular glasses, right? But I'm telling you, it's day and night compared to the Quest 2," Gurman said.
That's not surprising. According to Meta, the Quest 3's passthrough mode has ten times as many pixels thanks to its two 4MP RGB cameras.
We should get a better idea of the passthrough quality by September 27, 2023 at the latest. That is when Meta Quest 3 will be officially unveiled.
- Twitter: Luna
- Bloomberg: A First Look at the Headset That Could Be Apple’s Biggest Competition
- Meta Quest Blog: Meta Quest 3 Launches Later This Year + Lower Prices & Improvements for Quest 2
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