You'll find both the 128GB and 256GB versions up for grabs in this weekend's sale with the former coming in at just $269.99 (was $299.99). That's a $30 discount I've seen a few times this year so far, but it's a fantastic offer on one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets nonetheless.𒈔 Of course, if you're going for the big saving y𒀰ou'll want to check out the 256GB model.

This $399.99 device has dropped $50 from 🍸its final pric﷽e to meet us at this weekend. That's a solid result considering I've only ever seen discounts dip this low once before the current sale.

128GB vs 256GB: which Meta Quest 3S should you buy?

Duncan reviewed the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S when it first launched, and while there are a few hints that this isn't the brand's flagship device it's still a fantastic affordable headset. The value on offer in this standalone experience is unparalleled on the market right now (unless you already have a PS5 to run PSVR 2). Sure, those fresnel lenses aren't going to offer you the same clarity and field of vision as the more premium 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3's pancake lenses, and Duncan did experience some issues with control⛎ler tracking.

For $269.99, though, you're getting access to a huge library of games and an overall VR😼 e🧸xperience that isn't too dissimilar from high-end models.

If you're ready to dive into this mixed-reality world, there's just o🌼ne question left to answer: how much storagꦗe do you need?

The 256GB model offers a larger price cut in this weekend's sale, but considering Meta Quest 3S games and apps are rarely large enough to really make that 128GB version sweat I don't think it's the better buy. Of course, if you already know you're going to be running the heaviest games (or downloading high quality vꦍideo files to your device), that larger model makes sense. However, for the everyday thrill-seeker, 128GB is just fine.

We're also rounding up all the latest 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 deals and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories to kit out your new headset. Or, take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming earbuds for some audio options.

After the dust had settled from the launch of the Valve Index and its Half Life: Alyx pairing, Valve's first headset earned a spot among the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets, and in 2025, it lo♈oks as though we're finally getting a follow-up. Codenamed Valve Deckard, the new headset is rumoured to launch at some point in 2025 or early 2026, and although there's been 💛no official confirmation on it, there have been plenty of leaks and a whole lot of signs pointing to its upcoming arrival. I've collected together all the details we know so far and put them on this page to help fuel your research and excitement.

Of course, Valve's har🍬dware is famously hit or miss. While the Steam Deck is industry-leading and arguably kickstarted the whole handheld gaming PC craze we see today, we probably don't need to mention the Steam controller, nor the original Steam box that was said to be the console market killer. Luckily, Gabe Newell's company struck gold when it made its VR headset, and even if its price has always been a barrier to entry, the Valve Index is still hallowed in the VR hall of fame.

What is Valve "Deckard" and what do we know about it?

Even if we don't have confirmation that a new Valve headset isღ coming, speculation that Valve was making one actually started way back in 2021. Gabe Newell, Valve's CEO, said at a panel talk that the company was making big investments in new headsets. While that's hardly a confirmation that it's been worki♒ng on a new device since then, it showed that Valve has VR plans beyond the original Index.

More recently, speculation and rumours from Gabe Follower on Twitter (who has a notable track record of releasing Valve's plans ahead of time) say that Deckard will be a new standalone VR headset that will run on a refined version of SteamOS. That means it'll be able to be used without the addition of a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC, and that it'll run on the same operating system as Valve's Steam Deck and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck OLED.

The purported bonus of running on this OS isn't just that it puts Valve's SteamVR library front and center, but that non-VR games that already run on a Steam Deck will be playable on Valve Deckar𒁃d for even more portable, play-on-the-go versatility.

Even though the device is titled to be a standalone headset, it's also possible that the Valve Deckard stays true to its roots and has either HDMI or Displ𝐆ayPort connectivity for those who want a more powerful, visually 🧜lossless VR experience.

According to leaked schematics, Deckard will be paired with controllers that are codenamed "Roy" and look fairly similar to standard VR controllers we've seen already. It looks as though, like 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3, Valve💝 has🌼 ditched the tracking rings on these ones, though.

In April of 2025, SadlyItsBradley, one of the most well-known sources of VR leaks on the interneജt, came out with news that Valve has apparently been importing equipment to manufacture HMDs (head-mounted displays) and facial interfaces in the US. The "insider" posted shipping manifests and images attesting to this report, which can be seen below.

This led a lot of press to believe that Valve Deckard might not be so 🦂far off its rumored 2025 time♔line, and that it would seem the headset is being manufactured, at least in part, in the US.

According to a more recent set of▨ reports in May, which again, should be taken with a pinch of salt, the founder of Lynx, a French startup in the XR space, has some knowledge of Valve Deckard. Stan Larroque 💝said on Twitter, "The design of Valve next HMD is quite amazing!

"I would be equally pissed if Lynx nextgen ID got leaked so I won't 💎share more. I'm just excited for good new XR HMDs. The HMD-making world is so small, we all share the same suppliers for 🅰some components."

Larroque later claimed that Deckard 𒁃won't launch unti𒅌l 2026, but this is the first bit of speculation that points to a launch date outside of 2025.

When will Valve Deckard's release date be?

According to most insider🍌s on Twitter, as well as unconfirmed speculation, Valve Deckard is scheduled to launch before the end of 2025, but as we still don't have official confirmation that the headset even exists, it might be a while before we hear more about its official release date.

A launch before the end of 2025 would certainly make sense within the current market. Meta's Quest 3 and Quest 3S devices launched iಞn October of 2023 and 2024, and right now, we have speculation that a headset from Asus that uses Meta's OS could launch at some point this year. Also waiting in the wings is Samsung and Google's take on the Apple Vision Pro. We don't have a launch date for that one either, but it's been in the works for a long time n𓂃ow.

How much will Valve Deckard cost?

While we don't have an official price, we do have a few rumours from Gabe Follower that point to the new headset being bundled with its controllers and a few "in-house" games or demos, and that the entire bundle could cost $1,200. This is the most concrete detail we have on pricing thus far, but it's also still unconfirmed and should absolutely be taken with a dose of♑ scepticism.

What we do know is that t🅘he VR market has shifted dramatically since the Valve Index arrived.

Back then, PC headsets were the🔯 name of the game, but they were a luxury ite🎐m that cost at least $1,000. Thankfully, the hardware has come a long way since, because you don't need silly room tracking modules, or even wires, if you don't want them.

Now, we have headsets like PSVR 2, which beats the Valve Index in a lot of its specs and features, and costs under $500. Taking up a bigger chunk of the market, though, are standalone devices, and since it's rumoured tha✃t Valve Deckard will fit into this niche, its prices could point to a more reasonable (and affordable) device than last tꦿime.

The Meta Quest 3, the Meta Quest 3S, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra are what a new Valve headset will need to compete with in the standalone market. The most ൲affordable of those options is the Quest 3S 128GB model, which only costs $299. I'd wager the Deckard headset will cost more than these devices since it's likely targeting a higher-en🏅d gaming market, but I hope it won't drift as high as the Apple Vision Pro, which costs a ludicrous $3,500.

Perhaps most appropriate for comparison is the HTC Vive Focus Vision, a PC-tilted but still standalone 🌌VR device. It'𓂃s designed for visually lossless VR gaming on PC, so it's a natural competitor to whatever Valve is cooking up. That headset costs $999 - which aligns it closer to the original Valve Index.

I'd personally like to think that Valve has learned from the affordability of its Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED, so I'd hope the Valve Index undercuts HTC. My personal hopes for a price for Valve Deckard would be around the $700 mark, but it entirely depends upon the chipset used, because if it can offer substantially more power than a Quest 3 or Pico 4 Ultra, it'll be worth the extra money versus one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming handhelds.

What games will Valve Deckard be able to play?

If Valve Deckard is set to run on a refined version of SteamOS, it'd stand to reason that every game on Steam that's VR compatible will be playab🐬le on the new headset. If it can 🐷also link to a PC, it'll likely be able to either stream gameplay through something like Steamlink from your gaming PC, or it'll hook up to your graphics card with a wire for a pure, lossless experience.

There are hundreds, if not thousands♌, of VR games already on Steam, so I don't think Deckard will be short of titles to play.

The big question is whether or not we'll get a first-party game release, 𝔉like we did with Half-Life: Alyx. Could it be a classic Valve secret, could it be a VR port of Deadlock? We'll need to wait and see, but so far, rumors have been pretty quiet about anything to do with new software.

Upgrading your PC for Valve Deckard's arrival? Take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best RAM for gaming, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best CPU for gaming, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best graphics cards.

Revealed at Summer Game Fest 2025, Deadpool VR for the Meta Quest 3 aims to put play♛ers into the shoes of Marvel's most oddball anti-hero. Before the reveal, I got the opportunity to play early portions of Deadpool VR's story campaign, along with speaking with game director Daniel Bullock and lead design manager Phil Therien from developer Twisted Pixel about bringing the off-the-wall mercenary into VR for the first time.

"Wait 'til they get a load of me…"

"It's really all about being the cool, all-encompassing Deadpool experience," says lead design manager Phil Therien on Dead🧸pool VR. "He has the weapons, h🗹e's got the wit, the humor, and his own trademark way to solve problems. We've got all that throughout our game, so really, we've been kind of bottled up like what it is like to be Deadpool in VR."

In Deadpool VR, the so-called Merc with a Mouth (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris) gets dragged into a conflict with the interdimensional invader Mojo and the secretive defense agency SHIELD. Afte🌄r being transported to the gladiatorial dimension Mojoworld, Deadpool – who's uniquely aware of being in a video game – charts a path of carnage to take down a rogue's gallery of villains and get himself back to Earth.

Much like the recent Batman: Arkham Shadow, Deadpool VR aims to capture the experience of being a superhero within VR. Compared to Batman or Iron Man, however, playing as Deadpool opens more possibilities for fast, slapstick violence that's b🐈oth gory and goofy, all punctuated by the character's deep-cut commentary that pokes fun at video game tropes – such as how the game has rooms solely designed for clearing out a certain number of enemies before allowing passage forward.

It's an action-comedy through and through, and Deadpool VR certainly delivers the Marvel-style experience of being an obnoxious, powered🦩-up nerd who loves video game violence. The opening of the game certainly sets the tone well. Set aboard a SHIELD heli-carrier, Deadpool is captured and in pieces. From the perspective of Deadpool's disembodied head on an operating table, I have to guide his body – as if playing a 3rd-person action game – to stealthily take down a scientist so that he can put himself back together. After getting his gear back and cutting down some SHIELD soldiers, I'm off to the races to slice and dice foes.

"A cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner.."

I'm impressed by how Deadpool VR capitalizes on the freeform nature of the character's combat style and the wacky hijinks that accompany reckless action. As I move with the left-control stick and use free look with the VR headset, I quickly adapt to the quick swapping between swords and pistols to create fun combos, where I can slice an enemy with a sword in one hand and then finish them off with my pistol in 🅠the other. Put it all together and I'm able to parry bullets by swinging my twin swords and then going in for a dive-kick attack and a head sto𝓡mp.

Speaking with the lead design manager, the developers tell me they want to emphasize the freeform action and the spectacle of being Deadpool, who can wall run, fire his twin pistols, and cut down enemies with his swords. Over its last three years in development, they saw the recent Batman: Arkham Shadow, which gave them added confidenc🦄e for their take on Deadpool.

"I think one of the things that I especially appreciated [with Batman: Arkham Shadow] was just how they treated the UI and how it made it flow 🍃into combat in a way where it didn't feel like just pushing UI, and it actually blended really well with the movement," says Therien. "That was really huge for us and the type of game we wanted to make because, obviously, the more you move in VR, the more challenging it can be. However, they did it well, especially when it came to things like turning around. For me, that's one of the big takeaways. I think they did a really good job with that."

Even when the game falls into those familiar, awkward issues of collision and disorientation that can come with action-heavy VR games, I still find the 🦩game's pacing and open-ended approach to be easygoing – mainly for the 🍌fact that it makes me feel like an absolute menace to my enemies.

A detail that I find amusing is that you can monitorꦏ Deadpool's health by the amount of damage he has sustained 🅰to his body. Once you take enough damage, Deadpool will lose an entire limb, which will temporarily prevent weapons from being used in that hand until it grows back – which slowly goes from a short, stubby baby hand to a full-grown hand with the costume intact. Deadpool VR is also on brand for featuring secrets and easter eggs, as each stage has hidden areas that can be unlocked, which reference alternate versions of Deadpool, such as Lady Deadpool.

Accordiღng to game director Daniel Bullock, Deadpool VR does lean into the developer's history of comedic games such as the 'Splosion Man series and LocoCycle, but elevates that further with a game that tries to get players to embrace being an absolute menace to his enemies.

"There's no doubt that when we were toying around with the idea of a game about Deadpool, it was a natural fit for our studio," he says. "When we look at our history and our relationships with comedic writers, and just sort of the culture of the studio, it jus🔯t lends itself s🐼o perfectly to this character. So we're super excited to get into it and really flex our muscles [with the concept]."

Despite being a character that feels like it's just for the fans, Deadpool can be a tricky character to nail – but Deadpool VR is looking to keep its focus on delivering a spectacle of goofy carnage. Of course, VR can be a tricky style of gaming to immerse yourself in, but the straightforward and punchy act🌌ion Deadpool VR offers could be a solid ride for many, and I'm looking forward to seeing how far this game will push Deadpool's fourth-wall breaking, which already hits a bit different within this new perspective.

Want to keep the headset on? Here's our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR games ranking!

I'm happy to say that I w♚as wrong, though, because PSVR 2 and its Horizon Call of the Mountain bundle have both dropped down by $50 / £50, bringing their prices down to just . Considering the Meta Quest 3S (the best budget VR headset right now) is only $299 at i𒁏ts cheapest, this is an incredible time to buy Sony's device.

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets these days are capable of excellent things, and PSVR 2 is, in my opinion, the cream of the crop. For a visor that was initially shunned at launch for costing almost the same as the💫 PS5, it's had quite a redemption arc, especially as more people have ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚtried it and appreciated its gaming features versus the Meta competition.

Should you buy PSVR 2?

So what makes PSVR 2 the best VR headset on the shelves for gaming? In my opinion, having spent loads of time in the Quest 3 headsets, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra, and PSVR 2, it's all to do with a feature set that's been designed for gaming specifically. For those other standalone devices, th🌼ey🅰've been built from the ground up to do a bit of everything. They've got mixed-reality fluff that not everyone wants from a headset, they've got good gaming chops, but they've compromised a bit on them.

PSVR 2 has an OLED display versus the LCD panels inside the other headsets. It has a 4K resolution per eye and a solid FOV. It also has eye tracking and fov🔜eated rendering, which usually sets you back a whole lot more cash in the VR market. Its controllers have capacitive sensors in them for immersive hand tracking in-game, and there's even haptic feedback in the headband. I'd argue that PSVR 2 isn't the most comfortable headset today, and its wire can be a little bit pesky at times, but for the excellent, well-rounded gaming features on offer here, it's no short of a bargain for its current price.

If you're looking to make the most of your 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC, the only caveat I'd offer you with PSVR 2 is that you're going to need to channel it through﷽ USB-C, which may not be ideal. For a visually lossless experience, you'll need a more PC-tailored option, like the HTC Vive Focus Vision, or something older like the Valve Index.

If you do have an urge to use the spatial computing features of a standalone headset, options like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S will give you a bit of everything, but personally, I think PSVR 2's gaming chops outweigh the mixed-real🅠ity use potential of its biggest rivals.

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Now, my regular GamesRadar+ beat is movies and TV – hence my attendance at S⛎tar Wars Celebration in Japan this year – but 🥂I got myself strapped into the Meta Quest headset and prepared to enter the elite sport of podracing because, well, it just sounded like so much damn fun.

Naturally, though, my podracing prowess didn't quite match my enthusiasm, which is what led to me frantically apologizing to director Jose Perez III when I crashed (a༒nd explod⛦ed) my vehicle. Well, these things happen.

Back to the track

I was a little surprised when I first entered the game's VR space, mostly because I'd been anticipating a first person podrace where I'd be careening around a track in an experience that would likely have given me worse motion sickness than my flight to Tokyo. Instead, though, the podrace in the demo takes place on a floating holoboard – though, a ꩵsection of the story does take place in an immersive first person point of view, and I had a good time looking around the racer garage and noting the diligent attention to detail during an exposition scene.

My key impression from the brief demo is how much fun I had. As a prequels kid, I'll always love podracing, and getting to pilot a racer around the track had me grinning. The game board makes a lot of sense, because it allows you to keep an easier eye on your o𒊎pponents and the track itself than a first person perspective would.

But, I got a little too carried away with using my boosters,💜 which led to me jumping over – and then into – obstacles and crashing my way around the course. It also led to my podracer just outright exploding after I put it through maybe too much stress with my haphazard driving style. Luckily, a second chance was swiftly delivered, and this time I managed to place fourth on the leaderboard – a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

Podracing, of course, is most closely associated with the prequels, thanks to Anakin Skywalker and Sebulba's famous showdown in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. But Beyond Victory is set much later on the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Star Wars timeline – though it🌼 brings back that podracing legend Sebulba – and it revolves around a new, original character, Volo Bolus.

"Reign of the Empire was the perfect era to put this in," Perez tells me after I've finished trying the game. "You've got Volo Bolus who is dealing with a struggling garage; his gara⛄ge is falling apart. You've got the Empire just bringing down all of the pain across the galaxy, and how does an everyday person get through in that world? I think that's such a fun Star Wars story to tell, when you start with somebody that's at the bottom, and what does it mean to go through this? That was really the main thing, we just wanted that oppression of the Empire to be there, so that you could see the struggles of these everyday people that just happen to be racers and into podracing and own a garage."

And, yes, Sebulba is making his return to Star Wars. So, why bring him back specifically? "It's Sebulba," Perez says, understandably. "How can you do podracing and not go directly to Sebulba? Whenever we're getting to work on any of these experiences, for me, it's like, I'm a huge Star Wars nerd. So any time I get to bring an iconic character in, it's there. And Sebulba is one of those characters that everybody knows, but you don't really know that much about him. You know he's kind of a jerk, maybe. But this is a lot of years later; this is ten years before the Battle of Yavin. What's happened to Sebulba, what has he been through, and how does he relate to Volo? Is he still this bad guy, maybe he's turned over a new leaf? I think it's just really fun to get to exꦇplore that story in this era and think about what happened to that character 30 years later."

Now this is podracing

This weekend's Star Wars Celebration is the first time people will get to try the game, too, which has Perez excited – not just because people will✨ be playing the demo, but because there's far more still to come.

"I worked on this thing, so I want people to love it," he says. "I just want people to get a little bit of that nostalgia – having been somebody that loved the prequels, getting to see Sebulba there and have that experience, I want people to feel that and walk away knowing that this is a very, very small paꦯrt of a project. There's thr🦋ee different modes. We've got our adventure mode, which is our story. We've got our arcade mode, which we just played when you did the podracing thing, and that's also in the story. Then we've got this playset mode that I hope people are champing at the bit to figure out what that actually means. I'm here for the Star Wars fans and I'm hoping I'm giving them something that they like."

When I say I hope no one wrecks their podracer ꦰas badly as I did, Perez has an easy answer: "Volo works on pods, it'll be fine. They'll bring it back in, they can fix it up later. It's all good."

Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset is still in development. If you're attending 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Star Wars Celebration 2025, head to Hall 4, Booth #20-5 to try your own podracing skills.

The Meta Quest 3S at full price is already one of, if not the, best budget VR headset ever made, but its $299.99 price tag has taken a cut at Amazon, dropping the 128GB model to . The same is true of the 256GB SKU which is seeing the same $30 off. That brings it . Since its launch in October last ye🍬ar, the Quest 3S has never dropped in price by this degree. It had a few tiny discounts over the Christmas Holiday, but it has never been cheaper than it is ri💞ght now.

I first spotted the Quest 3S's price take a tumble right before I clocked off on Friday evening, but it was only seeing a discount in the UK. Given all of the goings on in the world, I didn't expect that price cut to make its way over the Atlantic, but here we are, talking about the fact you can get one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets for cheaperﷺ right now. It's safe to say we're in a pretty unpredictable place economically at the moment, so don'tꦜ expect this discount to last for long.

Should you buy the Meta Quest 3S?

It's difficult to find a reason not to recommend the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S, in all honesty. This is a headset so strong that it actually calls into question who should spend the extra cash on a full-fat 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3. For most use🥃rs, this is all the VR headset they'll need to enjoy fully immersive gaming and a few bits🌼 of spatial computing. If you aren't mainlining VR as your primary gaming platform, the Quest 3S gets you almost all of the same specs and features for much cheaper.

There are two caveats to that. Firstly, if you ask me, the biggest win for the Quest 3 over the 3S is the pancake lenses. It's amazing how much of a difference they make, and if you can afford to put down the extra cash for them, I'd argue they're worth it. Again, that's really only going to be true if you play a lot of VR games, whether that's standalone or through a linked 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC. If you usually play with just the power of the headset, t🌼he Quest 3 and 3S both harness the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processo🥃r, so you're not going to notice a big difference in terms of power being kicked into your eyeballs.

Speaking of that processor, I'd use it as an excuse to justify this purchase here and now. Qualcomm's outs🍬ourced manufacturing happens in Taiwan, elsewhere in Asia, and other territories, so I'd fully expect this to be a rare discount for 2025, should the USA's disruptive Tariffs continue into the year.

The second caveat is that if you already own a PS5, I'd spend money on a PSVR 2 instead. Admittedly, you're not going to get the same standalone experience of spatial computing capabilities, but if you only plan to use a VR headset for gaming, be🌺 it on a PS5 or PC, Sony's headset is going to give you🤪 a better time of it.

For more, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best RAM for gaming.

The Pico 4 Ultra stands apart from a lot of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets in that 💯respect, because it launched with motion trackers you can attach to your ankles so that the headset can do a better job of placing you and your limbs in a gaming world. Today, Pico has taken things a step further, launching the Motion Tracker Waist Version, which .

This new tracker is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It's a small sensor on a waistband that you wrap around yourself like a belt, and it'll help your headset keep track of your mid-section when using all sorts of VR apps. When I first read th🦋e press release for this new🐬 Pico 4 Ultra accessory, I laughed it off a bit. It seems like a silly extra that no one will really need, especially if they already have this device's other motion trackers. But then I thought about its practical uses, and it started to make a lot of sense.

See, headsets already do a pretty good job of tracking your arms and legs. Don't get me wrong, sometimes with standalone headsets like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S, controlle✅r tracking falls flat on its face, but for the most part, modern headsets do a good job of keeping tabs on your hands. Thanks to movement stick controls, your legs are often taken care of too, and unless you're fully moving around in a big open space, your legs don't really need that much tracking in VR games.

What headsets could really us🐬e is a better reference point for your mid-section, because a lot of the time they can fail to distinguish the distances between you, your mid-section, and the floor. In VR games this can mean the headset getting very confused when you sit or lie down, since its entire reference for measuring your body works on things like your height. When you're in exercising apps, this can mean things like burpee movements registering completely wrong, leading to the display bugging out and making you want to throw up. Plenty of VR games use utility belts, so an actual belt tracking where the rest of your body is could help to keep this at an accurate level.

If this proves to be a successful and useful add-on, I could see it becoming a mainstay of VR devices. I understand not everyone will want to throw on a b𝓀elt to play VR games, but the amount it could add if developers had use of it could be huge. Holstering guns always feels a bit off in VR, so having something that can read your position more accurately could make a world of difference. It would also mean more games that could transition easily between sitting and standing gameplay.

Pico has an amazing VR headset on its hands, and when you square up a fight between the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 vs Pico 4 UItra, there's not a lot to decide it. Granted, you'll need to be in the UK or EU to be able to purchase the🎀 Pico option, but it actually has slightly better specs than the Quest 3.

The new motion tracker launches today alongside a new firmware update for the Pico 4 Ult👍ra headset which brings optimizations, AI virtual scene updates, Spatial photo gallery enhancements, and more.

Looking for more VR add-ons? Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories. If you're sticking to flat-screen gaming for now, take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best PC controllers and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs.

In this new update, which is available now on PC, console, and VR, you can uncover the lost remains of strange beasts. In keeping with No Man's Sky's procedurally generated worlds, there's no right or wrong way to reconfigure🐼 the bones once you find them. In fact, you can piece them together to create whatever 🔴weird and wonderful skeletones you like.

You'll then be able to display your collection of, well, I'm not sure if they'll be called dinosaurs officially, but let's just call them dinosaurs for now, in a makeshift museum that will be 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:part of your base. Your frie✅nds aඣnd other players can then visit and marvel at your discoveries.

Just be careful. The bones you can dig up have different rarity levels, and some of the more uncommon ones can be guarded by Stone Ghosts and Stone Golems. That being said, nothing 🍒could stop me trying to unearth the skeleton of a Tita🎶n Worm.

The last free No Man's Sky update, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Worlds Part 2, revamped the lighting, water, and added huge gas giants to the game. So, while this is a smaller, more focused update, it's intended to make the gaඣme feel "broader and🐭 more real," like the fishing update did back in 2024. You can read the full patch notes .

It's been almost a decade since No Man's Sky first released, and all the free updates have turned it into a game people love. The Worlds Part 2 update saw a , which is the highest recorded for that time of year since it launched. It even got 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:back into Steam's top-sellers chart.

When you're done digging, check out some of the other 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best space games you can play.

Squaring off for this Saturday night blockbuster fight are two headsets that can offer a lot of versatility. Whether you just want one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets for immersive gaming, you want spatial computing power, or you waܫnt a fun new way to enjoy some you-time without distractions, the Pico 4 Ultra and Meta Quest 3 are great products for you to consider.

Although the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 is much more commonly known, you shouldn't count the underdog out early. The Pico 4 isn't available in US markets, so that does take it out of contention for a lot of readers. Still, if you're anywhere else in the world, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra is an extremelཧy formidable opponent for Meta's Quest 3, and may even top it in certain ♛aspects.

There's a multi-r🦩ound ba🦋ttle ahead of us, so grab your popcorn and get ready for a classic.

Availability

Zuck's Meta Quest 3 is off to a raring start, as we all suspected. The Pico 4 Ultra just hasn't 💜turned up in this opening round.

Since the Quest 3 is available at so many retailers in the US and UK, it's the clear winner here. The Pico 4 Ultra is available in the UK though, and although I've seen it dip out of stock just once since its release, I'd say it's probably the harder of the two headsets to come across. 🅺As it continues🐬 to age, the Quest 3 is likely to get more discounts, bundles, and deals too.

Let's not forget that the Meta Quest 3 comes in a few different variations too. The Pico 4 Ultra has one 256🏅GB SKU, whereas the Quest 3 has its 512GB model, the 3S 128GB model, and the 3S 256GB model as well. The Quest 3 did have a more affordable 128GB version, but that's since been discontinued now that the 3S headsets are here.

Winner: Meta Quest 3

Specs

This is the round where things get interesting. After a near knockout in that 𝔍first round, Pico 4 Ul🌳tra seems to have woken up, and we've got a real fight on our hands.

On paper, the Quest 3 and Pico 4 Ultra have very s🔯imilar specs. They both share the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor, which in fighting terms is equivalent to having the same coach. In short, you're going to get very similar experiences with both of these devices, and there isn't much that separates them.

As you can see, it's a very close match-up to call between these two headsets. The tale of the🅘 tape has a lot of back and forth and a lot of things that are virtually the same, or cancel one another out.

The Pico 4 Ultra has strengths in its Wi-Fi 7 support which means it'll be faster to install g🐎ames and content. It also has 12GB of RAM up from 8GB in the Quest 3, which arguably future🌠proofs it more for more demanding VR games that have larger levels. RAM is really important in terms of VR computing power, so that's a huge win to have. The Pico 4 also does a great job of its crystal clear cameras and room tracking thanks to a depth sensor the Quest 3 doesn't have.

The Quest 3 has more versatility when it comes to refresh rate, since depending on the application and what feels right for you, you can vary the frame rate of the headset from 72Hz to 90Hz, or even 120Hz. 110 degrees of horizontal field of view feels like a cheap win over the Pico 4 Ultra's 105, but it is a 🍨slight disparity. Storage also sits in the Quest 3's corner, although I'd argue this i🎉s less of a win in VR, since applications and games take up such a small amount of space compared to flat-screen games. Whatever Meta's been doing with audio has paid off though, and a big win for the Quest 3 comes in its quality of sound.

While weight technically goes in Meta's favor too, I'd argue it's one of the specs that's virtually identical, for reasons I'll come ontoꦬ. This is a tough round to call, but I think the wins that Pico 4 Ultra has in terms of its spec sheet are more significant strikes than the ones the Quest 3 can land. It's more about futureproofing in this arena, and the 12GB of RAM and increased Wi-Fi speed do make a big difference.

Winner: Pico 4 Ultra (but not by much)

Comfort and Fit

If there's one disparity on the spec table that makes no sense, it's that the Meta Quest 3 weighs less than the Pico 4 Ultra. Thaღt's because the Pico 4 Ultra is designed to sit so comfortably on your face, and the way it distributes its weight across your head deserves a lot of credit. Longer sessions fly by while wearing this device, and that's down to some excellent design.

A lot of that comes down to the fact that Pico's headstrap is much more substantial than Meta's. It reminds me of the one used for the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest Pro, and i🍒t feels like better value for money than the very simple mat♒erial strap you get with the Quest 3.

On the other hand, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories do allow you to personalize your device to suit the comfort and weight distribution you'd like, so it's not a total walkover in this round. I'd argue this is a nice parry, but not an ideal counter since accessories demand more money on top of the h✃eadset.

Winner: Pico 4 Ultra

Price

This one i🐽s another complicated round, and it's a bit of a shame, really.

The Meta Quest 3 launched in October of 2023 and its 512GB SKU landed a lofty price tag of $649 / £619. The Pico 4 Ultra then launched just under a year later, and with a 256GB storage capacity that fit between the Quest 3's two models in price while touting some beefier specs. It launched to the tune of £529 in the UK, coming in comfortably under the Quest 3's larger 512꧑ variant and making an excellent name for itself in the process. As an underdog, it really fe🍰lt as though this was going to be a necessary move to win favor among VR shoppers who knew Meta's Quest brand well.

Unfortunately, ꦆit wasn't long before things turned sour for Pico. The Quest 3S devices launched at $299 / £299 for 128GB, and $349 / £349 for 256GB. The Quest 3 128GB model was discontinued,𝓡 and the 512GB Quest 3 received a price drop down to $499 / £469.

It feels like a low blow has been struck to the underdog Pico 4 Ultra while the referee wasn't looking, and the Quest 3 has a smug look on ✱its face as it walks back to the corner.

Winner: Meta Quest 3

Games + Apps

One of the biggest slights I hear against the Pico headsets is that they don't have access to the number of games that the Quest 3 hꦦas, and while that is true, it really isn't as bad as you think. A lot of the VR heavy hitters are still a🍸vailable on both headsets and if this is really a concern for you, maybe check to see if your favorite games are exclusive to one or the other before purchasing. You may find like I did, that the list the Pico 4 Ultra misses out on isn't actually that long.

Both have access to Steam Link and can be hooked up to a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC, so if you plan to tether to a beefier machine that can access Stea♏mVR's library of games, both will do you just fine.

Meta's Horizon OS does tend to be the first one to be t♚hought of, however, so who knows what the future may hold as it likely continues to become the larger platform.

Winner: Meta Quest 3

Gaming experience

This one is slightly subjective, but from testing both headsets extensively and going through the process of revie✨wing them, I'd argue the Pico 4 Ultra is the better gaming device. It's a comfier headset that again, thanks to that weight distribution, extra RAM, and better depth sensing, makes immersive gaming experiences so much richer. There are fewer technical stutters that remind you you're running a standalone device through its paces, controllers track a bit more consistently, and in all honesty, I noticed more visual detail in Pico 4 Ultra games.

At the same time, the visual✃ fidelity on both headsets is virtually ༺identical since their lenses, resolutions, displays, and FOVs are so close to one another. Meta Quest 3 has better passthrough quality since, for some reason, you can clearly read content on other screens better, but either will give you great passthrough quality.

I'd say one of the big difference makers in this department is the controllers, which on the Pico 4 Ultra, are just that little bit better. They're marginally longer than the Quest 3 and have a few extra buttons, and it's amazing the difference this makes in games like Blade and Sorcery. Then again, the Quest 3 has some really polished hand-tracking features these days, if that's your thing. I think the motion trackers that come with Pico's de♎vice do add a lot more potential for immersive gaming experiences though.

Winner: Pico 4 Ultra

The judge's scorecards...

It's been an exhausting fight for the ages. Both combatants have come awa🌠y bloody, beaten up, and bruised, and while neither has scor𒅌ed a decisive victory, there can only be one champion.

I think the Pico 4 Ultra is, in a lot o🌳f ways, a better headset than the Quest 3. It feels a lot more tilted toward power users and those who want a futureproofed device that'll be able to run demanding VR games without compromise for years to come. It feels designed to counter some of the worst parts of the Quest 3. It's comfortable without the need for extra accessories, and its controllers aren't so small they lose tracking capability. Its software offering isn't as limited as some make it seem, and there's a lot of potential to use it in versatile ways, like any mixed-reality device today.

It is hugely limited by its reluctance to enter the US market, however, and it's a shame we probably won't see a direct fight on the shelves ♊between such close rivals.

The Quest 3, thanks to its accessibly priced Quest 3S models, does a lot to bring VR technology into the main🥀stream limelight. In this day and age, it's the affordable, versatile, and genuinely capable VR device to own.

I�ﷺ�n other words, the Quest 3 wins, but only because it had a home advantage.

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Now, Sony has officially dropped its price tag to $399 in the US, and £399 in the UK. This was a move most likely brought on by an increasingly competitive VR market. Since PSVR 2's launch, the Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Pico 4 Ultra, Apple Vi🉐sion Pro, and HTC Vive Focus Vision have all launched, following PlayStation's lead of bringi♏ng 4K VR devices down below a grand in price. PSVR2's price drop takes effect today, and retailers like the PlayStation Direct store are already showing Sony's second VR headset for its

The new cost for this device brings to a cheaper level than the 512GB Meta Quest 3 ($499), and the Pico 4 Ultra in the UK (£529). The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets for PC often pull in far more, with the HTC Vive Focus Vision costing $999 / £999. PSVR 2 is plug-and-play compatible with the PS5 and PS5 Pro and, thanks to a handy PC adapter, it can now be used to play SteamVR games for an extra cost of $49.99 / £49.99. That brings you 4K VR gaming on PC with OLED displays for much cheaper than the likes of HTC Vive's headsets, or the Valve Index which doesn🅷't even have integrated room tracking.

With PSVR 2's price now more affordable than the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3, that makes the two clear rivals (if they weren't already), and even makes the argument for buying PSVR 2 over a Meta Quesﷺt 3S. Arguably, the two appeal to different sides of the market since the Quest 3 targets the user with standalone aspirations and spatial computing needs with all its mixedꦑ-reality goodness. PSVR 2 is a very gaming-coded headset that doesn't have much use besides, but it's always been the case that a big part of Meta Quest's market share comes from gamers who want a convenient headset.

I'd argue that, for gaming, PSVR 2 is the winner.🌸 It needs to be tethered to a PC or PS5 to work, but you get OLED displays which make your games punch your eyeballs with incredibly vivid colors, a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, eye tracking and foveated rendering, all with haptic feedback in the headband. Quest 3's gaming is fine, and its pancake lenses do a lot of the hard work, but PlayStation designed ♛its headset for the best gaming experiences, and Meta's more general appeal definitely pulls it back a bit in comparison.

It should be noted that some of those PSVR 2 features won't work if you're planning to play on PC, but I'd argue PSVR 2 is still worth your investment over the Quest 3 thanks to its excellent controllers that tend to track a little more consistently. Of course, if you're on a tight budget, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S is the ultimate counter to Sony's price drop tactics. It gives you a lot of the same wins as the full-fat Quest 3 starti⭕ng at $299 / £299.

Where to buy PSVR 2

For more on VR, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories. If you still need a cheaper price, maybe keep an eye out for one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best PSVR 2 bundles and deals or one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest deals.

It's been rumored for a while that Valve is secretly working on a successor to the Valve Index, and new leaks put it in position to challenge the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets on the market today. Codenamed "Deckard", the headset is touted to be a standalone, wireless device like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra. It's also got ♓controllers with the codename "Roy", so Apple Vision Pro's ൩hand-tracking approach doesn't seem to be what Valve is chasing.

According to the latest speculation from , who has a track record of knowing Valve's upcoming projects, the Valve Index successor could hit the shelves before the end of 2025 and might cost $1,200. This would put it in a more expensive category of headset, way more than the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S's affordable $299 asking price, but only $200 more than 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:HTC Vive's Focus Vision headset. For that money, you'll supposedly get the headset, controllers, and some "fi🍌rst-party games or demos", according to Gabe Follow🎉er.

Deckard is also rumored to run on a refined version of SteamOS, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck OLED's operating system. That'd definitely give Meta's Horizon OS a run for its money, and according to some sources, the new Valve device would put a big emphasis on being able to play flatscreen games on a virtual big screen like PSVR 2 and its 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:excellent cinematic mode.

While the first Valve Index was all about tethering to a PC to experience immersive games with a visually lossless connection, a standalone device in 2025 would most likely remove sꦓeparate tracking modules, and rumors say that while tethering to a gaming PC would be possible on the new headset, a big emphasis would be put on wireless PC streaming to take cables out of the equation.

Valve's Roy controllers wer🍌e first leaked thrꦺee months ago when VR Twitter leaker found SteamVR driver files attesting to their existence. These look very reminiscent of Meta and Pico's latest generation of VR controllers and abandon the tracking rings of the original Valve Index.

Interestingly, Gabe Follower notes that even at a price of $1,200, the headset would be sold at a loss, which goes hand-in-hand with what many competitors say of Meta's Quest headsets. It also suggests that the inn🌃ards of the Valve Index sequel might be on the beefier side, which suits the PC market it'd likely attract first and foremost.

While there's been no confirmation from Valve about these leaks, or indeed the existence of a "Valve Index 2", it's been a known p🦹rওoject for a while, with Valve CEO Gabe Newell even that his company was "making big investments in new headsets".

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I've reviewed a lot of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets, and having spent some time with smart glasses, I know what both are good for. Personally, I think fully-fledged VR devices are a bit more versatile and can offer you m♑ore. But I also appreciate that not everyone wants a bulky headset on their face during a train journey, and something a bit more subtle would suit them more.

But what's the difference? For those who are new to the market, it might be a bit hard to know which is which, especially since a lot of VR headsets these days are marketing t♔hemselves as mixed reality as much as they are fully immersive.

What are XR glasses?

XR glasses are a bit more minim𓆏alist than a typical headset. They tend to look li꧃ke bulked-up sunglasses and their goal is to offer integrated display features into a wearable accessory. While technology is still catching up to Tony Stark's glasses in the Marvel movies, XR glasses today are designed to project a "big screen experience" into your environment so you can have a hands-free viewing session on a commute, a plane journey, or wherever you want to look like Norman Jayden using his ARI glasses in Heavy Rain.

Almost all of t♉hese need to be hooked up to another device in order to work, whether that's a simple USB tether to your phone, laptop, or one of Google's clever Pocket TVs. Some of them can connect to consoles, which can be useful for continuing to play games on a big screen if someone else in your household needs to use the TV.

XR Glasses use clever reflective display technology, so there's a tiny display hidden inside the bulky glasses frames which is then reflected like a teleprompter onto some smaller frames in front of your eyes. Others, like Meta's Orion glasses, are playing with projection and other forms of visual integration, but th😼ere are plenty of impressive ways for these glasses to look crystal clear.

What are VR headsets?

VR headsets come in a few shapes and sizes these days, but they tend to have a lot more computing power in them, and they aren't interested in trying to be a futuristic set of sunglasses. Devices like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra cater to people who want spatial co🍒mputing power, integrating digital workspaces into their environment. But these, and some other headsets, are designed to please th✨e fully immersive gaming crowd too.

While XR glasses can only play flat-screen games projected from another device, VR headsets can play games with 360 degrees of immersion. That's why most headsets come with controllers too. Some headsets, like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S, are known as standalone, which means they use processing power within the headset to run these games natively, but you can also tether them to a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC and play SteamVR games on them.

You should buy XR glasses if...

✅You want something portable

If your main goal is to make your daily commut𒉰e a little more bearable or to catch up on some Netflix shows on your everyday journey, XR glasses might be the best way to do so. You'll be able to enjoy a darkened viewing space, free from the annoying small-screen experience. It also offers you a degree of privacy, because who doesn't hate that weird person sitting next to you watching your shows over your shoulder.

✅ You don't want fully immersive gaming

If you only want to tether to a phone or laptop, there♈'s no point in splashing out on a more expensive headset. A simple set of smart glasses will do the trick for you.

✅ You want something for when a friend, partner, or roommate needs to use the TV

If you want to continue your gaming session while someone else uses the big-screen TV, XR glasses can save you from cutting your🐷 gaming session short. And what's even better is that thanks to your viewing experience being integrated into a set of futuristic sunglasses, you don't need to worry that your friends are going to give you jumpscares since you can still see what's happening in the room you're in. This isn't always the case in VR headsets, which can lead to some pretty funny viral videos.

Don't buy XR glasses if...

❌ You want premium sound quality

Although XR glasses have integrated speakers that aren't obtrusive to anyone around you thanks to clever "whisper" modes, these tiny speakers are not going to give you the audio experience of your dreams. If good audio quality is ﷽🌠important to you, maybe look at a VR headset instead, or find a decent gaming headset that will fit over the top of your bulky glasses frames.

❌ You don't want to be tethered to another device

If you want to have standalone power in a set of smart glasses,♑ your options are limited right now. The technology is still advancing, and short of going for Meta's fairly limited Ray Ban glasses that can take photos and let you talk to an AI assistant, we'll need to wait for things like Project Orion that plan to take things to Tony Stark levels.

You should buy a VR headset if...

✅ You want a gaming device

VR gaming is incredible, and right now the only technology that lets you play VR ꧑titles is a VR headset. I doubt we'll get to the point where small form factor glasses can play VR games in the next five years🍸, if ever. So if you want something that can play games either in standalone mode or through your PC's power, go for a VR headset.

✅ You don't mind a bulkier object on your face

A VR headset with standalone process🐷ing power can do the same things XR gl♍asses can do and more, the only compromise is that you'll need to come to terms with a bulkier object on your face. Luckily, there are ways to make things more comfortable, such as some of the best Meta Quest accessories.

✅ Your spatial computing ambitions are high

If you want more AR power than simply projecting a big screen into your surroundings, then a VR headset is what you need. Virtual Des🅘ktop can give you multiple displays integrated into your environment, and either Vision OS on the Apple Vision Pro, or Horiꦑzon OS on Meta Quest 3 will let you interact with different windows and aspects of your software as though they were really there.

Don't buy a VR headset if...

❌ You're on a tight budget

VR headsets have always been on the pricey side, and depending on the XR glasses you go for, they can sometimes work out more affordable. More affordable options do exist in the VR market these days, but the high-end options don't look to be slowing down, especially since Samsung's long-awaited headse🗹t looks like an Apple Vision Pro rival.

❌ You're worried about your data being spied on

Since ꦫthe biggest standalone devices are owned by Meta and Pico (operated by ByteDance, the company behind TikTok), you don't have many choices when it comes to safeguarding your data from massive companies. These two corp🦩orations have come under fire for the way they harvest and utilize user data, so if this is a big concern for you, maybe look at something without any cameras on it.

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Pimax may not be as widely known as the likes of PlayStation or HTC Vive, but it has a growing history of creating VR hardware dating back almost a decade. This isn’t my first experience with Pimax, though my time with the fiꦰrst-generation Pimax Crys𒆙tal is something I’d rather forget. A mixture of bugs and connectivity problems made that headset a non-starter and I spent a few frustrating days wrestling with it before eventually giving up.

The Pimax Crystal Light is the brand’s latest effort and I’m curious to see what’s changed (and hopefully improved) in this stripped-down version of the Pimax Crystal that wronged me. The Crystal Light does away with some of t♋he extra bells and whistles that pushed the previous iteration’s price up but still promises a high-end VR experience.

The price remains high, though. $899/£729 still places the Cryst✅al Light well above more established options from Pico, Meta, and PlayStation, If it can deliver on those high-end ambitions, though, could it be a PC headset worth grabbౠing?

Design

The Crystal Light may technically be a new offering from Pimax but there are a lot of familiar-looking parts across the design of this VR headset. Plenty of the main front housing has been carried over from the fully specced Crystal, which unfortunately for Pimax is𝕴n’t necessarily a good thing. While mꦛost other VR headsets are looking to sand off their hard edges and reduce overall size, Pimax is doing the opposite with a design that is both massive and somehow almost entirely corners. It ends up feeling distinctly industrial, almost like a utility tool plucked straight from a factory where looks don’t matter and it’s all about efficiency.

Now admittedly looks don’t really matter with a VR headset so long as they translate to a comfortable fit, so I can overlook the funky styling choices to an extent. But what becomes a genuine issue is just how large the Pimax Crystal Light feels on your face. It dwarfs my 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 when placed side by side and while I didn’t find the extra depth to be too much of aꦐ problem, the added width certainly is. The Crystal Light extends well beyond the width of my face and becomes clumsy as a result. I’m simply not used to carrying an extra couple of cm off each side of my face so consistently found myself knocking the edge of the headset with the controllers while playing more active titles.

By doing away with a few of the internal bells and whistles, most notably the battery pack and automatic IPD, Pimax has pulled the weight of the Crystal Light down to just over 800g. At that level the weight itself is passable, it doesn’t feel noticeably heavier to wear than the Meta Quest 3 and it’s not so heavy as to become uncomfortable in longer sessions. Unlike the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra, the weight is poorly distributed thougᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚh, and the Pimax Crystal Light is ✱incredibly front-heavy which was noticeable during gameplay.

I found the Crystal Light’s included head strap to be an unfortunate case of close-but-not-quite. Styled more like what other brands consider a pro strap, the Crystal Light features rigid side arms that wrap around to a rear pad and ratchet tightening dial. This setup offers a good amount of adjustment and is pretty comfortable overall, however,🐈 the shape of the rear pad does little to offset the front-heavy nature of the headset itself. It’s a triangular pad which means it pushes against rather than grabbing th๊e back of your head. I can’t help but feel a ring would have been a better choice and would have gone a long way to solving the balance issue.

For a $899/£729 VR headset, the build quality of the Pimax Crystal Light is pretty underwhelming across the board. The hard plastic shell of the headset has a hollow feel that’s reminiscent of a more budget offering and the same is true of the controllers. The glossy plastic here lacks any kind of comfort or grip texturing, and they feel almost toylike in your hand as 🐎a resuꦇlt. Placing them side by side with the Meta Quest 3 controllers I found a stark contrast in both look and feel. Meanwhile, both the front and rear head strap pads are simple bare foam without a more comfortable fabric covering or more hygienic silicon cover. Not only does this make them feel a little rough, but they’re absolute sweat sponges and the simple velcro fastening feels a little like a bodged DIY fix rather than the official installation method.

Features

The Crystal Light is a wired-only VR headset, somewhat of a dying breed these days, and af🦋ter a couple of days of testing, I can understand why. Admittedly, things started out well. Pimax has done a good job of simplifying the connection process from the fully-fledged Crystal, doing away with a confusing and convoluted USB hub system in favor of a single, three-pronged cable. You’ll need to provide external mains power (an adapter is included), along with a USB 3.0 port and a DisplayPort connection, but getting started is as simple as plugging all three in.

The Pimax desktop app was quick to recognize the Crystal Light and I had no issues with the headset being picked up and welcomed by SteamVR either. The Pimax app isn’t the prettiest or most intuitive thing to use though, it throws a lot of checkboxes, dropdowns, and sliders at you without much in the way of hand-holding 𓂃and I’d have appreciated more of an initial setup walkthrough here. I’m an experienced but simple VR user, I’ve spent a lot of time playing both PC and standalone VR games across a few different𒐪 headsets, though consider myself a layperson in my knowledge. It’s clear here that Pimax isn’t targeting the me of this market. This is an advanced headset for a smaller, more niche crowd and not something for the casual community.

Performance

For casual players I simply cannot recommend the Pimax Crystal Light, it’s just not the right choice for pickup-and-play VR gaming. Trying to use the Crystal Light for games like Walkabout Minigolf and Beat Saber was a frustrating experience filled with disconnections, poor performance, and immersion-breaking stumbles - none of which I encountered when playing over a wireless connection to a Meta Quest 3 (or 2, for that matter). My PC is a pretty sta🍸ndard mid-range machine with a 12th-gen i7, an RTX 3070 and 64GB of RAM. It’s no powerhouse but it’s a pretty common setup that can generally run close to max settings on most titles in 1440p. More importantly, I’ve had no performance issues wirelessly streaming either of these relatively lightweight titles in the past, yet when cabled to the Pimax Crystal Light I experienced tearing, low FPS, and a couple of complete meltdowns.

The Crystal Light’s cable is thick, heavy, and not particularly flexible, so no matter how I posit💛ioned it I always felt like it was trying to pull my head back up while standing over a putt. There’s also only 5m of it which sounds like a lot at first but is surprisingly limiting for games like Walkabout Minigolf where I’d prefer to, you know, walk about a bit. Jumping over to a fixed-point game like Beat Saber this was less of a problem, but highlighted a fresh issue with the Pimax Crystal Light - controller tracking. As I wildly flailed my arms around trying to keep up with a barrage of red and🥂 blue blocks, the Pimax Crystal Light’s inside-out tracked controllers would often jitter or in some cases briefly lose their place in the world altogether. High movement games also served as a reminder that Pimax has opted to retain the large plastic tracking rings around the top of each controller, mainly because on multiple occasions I flinched as I heard and felt them smack into the protruding sides of the headset itself.

In a strange way, the Pimax Crystal Light feels out of its depth in these shallow gaming waters, 18 holes of virtual minigolf isn’t what the Crystal Light wants or is designed to do. Nothing makes this more obvious than the frankly stunning 2880x2880 per eye QLEDs which are capable of producing beautifully clear, detailed, and richly colored images. These are the highlight of the Pimax Crystal Light and are a genuinely impressive joy to look at, even if the FOV is a little tighter than I’d expected or would have liked. Before it tried to make my PC ex😼plode I was very briefly able to have F1 24 let me sit in the cockpit in the garage and look around. Even the smallest text details of the car were sharp and legible, I’d have ꦺloved to have actually been able to head out on track.

These unbelievably crisp, deeply black yet highly saturated displays speak to where the Pimax Crystal Light is going to be best implemented. This is a headset for high-end users who don’t get enough from the likes of PSVR 2. It’s for games with precisely tuned, and more importantly, static simulation scenarios where the headset needs to simply act as a window for your eyes into the vir🎃tual world. Pimax was named as Microsoft’s ‘Official Periܫpheral Partner’ for MSFS2024 and it’s a partnership that makes perfect sense. I can imagine the joy clearly reading every dial in the cockpit must bring, if you can get things off the ground.

Should you buy the Pimax Crystal Light?

Ultimately the problem with the Pimax Crystal Light is twofold. While it does feature the best displays of any VR headset I’ve tested, giving the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:HTC Vive Pro 2 a run for its money on a spec sheet, they’re housed inside a body that doesn’t reflect its steep $899/£729 price point and it requires sizable further investment to function. Driving these high-resolution displays needs far more processing power than I, or indeed most standard gamers, will♌ be able to offer it too and even dropping the settings as low as possible both in-game and using the lowest F1 24 preset in the Pimax a🅘pp couldn’t produce a playable experience.

Competition is a great thing and there’s no harm in a VR headset aiming for something different, but it increases the risks dramatically and unfortunately, those risks haven’t paid off for Pimax here. The Crystal Light is a good tech demo for Pimax’s displays, a showpiece for what’s possible with VR graphics, and perhaps a nod to what’s to come in the next year or two but it’s not the finished article. Yes, within a very small set of very finely tuned setups, it has the potential to 🎉do a very specific job incredibly well, but up against some stiff and versatile🍸 standalone competition, it’s just not the VR headset to go for.

How we tested the Pimax Crystal Light

I used the Pimax Crystal Light VR headset to try a range of VR games including Walkabout Minigolf, Beat Saber, and F1 24 in a sim racing setup. Throughout it was connected to my gaming PC featuring an Intel i712700K, RTX 3070, and 64GB of RAM, and settings for each title were 🦂adjusted both in-game and using the presets available in the Pimax desktop app.

For more on our testing methodology, check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

For more on VR, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories. If you need a rig to hook this headset up to, take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops.

The Gear VR headset was designed in partnership with Oculus, which is now owned by Meta, and it's where my love of virtual reality headsets truly began. So you can imagine my excitement starting to build throughout 2024 as rumors swirled about Samsung and Google teaming up to create their own fully-fledged VR device. After all, Meta makes some of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets both in the gaming space and for the spatial computing crওowd.

I eagerly tuned into Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event last night to see what I hoped would be a reveal, but I'm not exactly buzzing with excitement after the fact. The little information we actually got about the upcoming device left even more to the imagination than the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Nintendo Switch 2's teaser trailer, and what little deܫtails we did get have lefꩲt me deflated.

Samsung's project Moohan doe🐈sn't look like anything like ♋a gaming device, nor the competitor to the Meta Quest headsets that the market so sorely needs. Instead, it's a sleek-looking knock-off of the Apple Vision Pro.

The Apple doesn't fall too far from the tree

I've been trying to make se▨nse of it since the keynote, especially since the presenters at Unpacked only hit us with a brief "we'll tell you more later in the year lol".

I know that Samsung is willing to die on the hill of being an Apple rival, but Apple's one 🦂foray into VR hasn't exactly been the glaring success everyone thought it'd be. Yes, the Vision Pro arguably reignited a dormant mainstream interest in this technology but, by all accounts, its high-end approach has hamstrung it, with the latest whispers suggesting a more affordable sequel may not be coming after all. So I'm a bit confused. How could Samജsung have looked on at the Apple Vision Pro's brief stint in the spotlight and thought "oh yes, we'd love some of that"?

Admittedly, this is all conjecture until we hear more about Samsung's headset, which is said will operate via a new form of Android called Android XR. But one look at the teaser or prototype images will tell you that this looks like a high-end, premium device that takes a lot of design lessons from Apple's ski mask. The thing smells expensiv⭕e, and that doesn't fill me with a lot of excitement.

It doesn't take an expert in VR hardware to tell you that one of this technology's biggest problems is that it's always been prohibitively pricey. Apple's $3,500 foray is a testament to that, and if it hasn't been that popular, it's because hardly anyone can afford it. In my eyes, the reason Meta conquered the XR world is its accessible pricing. The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S offers a lot of the same mixed-ꦜreality power that The Vision Pro does, and its sꦐtarting price is $299.

The other reason is that Meta hasn't had any direct competition to worry about. PSVR 2 is probably the closest thing the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 has to a rival right now, and that's only because it offers gaming capabilities at a similar price. It's not exactly a standalone mixed-reality competitor, and very few of those exist. Even the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra won't launch 🌊in the US, meaning that only select territories have that as an alternative.

I've heard it said that Meta takes big losses by pricing its device🍬s so low, so maybe that's why it seems like every company that enters the VR world is afraid to go aft꧅er its market share.

Fortunately, this isn't the only headset that's rumored to launch this year, and another b🍰rand might be making the VR device 🌠I want to see.

If you can't beat em, join em... sort of.

There have been more rumblings this week that Asus is also gearing up to launch a VR device, with the latest word on the street being that it'll use Meta's Horizon OS. So, it would kind of be like the way the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:graphics card industry runs. Nvidia and AMD supply GPU chips to their partners along with architecture and funky upscaling software, but brands like Asus, Gigabyte, and PNY manufacture their ✱own versions of each and price🅘 them accordingly. Here, Meta will supply its experienced operating system, presumably with the same access to games and apps, to a device that Asus designs and manufactures.

Asus, as we know from its many gaming peripherals, chairs, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC components, is well-versed in the ga𒐪ming hardware realm. It's also not afraid to lead the pack in a relatively new direction. I can't see that brand following in Apple's footsteps, pricing its headset through t🐭he roof and expecting non-gamers to welcome it with open arms.

Of course, this Asus VR headset could well end up being slightly more expensive than the Meta Quest 3S, but the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally is proof that th💜is is a company that knows how to step into new waters and come out💛 the other side with a lot of success.

The other scenario could be that Asus isn't targeting the affordable end of the market either. There aren't that many PC-tilted VR headsets these days, with the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:HTC Vive Focus Vision being a rare breed of DisplayPort-compatible devices. Pimax's Crystal range occupies this space too, but both models cost a lot for what they are. An Asus standalone head💯set using Meta's OS, but offering better PC potentia🗹l than USB-C offerings could go down very well with gamers.

We'll need to see what's in store for 2025's VR releases. I hope Samsung's premium-looking prototype does have the gaming potential thওat Apple Vision Pro hasn't really prioritized. Either way, Asus seems primed to pick up the slac𒈔k.

Prefer your gaming sessions seated for now? Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming chairs, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best pink gaming chairs, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best console gaming chairs.

In , FuturLab CEO Kirsty Rigden confirmed that PowerWash Simulator VR won't receive any more updates or DLC going forward, though the base game and all released DLC will remain purchasable and playable as normal. If you want to start playing the game or keep playing it, you will be able t🅘o.

"We absolutely love and believe in VR, so this doesn't mean🔥 that we won't support it in the future but we aren't able to continue with support right now," Rigden says. "We have been faced with a crossroads: we have a truly excellent and kind VR team who were working on a platform which costs us more than it makes, while also having a list of job openings that were looking to be filled on other projects. We took the decision to redeploy our VR team into those other projects/roles."

When you put it on the scales, Rigden says "I will always choose job security for my team" over maximum multiplatform support. The returns on VR simply made the platform unviable for this game – a candid assessment of technology that has grown and improved considerably since the earliest headsets, but has yet to reach critical mass or truly break into the mainstream. PowerWash Simulator is ꧒a huge success, the VR version was a standout among the Meta Quest 3 lineup, and it's , but even FuturLab could only keep it up for so long.

VR remains a relatively minor enthusiast market compared to traditional gaming hardware, and it's still dealing with a problem that will sound familiar to anyone who's struggled to find a job because they need experience to get a job. For VR gaming specifically, you need enough good games to attract enough players to sell enough headsets to bring in enough developers to make good games, all without pricing people out or making them fall over from nausea. It's a hard problem to solve, and it hasn't fully been solved yet. Singular experiences like Half-Life: Alyx and evergreen hits like Beat Saber have moved the needle, and options like PSVR2 at least put VR next to mainstream hardware asꦉ a cool attachment (with a fairly low attach rate), but VR hasn't yet exploded the way some emphatic early proponents probably would've hop🐠ed.

These are the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR games you can play today.

Nvidia GeForce Now is like the GPU manufacturer's version of Netflix or Game Pass, and it allows you to integrate your existing gaming libraries to its cloud streaming servers so that you can play them on whatever device you want. Later this month you'll be able to play GeForce Now on some of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets, Nvidia has confirmed.

Depending on how much you pay for the subscription service, you'll get to play at varying degrees of performance, tiered by Nvidia's graphics cards for reference. On a compatible device, you can stream your games with the 4K performance of an RTX 4080, if your connection can handle it. On the Pico 4 Ultra, however, you'll only be able to play at up to 1440p, but at least you won't need to 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:pre-order an RTX 5070 in order to do it.

What might be a surprising bonus for many is that DLSS will also be catered to when playing GeForce Now on one of these headsets, so long as the game you're playing has DLSS support in its settings. Just keep in mind that the maximum refresh rate of both the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 and 3S is 120Hz, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra has a max of 𝓡90Hz, so you won't be able to 🧔boost up to Esports frame rates.

Even the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S has Bluetooth connectivity, so you can hook up your 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best PC controller to play your GeForce Now games and enjoy them on a commute, or 🅰at home when someone else needs to use the TV.

I should cl🅠arify that this integration will be more in line with how Game Pass works on the Meta Quest 3. You won't be able to turn 2D platforming Celeste gameplay into a VR port, but you will get to play on an enlarged display right in front of your eyes. It's also been confirmed that to play on a VR headset, you'll n💃eed a gamepad-compatible game, and so far, there's been no mention of cloud streaming of actual PC VR games if you own them.

In my eyes, this is a particular feather in the cap of the PICO 4 Ultra, which feels like it needs to justify itself against the more popular Meta headsets. Jessica Zhang, head of partnerships at PICO, said "Our inte𒐪gration of GeForce NOW underscores PICO's commitment to expanding our library of content and providing the best possible gaming experiences. This latest work eliminates the hardware barrier and delivers an incredible library of games to our platform, making PICO headsets an ideal destination for immersive entertainment."

Despite Nvidia's slightly confusing marketing speak, GeForce Now isn't like Netflix - a subscription doesn't all𒈔ow you immediate access to a massive library of content. You integrate your libraries from Steam, Epic Games, Xbox, and more, and any games you own in those libraries that are supported by GeForce Now will be available to stream.

The GeForce Now app will be🅠 available to download from Pico 4 Ultra later this month, but on the Quest 3 and 3S, you'll need to visit the GeForce Now website on your device's browser. Support has also been confirmedꩵ for Apple Vision Pro, which is a nice gaming win for any owners of that luxury headset.

Looking to refurbish your gaming setup for the new year? Take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming handheld.

And that’s a good thing. A lot of the time an “S” device that comes in cheaper than a flagship model feels half-baked because the manufacturer really wants you to spend money on the more expensive version. The Quest 3 is one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets out there at the moment, but it didn’t exactly continue the Quest 2’s mission of making virtual reality technology affor🌞dable for all.

The Meta Quest 3S remedies that because it comes in two sizes (128GB and 256GB) and costs only $299.99 / £289.99 or $399.99 / £379. That lower MSRP is the same price as🐻 the Quest 2 before it was discontinued. Pandemic launch or not, that headset made a name for itself by making a mainstream VR device approach💃able, and the Quest 3S may see major success for the same reason.

Design

Not only does the Meta Quest 3S feel like the proper spiritual successor to the Quest 2, but it sort of looks like one too. It has the same rectangular look with sharper corners that make it look a bit more refined. If it weren’t for an upgraded frontal camera module, the Quest 3S would look eerily similar to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 2.

For a “Lite” model of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3, it does make me laugh that Zuck’s engineers have only managed to shave one measly gram off the Quest 3’s weight. It’s the equivalent of taking a feather o✅ut of your inventory in Skyrim and suddenly not being over-encumbered, and it’s hilarious that Meta i♔s actually marketing it for its “lightweight design”. Nice try.

The Quest 3S comes with the same cleverly designed head strap as the Quest 3. It’s definitely a basic, stock option, but it does the job with a top velcro strap that can be adjusted to your head size, as well as some loops around the back to tighten or loosen the fit. Thankfully, the design of the Quest 3S has been thoughtfully executed, since the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories made for the original will fit either⛎ headset - no need to buy specially fitted ones for either device. Out of the box, the facial 🐟interfaces of both feel identical, with some fabric upholstery and quite plush cushioning for your cheeks and forehead.

It’s no surprise that the Quest 3S connects to a charger or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC through USB-C, although it misses out on the Quest 3’s 3.5mm audio jack, which is a shame. I’m not sure this would cost too much more to add in 20🌱24, and since budget buyers are far more likely to use it than wireless or Bluetooth headsets, it feels like a glaring omission. Thankfully, you get the additional onboard buttons for when your controllers inevitably run out of battery. Some volume adjustment keys and a handy action button lie on the headset’s underside, which should always be present on standalone headsets like this. There’s also the standard power button on the 3S’s left-hand side.

Features

Even when you’re looking at the spec sheets comparing the Quest 3 and 3S, you need a trained eye to figure out the differences, because, in truth, there aren’t many. Both feature the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor, which is one of the biggest wins of this more affordable headset. It’d be all too easy for Meta to scale back on power for the lighter model, but with so much competition in the VR world at the moment, the use of this processor feels like they’re rolling up their sleeves. The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra also laꦬunched this year, touting that same APU but even more RAM than the Quest 3. Despite Meta’s financial footwork to get around it when the Quest 3S launched, the Pico 4 Ultra is still a🧸 serious rival in Europe, so this processor is more important than a lot of shoppers realize.

If you think about it, the Quest 3S gets you the processing power of the Quest 3, the Pico 4 Ultra, and even the new 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:HTC Vive Focus Vision for undeniably cheaper than any of those devices. The latter will set you back $999 / £999, and although it’s designed to harness the power of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best graphics cards,𝄹 that’s still a massive win for people🐬 buying the Quest 3S.

The biggest talking point for most is that the Quest 3’s pancake lenses are missing from the Quest 3S. For me, this is perhaps the most noticeable change when using either headset. The wider area of focus really does make a difference in gaming and mixed-reality menu hopping. Combine that with a lower per-eye resolution, and the Quest 3S does start to feel more lik♋e a budget option. Still, with the same 8GB of RAM, integrated spatial audio speakers, and variable refresh rate, the Quest 3S has more than enough to make first-time VR buyers 🧸swoon.

Another spec disparity of note is that the Quest 3 has an integrated depth sensor which can help with passthrough clarity as well as room tracking and mapping. The Quest 3S omits this, instead using a few InfaReꦇd projectors to map out a room and your position in it. I didn’t notice less accurate tracking in my side-by-side tests of the 3 and 3S, but it might be worth taking into consideration if you play in a more sensitive area of your home with lots of breakable goodies near you. Similarly, if you play in darker rooms, the Quest 3’s depth sensor might be better for low-lighting conditions.

Battery life i🔯s technically bette𒅌r on the Quest 3S, despite its mAh being smaller. Depending on what you use either headset for in one session, you’ll get a similar 2-hour battery life without a pro headstrap. I’ve found just over 2 hours for either is an accurate statement, with gaming being the more intensive activity that brings it down closer to that baseline. Neither is particularly impressive in terms of lifespan because they’re just short enough to feel like an inconvenience. If you don’t charge up between uses, you’re probably going to be cutting your next Power Wash Sim session short.

What is constantly disappointing is that the controllers ha🌸ve an even worse battery life, and will often run out of charge between uses. For that reason, I can highly recommend charging docks to keep the controllers ready to go for your next ꦗsession - unless you have an unlimited budget for AA batteries.

Performance

I want to state right now that the Quest 3S is a very impressive VR gaming device for the money. Most of the performance notes I have are about the few times I paid attention to the man behind the curtain, noticing where the Quest 3 does things better. That’s probably going to be the case for most “Lite” model reviews because it’s where the natural comparisons are going to sit. That said, it doesn’t mean the Quest 3S isn’t worth buying. I’m really looking for t﷽he nitty gritty details I’ll mention below, and I’ll admit that they were quite tricky to find. Normally, I wouldn’t actually compare two devices so closely when they have a two-hundred-dollar price disparity, but the fact I feel those comparisons are valid says a lot of good things about the Quest 3S on its own.

For the first few weeks of testing this headset, I wasn’t actually sure what I was going to say in this review. Unless I really looked for the slight differences between the 3 and 3S, I couldn’t find them. I could boot up a game and play for hours without any immersion-breaking performance hiccups to give away that I was using a “budget” device. Especially if you’re not used to playing VR games, this headset will be very capable of making your jaw drop. Like the Quest 2 before it, it can immerse you to a degree that you’ll come out 💛of a longer session and need to take 🥃a second look at your real hands to know you’re out of the Matrix. The resolution per eye may be weaker than the Quest 3 512GB, but when it’s that close to your eyeballs you don’t need to suspend your disbelief like you might need to on a big TV these days. In truth, it took me diving into the same levels in both headsets to really understand the weak points of the 3S.

The Quest 3’s colors and display seem more vivid and colorful overa𓂃ll. Maybe this was the pancake lenses showing their worth, or the fact that two LCD displays are better than one. Perhaps it was a combination of these things and the Quest 3’s boosted resolution. Regardless, things just seem more focused, and colors appear clearer on Quest 3. The Quest 3S still does a great job though, making it easy to spot the tiny bits of grime that still needed washing away in Power Wash Sim.

I must say, both headsets come up a bit short in Blade & Sorcery Nomad when it comes to jaggy lines - something the Pico 4 Ultra has them both beat on. Doing more formalized tests really solidifies the value of extra RAM in that headset, especially because environments and details in surroundings pop in much more noticeably on the Quest 3S. Controller tracking is also a bit disappointing, which makes some weapons in the gam💫e unusable. The Pico 4 Ultra suffer🐷ed similar issues, but I felt much more immersed in my sequences of fantasy mass murder on Pico’s headset than I do on the Quest 3S.

The increased resolution of the Quest 3 really shows its worth in Asgard’s Wrath 2, with even its ⛦softer, more illustrative art style appearing clearer on the flagship model. To a layman, these environments will still be plenty expressive on the 3S, but you definitely notice a difference with some beefed-up resolution and an extra display panel. The same great audio quality from the Quest 3 carries over to the 3S though, so I can’t make any complaints about how immersive and high-quality games sound.

I’m not one for mixed-reality spatial 𝓰computing, but I did a bit more testing with this headset than I usually d▨o. I can see it being a big draw for people who like the look of the Apple Vision Pro but are attracted to a much more affordable device. Hand tracking works fairly well for the most part, allowing me to pinch my fingers to interact, or get physically closer to a virtual menu and use them like I would a touch screen. The fact that Meta's Quest OS windows now operate within real spaces is pretty clever. Going upstairs in a friend’s house, then looking down at the ground, only to see the headset’s app library window still open through the floor was a bit wild, and something people are bound to get a kick out of.

Watching content on YouTube and streaming services was where I found the Quest 3 to be a much more versatile option because focus is such a priority for big virtual cinema-like screens. With Pancake lenses, you definitely get a wider area of a virtual cinema screen in clarity without needing to move your head. Similarly, the Quest 3S’s narrower FOV makes itself known in these instances where you aren’t fully immersed since it can be harder to zone out the black borders around your content. Either way, PSVR 2 and the detail and vivid colors its OLED displays can throw at your eyeballs is much better. Not least because the inky black surroundings of any virtual screen in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:cinematic mode help you to feel more immersed.

Should you buy the Meta Quest 3S?

Keep in mind that I’m making these comparisons from the point of someone who has tried lots of VR headsets and that I’ve really been looking for holes to pick in the 3S. Even five years ago, the idea of an “entry-level” VR headset was pretty alien. The idea of a headset under $450 with full-color passthrough, genuine standalone gaming power, and loads of mixed-reality potential was so out of reach that it was a fantasy. The Quest 3S has all of that, and the fact I can nitpick those feaꦫtures in a device⛄ at this price point is excellent.

If you haven’t yet owned a modern, standalone VR headset, this is a fantastic option that gets you so many of the Quest 3’s software tricks and lots of its internals for a decent price. Enthusiasts who have played a lot of VR games before, on either a Quest 2 or PC VR headset, will probably want more than the 3S can provide, so I’d be inclined to recommend the full-fat Quest 3, or the Pico 4 Ultra. If you do have more budget to play with, maybe consider a PC option like the HTV Vive Focus Vision - not least because my concerns with how Meta collects our data still make me hesitant to recommend its hardware (see my 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest Pro review).

Still, this is maybe the best entry-level VR device ever created. Both in ꦺlooks and spirit, it’s the spitting image of its father, the 💜Meta Quest 2. However, with updated internals and software perks to its name, it’s potentially more worth a buy than its parent ever was.

How I tested the Meta Quest 3S

I tested the Meta Quest 3S for just over a month before writing this review. In that time I’ve used it for plenty of VR gaming, as ♔well as🐻 watching some streaming content and general spatial computing tasks.

I playꦬed a lot of Blade & Sorcery Nomad, Power Wash Sim VR, and Asgard’s Wrath 2 on the Quest 3Sꦰ to test its gaming potential. To compare it with the Quest 3, I loaded up the same levels in each game and played them one after the other to take notes.

For more on how we test the latest technology, check out the full澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

Sticking to flat-screen gaming at the moment? Take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming TVs, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming monitors, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops.

That's okay though because if you've been ඣstruggling to play for longer sessions with the Quest 3 or Quest 3S, there are third-party head straps that could absolutely change the game for you, as they did me. KIWI Design is my favorite, and in a special Black Friday treat, it's offering both its battery and comfort head straps for less. If you don't care too much about battery life, the Comfort Head Strap is goin💟g for just at the moment, which is the cheapest I've ever seen it drop to, and I track its price on a weekly basis.

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday Meta Quest deals like this can offer you the chance to boost the quality of life of your headset, even if the 3 and 3S devices aren't discounted in their own rights. If you've got a bit more money to play around with, you may be more interested in KIWI's battery-boosting option, which gives you the same plu𒐪sh comfort, but also gives your headset a longer lifespan. It's currently going

Should you buy the KIWI Design Comfort Head Strap?

There's a lot to like about KIWI's Comfort head straps, and since testing one out with the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3, ℱit's the only one I use. It should be noted that if you have the Meta Quest 3S, KIWI's straps will work with your device too. Thankfully, the designs of the two headsets are similar enough that they can make use of tඣhe same Meta Quest accessories.

The comfort level of the KIWI Battery head strap really surprised me, becauseꩲ, for a cheaper add-on by a third-party brand, it feels extremely premium. It's got really plush cushioning that hugs your noggin while you play, and the leather material feels nice and genuine - I haven't noted any degradation or peeling that would point to a cheaper substitute being used.

The battery version is particularly ♛useful and has added many hours to my Blade & Sorcery survival mode runs. Whiling away the hours slaughtering NPCs has never been easier, and if anything, KIWI's head straps are responsible for the countless virtual lives I've taken in increasingly brutal ways. Luckily, it braces my head really gently thanks to its adjustable length, and I never feel that forehead ache like I sometimes can with the stock head strap.

If there's one issue with this 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessory, it's maybe that it makes the headset feel as though it's sitting higher up on your head, and a little less secure when playing more active games. If you use the Quest 3 for a lot of fitness apps, maybe look for something more slimline, but I'm sure it w🎉ouldn't be a deal breaker and you could find the right fit for you and your use cases.

Don't forget there are also 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday VR headset deals running, as well as 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday Xbox deals, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday gaming chair deals.

This Meta Quest 3 bundle is , which is the expected price for the VR headset. Despite the lack of a discount, this might still be one of the best 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday Meta Quest deals we've seen this year. You'll get a free copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow as standard wherever you buy the headset right now, but a free $75 gift card is what really makes this stand out. Wh꧂ile you can't use this against the price of the headset, that's still a saving🔯 of $75 if you had plans to make any more purchases at Best Buy over the big sale season.

Until it was adjusted for the Quest 3S's launch, the 512GB Quest 3 used to have an MSRP of $649. This dropped to just $499 in September ဣand has remained that way ever since, making it very alluring against other VR headsets. With that in mind, you're getting this flagship headset for way cheaper than you could this time last year, and $ཧ75 worth to spend on any other offer that takes your fancy.

Should you buy the Meta Quest 3 this Black Friday?

Knowing what 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday VR headset deal to buy right now can be a litওtle confusing. Even where Meta's offerings are concerned, there isn't just the Meta Quest 3 available on shelves, but the Meta Quest 3S kicking about for a more affordable cost.

If experiencing the immersion of virtual reality on a budget is your main priority then the 3S is going to be your best bet. That device is a more affordable alternative, having a starting cost of $299.99 if you're looking at the 128GB version. Of course, PSVR 2's discount is also really tempting right now, with a lower price tag than the Quest 3 at 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:just $349 at Amazon

The Meta Quest 3 headset has a much higher resolution than the Quest 3S, providing 2064 x 2208 pixels per eye, compared to the 1,832 by 1,920 per eye of the 3S. This meansꦗ you'll have a sharper image to deal with, as well as more generous Pancake lenses increasing your area of focus, which is important if you're playing dark and gritty games like the bundled Batman: Arkham Shadow.

If you still aren't convinced that the Meta Quest 3 is the right choice for you, it's currently holding space as one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets we've ever looked at. Our very own Duncan Robertson even noted in his 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 review that it's an "excellent device for VR gaming" and that it "takes the excellent gaming chops of the Oculus Quest 2 and gives 🌠it a current-gen mixed reality refresh."

If that's enough to pique your interest, and you were planning on making more purchases at Best Buy this Black Friday anyway, this current Black Friday VR headset deal♔ feels like a no-brainer to me.

For even more savings on everything virtual reality check out our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday gaming PC deals hub where we've gathered all the best discounts on additional headsets and accessories. If VR isn't your idea of a good time, our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday PS5 deals and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday Xbox deals hub are full to the brim with savings on consoles, games, and accessories for the pixel-pushing machines.

For obvious reasons, a well-made VR experience is always going to be exponentially more immersive than its conventional TV screen counterpart, and when the world you're immersed in is filled with otherworldly abominations designed by one of the most beloved horror artists of all time, well, you'd better hope you're built from tougher stuff than ꦯme. I tried playing Resident Evil 7 in VR and lasted a pitiful five minutes, and I think Silent Hill 2 Remake just barely edges that out in terms of sheer oppressive terror, and I'm frankly not even very interested in putting myself through that trauma.

However, for those who truly fear nothing, or instead just ꩲenjoy the thrill of nearly being scare🌱d to death, there's a Silent Hill 2 Remake first-person VR mod with full motion controls courtesy of modder praydog (thanks, ).

The mod's available for download over on , and its description pꦦromises "smooth movement," two-handed rifle and shotgun controls, a "properly projected crosshair in 3D space," and "fully immersive" melee swings that are accurate to weapons' sizes, "even with custom models." 

There are also what praydog calls "contextu𝕴al hit reactions," meaning the game's 💝combat physics translate faithfully to VR. For example, when you hit an enemy in the legs there's a chance it'll temporarily incapacitate them, and in general, the part of the body you strike should react appropriately.

The mod also lets you use your headset's roomscaling tech to move around your physical space freely while playing the game, which of course further adds to immersion and makes this already daunting proposition even scarier. If you've got what it takes, my hat's off to you, but I'll continue playing the game with that crucial degreeꦐ of separation that exists between my eyes and the TV.

Find out where Silent Hill 2 Remake landed on our list of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best horror games.

When Awakening choses to channel Metro's tunnel based shootouts – either against monsters or murderous survivors – it does a good job of bringing that style of action 🍌to life within VR. Peeking out from behind cover as you click clack another magazine into a rusty AK-47 held together with tape and hope is always a satisfying feeling. While the tension of creeping around claustrophobic corridors, when you know there's something in there with you, creates some great horror moments too.

There's a pleasing physicality to the most basic function🌠s here as you reach up to wipe condensation from your gas mask, for example. Or furiously hand crank your little generator to charge your fading torch. One of life's greatest gaming pleasures I've discovered while playing Metro is pulling back the slide on your pistol to chamber a round (or cracking it a half inch just to check you have already). These little things pull you into the world in a very tactile way as you bring out your pack to check supplies, reorder weapons, and grab what you need. Even pressing a button over your head to flick your headlamp on and off n🧜ever stops being fun.

Despite a slow start, the opening hours feel about as goo♌d as a Metro game in VR could get. However, as things move on, the game veers away from the enjoyable gunplay and horror it seems to have cracked so well. Instead, lengthy expositional moments abound, where it feels like there's far too much walking and talking for a game famously about shooting people in the face wi🔯th lethal air rifles (which disappointingly don't appear here at all).

The developer, the e🐻xcellent Arizona Sunshine's Vertigo Games, clearly knows how to make a good VR shooter, but here that seems to slowly take a back seat to the story. I get it to some degree. After all, when the actual author of the original books, Dmitry Glukhovsky, gets involved with writing the story, you are going to want to use that. But it leaves this feeling like an action focused game that doesn't really have the tools to articulate Glukhovsky's🍸 ideas.

So while the opening hours feel very Metro as you fight and explore through rail tunnels, you eventually spend more and more time walking and talking as the game tries to flesh out its narrative, largely through things like radio conversations, flashbacks, and visions. I won't spoil the story here (although the team have open🎃ly talked about it being the origin prequel for a specific Metro character) but it doesn't feel like this is the best way of telling it. There's a heavily intဣrospective and spiritual journey here with some depth to it, and building out some chunky lore, that doesn't feel best served by a man largely having conversations by himself in empty corridors.

The attempt to lever Glukhovsky's tale into this VR shooter has a strange effect on the pacing and flow overall. For a series known for its stealth – in the non-VR games you're often destroying lights to create shadows, or shooting ball bearings to quietly pop enemy skulls – there's very little of that here. When stealth is initially introduced, via the medium of "punching people in the back of the head", it's unsatisfying and unwieldy; something that never really feels g𒁏ood as you try to work out how hard to waft your hand around to register a hit. You don't even get a stealth weapon until surprisingly late on, a fun but sorely underutilized crossbow. There are a few oil lamps you can turn on or off but, aside from one level-specific contrivance, they feel m🔯ore like an easter egg than anything else.

When you're running around – ducking for cover, scrabbling through the bodies or stripping enemy weapons for a handful of bullets – combat feels good. So it's a shame that stealth doesn't really utilize it well. The smaller space makes it hard to really do too much in the way of stealth kills without being immediateꦇly seen, so you often feel more lucky than skillful if you do get aw꧅ay with it. There are dedicated stealth-like sections but these are strange, pattern based moments where ghosts move between different points leaving you to find the gaps between them. They don't seem to see or react to you, they just kill you if you get too close. It's an unsatisfying and unclear replacement to systematically hunting and preying on enemies from the darkness.

Spooky action

It's a game of diminishing returns. You never leave the tunnels for one thing, so the smaller areas and lack of visual variety soon start to grate. The supernatural elements also introduce almost time loop-like revisits through certain areas. That starts feeling like it might take things ꦫin an interesting direction at first, but quickly end up feeling like canny asset management. A section where you're trapped in a repeating maze, listening for faint singing to guide the way isn't fun the first time, and definitely didn't need to come back 🐼again for no clear reason. It doesn't help that, with the limited environments, there were at least two points where I only found out it was a repeated section because the voice over told me.

By the closing hours it's mostly avoiding looping ghosts and exposition, which feels anticlimactic. There are some big action beats but they feel specifically engineered to balance the story excess, and🌸 often revolve around big set piece battles against monster hordes. These also expose the limitations of the otherwise enjoyable practical physicality of the controls. Against people, where you have time and space to think, reload or switch weapons, all that is easy. Against monsters that just rush you head on, it quickly falls apart as you flail around trying to clearly grab the thing you need with a creature right in your face. The Shambler shot♈gun is a particular pain here, needing to be reloaded at arms length to avoid accidentally grabbing the bolt that ejects casings.

I really wanted to like Metro Awakening a lot more than I did. But it feels pulled between two pillars – one that's about creating a great VR shooter, and one that's about trying to tell a lore critical canon story from the original creator. Because it tries to do the latter using only the tools of the former, it fails to some degree on both fronts. I like the idea of the story, but getting it as monologues and conversations, or occasional disconnected visions, while walking through tunnels, didn't really do it any justice. And, at the same time, this all gets in the way of the shooter side, creating an odd pacing, anღd a strange distribution of both action and weapons.

There are good moments to be had here, with some strong action and gunplay. That first moಞnster encounter is likely to remain burned in my brain for a while to come. But, while those early gloriously physical, bullet-scrounging gunfights feel great, the lack of variety thins the reward over time. And, by not picking a lane more clearly between enjoyable VR action shooter and deep, thinky philosophical story telling, Metro Awakening muddles the impact of both.

Metro Awakening was reviewed on PS VR 2 with, with a code provided by the publisher.

Want the series at its best? Check out our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Metro Exodus review for one of our favourites in this unique shooter. Up for something else? Our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best FPS games have you covered!

The 128GB Quest 3 only launched this time last year and it's been one of the most accessible VR headsets worth buying ever sinওce. VR games are relatively small, so for many people, paying more for a 512GB SKU 🍌hasn't been all that necessary. Since the announcement the 128GB version's death warrant was signed though, it feels like it's entered clearance mode. In the US, Best Buy is one of the last remaining suppliers with stock available, and it's reduced the device's price from $499.99 , giving you a sweet $70 saving.

In the UK, Amazon has followed suit, dropping the cost to down from £479. It goes without saying, but I've not seen the Quest 3 hit this low a price tag since it launched last year, and I've been keeping a close eye on the headset's deals in that time. Amazon's US stock of the 128GB Quest 3 has already disappeared entirely, so if you're wanting a cheaper route into Meta's flagship device, I wouldn't wait around. I'd be surprised if this 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:VR headset didn't transition into a collector's item by the time 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Prime Day Meta Quest deals officially start next week.

But why is the Quest 3 being discontinued, I hear you ask? Well, since the Quest 3S is targeting that more ♏approachable market of first-time VR buyers or those who don't want to invest more than $350 on a standalone headset, the Quest 3 proper needs to stand out as an enthusiast device. Limiting choice to the 512GB model only distinguishes it from the competition, since other standalone headsets tend to offer less storage. 

While it's certainly sad that the Quest 3 128GB is no more, you can take solace in the fact that the 512GB SKU has now dropped in price slightly as well. In the UK and US, it's ൩cheaper than it's ever been, down from its original MSRP of $649, or . That's an amazing reduction in its own right, although it's a massive sla🙈p in the face to anyone who bought that headset in the last few months at a higher price.

Regardless of which Quest headset you buy, you'll get to benefit from the Batman💝 Arkham Shadow pre-order bonus that's available for the Quest 3S.

Should you buy the 128GB Meta Quest 3?

In all of Quest 3's life so far, this question has never been so hard to answer. If you want the best Quest headset in terms of its internal s🔴pecs, but you don&a🎶pos;t want to spend money on a version with more storage, then absolutely jump on this 128GB model clearance sale. Truth be told, you'd struggle to fill up 512GB of space even if you use the headset daily for gaming and work. VR titles really are surprisingly small, so 128GB is more space than you'd think.

That said, the competition has never been so fierce. Not only do you have the Meta Quest 3S to think about now, but if you're in the UK, you have the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra to consider, which is arguably better than the Quest 3 anyway. 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:HTC Vive🌃 is also re-entering the consumer market with the Vive Focus Vision, which is a much higher-end device targeted ﷺat PC gamers. 

Then, you have what I'd argue is the Quest 3's biggest competition, PSVR 2🍨. Almost like clockwork, Sony's headset has dropped in price as well. Its MSRP isജ $549, and Walmart is currently listing it , a whole $100 cheaper. In the UK, you can grab one for , which really puts it up against the new price of the 512GB Quest 3.

Any direction you look in, you have amazing opportunities to get into VR gaming at the moment. All of these headsets are worth the money, and as a lover of this technology, I couldn't be happier to say that. Competition is great for any industry, and since this has always been prohibitively expensive hardware, all of these discounts mean that more people will be able to get their heads in a visor. If that's the case now, I can't wait to see what 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday VR headset deals and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday Meta Quest deals have in store.

You can personalize your headsets by checking out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories. If you want to widen your gaming library, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs or the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops.

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3S pre-orders have gone live ahead of th🌜e device's October 15 release date. You'll be able to pick up the 128GB edition for $300 USD, and the 256GB for $400. The Quest 2 and Quest Pro are both being retired, and the previously $650 512GB Quest 3 is dropping down t🉐o $500, and the old 128GB Quest 3 is being liquidated at $430.

As part of today's reveal, it was also confirmed that Batman: Arkham Shadow💎 is set to launch on October 22. In a new traile🌌r, the Quest 3 exclusive looks like it faithfully captures the action of the beloved Rocksteady series - action we've been missing since 2013, notwithstanding the much more limited Arkham VR game released in 2016. Arkham Shadow will be bundled free with all new Quest 3 and 3S purchases up until April 30, 2025.

New Quest purchasers are also getting three free months of tꦬhe Meta Quest+ subscription, which otherwise runs $8 per month. That gets you access to a Game Pass-style rotating library of games, and a PlayStation Plus-style monthly pair of games that you can claim to your library and keep access to for the duration of your subscription.

Our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 review says the device "takes the excellent gaming chops of the Oculus Que♚st 2 and gives it a current-gen mixed reality refresh," and it looks like the 3S is in a confident position to make the entry point more affordable.

Check out our guide to find the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headset. 

The HTC Vive Focus Vision is a standalone mixed-reality headset, but don't let that fool you. This feels more like a successor to what we deem one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets ever made for PC gaming, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:HTC Vive 2 Pro. 

The Vive Focus Vision has one of the most stacked spec sheets I've seen in a standalone device like this, even compared to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Pico 4 Ultra which takes the Meta Quest 3's specs a step further. It has a pixel-per-eye density of 2248p, two eye-tracking cameras, automatic IPD adjustment, and a 120-de𒊎gree field of view. 

When in standalone mode, it shares the processor used by the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3, the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2. This will be aided by 12GB of RAM, supported by 128GB of storage, that will all power a display with a 90Hz refresh rate. HTC Vive has really thought about how it can one-up the competition though, and it's done so with clever design. 128GB of storage may seem small, butꦍ MicroSD card support means you can upgrade the storage if you want more room for games. Similarly, 90Hz may not seem all that competitive, but this headset has been designed with DisplayPort conne𝕴ctivity in mind for PC gaming. When hooked up to a computer in this way, its display is capable of a 120Hz refresh rate.

Connecting a headset like this directly to one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best graphics cards means you won't suffer any image compression like you would with a USB-C connection when playing on a PC. For enthusiast SteamVR users, this headset could well be the new go-to choice, since the Quest 3, Pico 4 Ultra, and even PSVR 2&a🎃pos;s PC adapter all use a form of USB-C connectivity.

HTC Vive's Global Head of Product, Shen Ye, said “Now, PC gamers can bring t꧑he same high-end headsets used in VR arcades into their homes. We’re taking everything to the next level with built-in eye-tracking, stereo color passthrough cameras for depth-correct Mixed 🌄Reality, and even an infra-red sensor for enhanced hand tracking in low-light conditions."

Impressively, you'll also be able to quick-swap the Focus Vision's battery thanks to detachable battery packs that each have two hours' worth of continuous playtime. In a nice quality-of-life bonus, the headset has four indicator LEDs that convey how much battery life you have left - similar to some of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories. Howtswapping battery backs in a pinch sounds easy because there&ap🦋os;s a built-in reserve battery that can keep your headset in an extended standby mode f൩or up to 20 minutes.

As the brand's head of product stated, you won't need to use tracking modules here like with the Vive 2 Pro. The Focus Vision has four integrated tracking cameras and two full-color 16MP passthrough cameras for mixed-reality prowess. There's also an infrared floodlight to help 𓂃with tracking, a pro💮ximity sensor, and depth-sensing capabilities.

You may be startinಞg to worry about how much this will all cost. Surprisingly, the HTC Vive Focus Vision has stayed true to the cost of the Vive 2 Pro, launching at a price of $999.99🐲 / £999.99. It's , but I haven't been given a concrete date when the device will ship to early buyers.

Pre-orders include a Vive Wired Streaming Kit for DisplayPort Mode for no extra cost, and you'll get a choice of one of three popular game buꦺndles as a complimentary package.

Need a rig to hook a headset like this up to? Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware gaming PCs, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops.

The fight to create 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the best VR headset has been getting more heated in recent years, but Meta still holds a monopoly for VR gamers who have no interest in tethering to a PC or console. Of course, there’s the Apple 🧔Vision Pro, but that’s not exactly designed for gaming, which has become clear the longer it's been on the shelves. Moreover, it’s not affordable for the majority of shoppers, so the sector is still crying out for a device that can truly rival the Quest 3.

At least in Europe and Asia, the Pico 4 Ultra is that rival. With 256GB of storage and a UK price of £529, it lands between the Quest 3’s two models in terms of both price and space for games. Beyond its clear comp𒈔etition, however, this is an excellent VR headset that deserves better than the underdog reputation it’ll launch to.

Design

I think my favorite thing about the design of the Pico 4 Ultra is how well-balanced its weight is. The 580g mass of this device is actually heavier than the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3, but it feels so much lighter on your face because the design spreads the pressure across the whole head. There’s practicality to the design here as well, from the headband that actu𒐪ally folds upward so you can fit it in a way that suits you, to a facial interface that clicks on and off with ease, and doesn’t feel like you’re snapping vital bits of plastic you’ll depend on later. 

On the left-hand side of the headset, you’ll find a USB-C port for charging your device, but that’s it. It’s a bit disappointing there’s no 3.5mm headphone jꦗack, particularly because, as I’ll come onto, the integrated speakers on the sides of the headband aren’t the best. Still, volume control integrated into the headband, as well as a simple power button, add some easy utility. 

The back of the head strap features a turning dial that tightens or loosens the fit - a bit like some of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories do. I love how secure the Pico 4 Ultra feels, even when I was playing games with more rigorous head movements, I never felt the headset budge, and it certainly didn’t have the issue PSVR 2 has where it slides down your for⛦ehead and out of the sweet spot for the lenses. I also love that wearing glasses with the 4 Ultra is no problem at all, and unlike the Quest 3, it doesn’t knick my specs every time I take it off. 

The front of the headset has a sleek look, with a reflective, black facial panel that holds a central camera arra💞y, and above and below it lie some vents for cooling. You’ll also find fou𝔉r peripheral cameras for tracking and an integrated depth sensor that will help keep you in a safe playing space.  

Then there are the controllers to think about. Noticeably ⛦longer than the Quest 3’s controllers, they now abandon their tracking rings. They have all the usual buttons VR controllers need, plus some extras for in-game menus. They also feature an Ultra-wideband vibrating motor and are powered by a single AA 𒐪battery each.

Features

Powering this device is the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor you get in a Meta Quest 3. Similarly, two LCD displays with a 90Hz refresh rate can be viewed through pancake lenses. In a fun turn, you can change the inter-pupillary distance between the two lenses electronically, but not manually. Pancake lenses here have the same wide area of focus offered by the ones in the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest Pro and Quℱest 3, and a 105-degree FOV means it’s actually pretty tricky to spot the borders of the display when you’re massacr𒐪ing Freds in Arizona Sunshine 2. 

In an upgrade from the Quest 3, you get 12GB of RAM in the Pico 4 Ultra, up from 8GB. This is some really solid futureproofing since more memory means the device will be capable of running larger levels that will inevitably start to appear in 💜VR ga♔mes as time moves on.

The Android OS runs smoothly, and loads quickly from startup. Thanks to Wi-Fi 7 support, the headset is capable of downloading and installing games and applications in a flash.✱ I found that the 5700mAh battery was able to power the Pico 4 Ultra for between two and four hours, depending on how I was using it. For watching streaming content on Disney Plus or Netflix, power con♏sumption was pretty reliable. If another hour of my life flashed by like five minutes while playing Blade & Sorcery, I noticed the power going down faster. 

There are mixed-reality features to be gained here, including the ability to take spꦐatial videos and photos. I tested this to make sure it works, but I have no interest in using this as a feature, so I can’t speak to its prowess versus the Apple Vision Pro, for example. It’s there if you want it - I just wish every marketing campaign for this feature on any device didn’t need to be tilted at taking pictures of children’s birthdays, please. It’s just a bit creepy.

Performance

Passthrough clarity is a big part of how a device like this can feel for uses other than gaming. Interestingly, when I used the Pico 4 Ultra immediately after the Meta Quest 3,🌞 I noticed a mixed bag. Passthrough clarity was actually better on the Pico 4 Ultra overall, but AR menus and the like seemed sharper on Quest 3. Rather amusingly, the Quest 3 gives you this bizarre blurry effect when an object passes from one of the peripheral cameras into the front, but the Pico 4 Ultra didn’t have that issue, potentially because its two 32MP frontal cameras are set wider than the ones on the Quest 3, and closer to their peripheral counterparts. The Quest 3 allowed me to read text on other displays like my phone or PC monitor, however, which the Pico 4 couldn’t do. As I say, it’s a mixed bag when you compare their passthroughs so directly.

I don’t use these devices for 🦋spatial computing, or indeed for many mixed-reality tasks. For me, these are pieces of gaming hardware, so while I can say the Pico 4 Ultra is more than capable of being used for productivity and wider scenarios, I mainly focused my testing time on playing games. 

And play games I did. Despite reviewing VR headsets, I still often find myself suffering from motion sickness if I stay in a game for too long, but the Pico 4 Ultra finally broke th🐼at for me. Playing fully immersive games like Arizona Sunshine 2, Blade & Sorcery, and Red Matter 2, I was blown away at how light the headset felt on my head, and the lack of a squeezed feeling on my forehead definitely helped me to put queasy sensations to one side.

The displays on board the 4 Ultra have a 1920 x 1920 pixels per eye resolution, and I didn’t expect this, but they even gave the PSVR 2’s OLED displays a run for their money. Blacks obviously weren’t as vivid, but the 💟clarity in Red Matter 2 was maybe some of the best VR visual fidelity I’ve come across. I’m sure Pancake lenses help since they offer a wider area of focus, but for a standalone headset that only has slightly better specs than the Quest 3, and no foveated rendering to speak of, I didn’t expect the sorts of graphical performance I found here. 

After some immediate comparison tests, I also noticed more jaggy lines when gaming on Quest 3. Fro🔥m game to game, these things will differ on either headset, but I was really impressed to notice that more demanding games like Red Matter 2 actually ran smoother than Asgard’s Wrath 2 did on Quest 3, and I spotted more frame rate dips o﷽n Meta’s device for sure. 

It was a shame, though, that the speakers on the Quest 3 proved to be far superior. The detail and power when playing a game on the Pico 4 Ultra were fine, but I would often find myself wondering if someone had turned the volume on the headset down wh𝓡en I loaded up a new game. I’ve always loved the speakers on the Quest 3, but the amount of detail they can convey to you when gaming without blasting your ears off is now a standout feature that Pico hasn’t been able to match. 

Controllers were a similar story. I prefer the longer feel of the Pico 4 Ultra’s controllers. Especially in Blade & Sorcery, the slightly larger thumbsticks help greatly with movement and turning, and having some textured menu buttons in addition is a really nice quality-of-life bonus. That said, the feedback the Quest 3’s controllers give you is much more vibrant, and although subtle vibration is never a 🐈bad thing, I’m a big believer in how accentuated feedback can aid game feel in VR. 

Perhaps the biggest gaming-based flaw I noticed with the Pico 4 Ultra was controller tracking issues. In lower lighting, the Pico 4 Ultra really struggled to track my controllers accurately. To be fair, the Quest 3 will struggle with that if you push it too far, but even slightly dim surroundings were a test for the Pico 4 Ultra. In fact, even in well-lit rooms, there were frequent moments in Blade & Sorcery where my in-game weapons weren’t pointing at the precise angle I needed them at, and in Arizona💟 Sunshine 2 this impacted my ability to aim. It makes me wonder whether keeping the tracking rings on Pico’s controllers would have been a benefit. Then again, I didn’t get the chance to try the original Pico 4, so I can’t comment on how well tracking worked there.

In a nice addition, you can get motion trackers that strap to your ankles for full body awareness. This is a nice bonus, and not something Meta offers at the time of writing. To be honest, they weren’t something I spent much time with, maꦓinly because I didn’t feel games needed them. Nonetheless, if you want to feel like✅ you’re under house arrest and require full body immersion in your games, they work brilliantly.

Software & Privacy

Pico 4 has a more limited digital storefront than Meta’s Quest, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some excellent gaming entries included. A lot of big hitters from the last few years of VR gaming are present here, and the list isn’t as withdrawn as I had heard. There’s Creed, there’s The Walking Dead, there’s even The Last Clockwinder, which is probably my favorite VR game yet. Admittedly, there are some missing classics like Beat Saber and Super Hot, but with the ability to link up to a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC and play SteamVR games, I don’t think anyone will be complaining. Missing games wasn’t something I was too worried about after some browsing through the digital store, but if it’s a c൩oncern for you, maওybe look up the games that are available online before buying. I’m almost certain the library is going to expand as time goes on. 

One of the biggest reasons I’d love to see a Meta Quest alternative do well is because, while I think Zuck’s company has cleaned up some of its data-mining acts since I reviewed the Quest Pro, I still have a lot of privacy concerns. I’d like to see a genuine alternative i𓄧f, like me, you give Meta a wide berth. Unfortunately, Bytedance, the parent company behind Pico, is based in China and is responsible for bringing you a small startup social media platform known as TikTok. With that enormous data hoarder of a platform linked by ownership to this headset, I’d love to be more optimistic about how the Pico 4 Ultra collects information. I’m not able to say for sure how Bytedance is collecting data, and if it’s doing so from this headset, so for the record, I won’t. Still, at least with this on the shelves, you have a choice of a lesser evil.

Should you buy the Pico 4 Ultra?

Beyond its clear rivalry with the Quest 3, the Pico 4 Ultra is a brilliant VR headset for gaming. It takes the prowess of a standalone miꦯxed-reality headset to new heights, and I hope it becomes a popular alternative to Meta. For that to truly happen, however, it needs to ente꧙r the US market, which is an expansion I’m very eager to see. The 4 Ultra has a competitive price for its specs, and presents a viable device for gaming, spatial computing, and PC linking.

But is it better than the Quest 3? In terms of raw specs, the answer is a tentative yes. Unfortunately, they’re so close to call in different ways that it’s hard to give a definitive answer overall. In terms of a gaming experience, I did actually enjoy the Pico 4 Ultra more. It has a lighter feel and although feedback in the controllers wasn’ജt better, I like⛦d their slightly larger form factor more. Then again, you’ve got more experiences to enjoy on Quest’s store, so it’s a tough one to call. 

Overall, I’m just glad to see a ve🍌ry viable alternative e🍌nter the scene. If you’re interested in buying a Quest 3, I think you really ought to consider if the Pico 4 Ultra is a better option for you, because it could be.

How I tested the Pico 4 Ultra

I tested the Pico 4 Ultra over a period of around three weeks before this review. In that time, I used it for playing games, watching Disney+ and Netflix content, and some light spatial computing. I compared my time wi💎th the headset closely to my experience with the Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro. At times, I switched between the Quest 3 and the Pico 4 Ultra ♒to get a sense for how they both felt.

The games I used to test out the headset included Arizona Sunshine 2, Red Matter 2, Blade & Sorcery Nomad, Demeo, and Puzzling Places. I kept a close eye on battery life to determine how long the device lasts on a full charge. You can read more about our testing ethos by checking out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

For flat-screen gaming, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming TVs and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming monitors. For a halfway house, take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best curved gaming monitors. 

The Pico 4 Ultra has just been revealed, and it launches on September 20th in the UK and Europe for £549, touting 4K specs, identical lenses, and a load of the same features as the Quest 3. Its name might suggest a half-step over the Pico 4 headset, but it'll easily give any of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets a run for their money.

Frustratingly, there's a catch. Pico has chosen to forgo the US consumer market with this headset once again, despite cries for the brand's previous Meta Quest alternative to come to the re💧gion. The consumer version of the Pic🉐o 4 Ultra won't launch in US markets, although its enterprise version aimed at businesses and professionals will. This is hardly a workaround for your everyday shopper, but with corporations being able to secure their own units, maybe a wider supply of stock will arrive in the US later.

For VR enthusiasts in the UK and EU though, pre-o🌌rders for the Pico 4 Ultra go live on Friday, September 6, and you'll be able to grab one at Argos, Currys, Very, and Amazon. Alongside your headset, a pre-order will secure you a free set of PICO Motion Trackers (pried at £79) and four games: Blade & Sorcery, Nomad, I💦nfinite Inside, Let’s Get Fit VR and FootPool.

The Pico 4 Ult🐬ra sports a Qualcomm XR2 Gen2 proces🐠sor, as well as 12GB LPDDR5 memory. 256GB of storage slots it right between the 128GB and 512GB models of the Quest 3, which complements its price point in the UK. All of these internal specs power a 2.56-inch LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate which you'll be able to enjoy with a 105° field of view.

In terms of visual fidelity, the resolution per eye is 2160 x 2160, and through Pancake Lenses that increase the area of focus for wearers, that's a crystal clear experience that will easily go toe-to-toe with the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3. As if the raw🌼 specs weren't enough, the upgraded 5700mAh battery in this device from the Pi🅺co 4 will surely provide some quality-of-life updates.

Of course, standalone XR headsets are more than the sum of their specs these days, and Pico has an impressive store full of 20+ games at launch, as well as full SteamVR compatibility. Moreover, there are allowances for Spatial Video here as well, if that's your thing. 34MP frontal cameras provide some great passthrough clarity, and a depth sensor helps to integrate your content int♛o your surroundings as if they were really there.

Should you buy the Pico 4 Ultra?

If you're at all interested in VR gaming, you'll definitely have heard of Meta's Quest devices. You'll probably have heard of the Apple Vision Pro, and if you're really keen on standalone devices, yo෴u may have even heard about HTC's Vive XR Elite. Pico has long been one of my favorite underdogs in the market, however. Even if they neglect 💜US consumers, its headsets are a viable alternative to Zuck's headsets that come in cheaper.

If, like me, you're not the biggest fan of the Metaverse, or surrendering more of your data to Meta's algorithms, then Pico is a solid choice for VR gaming. If, like me, you couldn't afford an Apple Vision Pro without selling all your worldly possessions, then you've got Spatial Computing allowances here for *checks notes* £3,000 less.

I have to say, as someone who believes wholeheartedly that Blade and Sorcery should be on every VR platform, I love the pre-order bundle on offer too. To me, that signals that there's a commitment to fan-favorite VR games on the platform. However, if the games included in Pico's digital store aren't enough, SteamVR support makes it another viable option for PC gamers, just like PSVR 2. 

All of this is enough for me to think that the Pico 4 Ultra could be a real thorn in the paw of the Quest 3, a꧟nd I look forward to sharing more thoughts about it in a review soon.

Need a rig you can hook a headset up to? Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs, or the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops. If you'd rather have a more portable gaming device, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming handhelds.

There's been a healthy skepticism from fans online about a VR-focused sequel of another VR-only Arkham game, but from my early hands-on time with Batman: Arkham Sha😼dow, it shows great promise in evoking that same thrill of being the Bat and exploring the underbelly of Gotham City that the Roꩵcksteady games succeeded at. GamesRadar+ also spoke with Camouflaj head and Batman: Arkham Shadow game director Ryan Payton about making a direct sequel to Batman: Arkham Origins and why Rocksteady's original Arkham Asylum was a core influence on giving Batman a new life in VR.

The Bat's VR comeback

2016's Batman: Arkham VR from Rocksteady Studios was the series' first attempt at VR,♔ but while novel, it felt more like an experiment with the budding technology than a full experience. But with Arkham Shadow, developer Camouflaj is building its Arkham Origins sequel as a return to "classic" Batman: Arkham while adapting the full combat, stealth, and investigation experiences into a new dimension.

Building off of the dev's work on Iron Man VR, A✅rkham Shadow puts a significant focus on capturing the experience of being Batman, right down to getting players to match his many mannerisms to execute actions using the cape to glide or stun enemies, extending your arm to aim the grappling hook, or swiping your arms to toss batarangs. When working on the adaptation to VR, game director Ryan Payton explains that despite challenges with bringing that Arkham experience to VR, some things made for a natural fit for the new medium.

"We actually found that some aspects of the Arkham gameplay adapted well from the flat experience. For instance, the detective vision mapped really well into VR, like to a surprising deg♏ree," says Payton. "Y𝔉ou activate the detective vision by bringing the right motion control to your right temple and tapping the button, and then you're completely enveloped in the familiar detective vision mode, and it's a nice way of allowing the players to understand very quickly and clearly what to interact with. There were aspects I wasn't convinced at first would translate well into VR, but if anything, I think parts of the game feel even better in VR. You're more a part of this world with VR."

From the opening hour, Arkham Shadow feels like a very deliberat🅰e throwback to the structure of Arkham Asylum – except the perspective is entirely in first-person and uses a unique control scheme focusing on motion controls and face buttons from the Quest 3 control❀lers. It's a different way to engage with a Batman: Arkham experience, but one that got surprisingly intuitive and familiar the more I played. 

Arkham Shadow's most sign🅰ificant deviation from the core formula is combat, which now goes for a more tempo- and gesture-based attack flow. As soon as you launch yourself towards the enemy, you have to follow specific patterns for each individual opponent as they can block and counter any careless strikes from you. Finishing moves are now triggered by swiping your controllers up or down to execute grabs or slam attacks. The action in Arkham Shadow makes for intense sessions, and I quickly worked up a sweat.

It took some time to get used to this flow, but when I did it g♒ave me the same sꦑense of satisfaction I got from taking out foes in previous Arkham games. One frustrating aspect was incoming attacks, which require you to jut your forearm in the same manner that Batman does in the Arkham games in the specific direction of an off-screen attack. The counter timing's tricky and awkward to get a handle on in the middle of combat. 

While combat is different but still satisfying, the investigation and stealth gameplay in VR are the most engaging and enjoyable sections of Arkham Shadow. The VR stealth in particular functions just like the original games, but with a focus on gesture-based actions. For example, by actually making a grabbing motion with the controllers, you can perform🅘 stealth takedowns. It's thrilling to play these sections in VR as executing vertical takedowns and gliding in first-person was so fun to pull off and VR really heightens the tension in stealth; very familiar set-piece sections suddenly feel new with the change of perspective.

Early years and familiar haunts

Making Batman: Arkham Shado🥃w a direct sequel to Arkham Origins, which had such a novel approach to the series, is the most interesting choice the developers made. Arkham Origins brought lesser-known characters into the stor🥀y and featured a more character-driven plot that showed more genuine pathos to characters like Batman and Joker in ways that its predecessors didn't.

With Arkham Shadows set six months after the end of Arkham Origins and its spin-off Blackgate, Gotham City is under siege by a mysterious organization known aꦉs the Cult of the Rat King during the week of the Fourth of July. As crime escalates, Batman (voiced by returning actor Roger Craig Smith) investigates the cult while teaming with Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent to find the leader. Along the way, Batman encounters other characters from the Rogues Gallery, including deep-cuts like the Ratcatcher and Lock-Up, who also have a role to play in Gotham's summer of violence.

According to Payton, post-Arkham Origins was a rich era left untapp🎃ed in the larger Arkhamverse – and it was also an opportunity to revisit one of the 🧜Arkham series' most underappreciated games.

"We're committed storytellers, and I always look for character-focused stories and take them to interesting places," says Payton. "The tim♚eline around Origins was such an interesting place. We see Batman as very confident but still in his early years, and he's now made himself more known to Gotham City. It's such an unexplored space compared to the very crowded time of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, and we had so much breathing room to tell an original story that tapped into what made Origins great while going deeper on returning characters and bringing in some new ones."

Arkham Shadows does♛ revisit some familiar locations and regions of Gotham City, such as the Monarch Theater and its district, but the developers stress that it is not an open world game. It's structured through interconnected zones for a more story🎀-driven experience, to give players more time to fully take in areas for exploration and activities, along with finding hidden collectibles such as the Rat King's radio broadcasts scattered throughout the game.

"I feel like going for a more Arkham Asylumꩵ-type experience was an appropriate place for us to go, especially with this being our first Batman game," he says. "Also, fans were ready for a tight, interconnected Arkham Asylum-like experience with a more defin♍ed and set area to explore. Even though the franchise just got bigger and bigger in scale, it was a great opportunity for us to have that tighter structure while returning to this Origins era."

In fact, fa🔴ns might be surprised to learn just how faithful Arkham Shadow is to the formula of an Arkham game. From the opening hour I played, Batman: Arkham Shadow's atmosphere and pacing felt similar to Arkham Asylum and its larger interconnected metroidvania structure, which felt right for the focus on VR gameplay. It's also refreshing to see Batman: Arkham Origins get a direct follow-up, as, in my view, it's low-key the best Arkham game thanks to its tighter cast of characters and a plot that dealt with Batman's steady growth i♉nto becoming Gotham's protector.

So far, Batman: Arkham Shadow is shaping up to be a worthy and satisfying continuation of the series. While owning a Meta Quest 3 and one's mileage f﷽or enjoying VR games may prove to be a hurdle for many, Arkham Shadow is still a p🎀romising revisit to everything that made Arkham work in the first place. It doesn't reinvent the Batwheel, but it does heighten what made the games so great with its change of perspective.

Batman: Arkham Shadow is set to release for the Meta Quest 3 in October 2024. While you wait, you could always check out some of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR games.

But there are two things working in the PSVR 2's favour at the moment. Firstly, it's currently an astonishing, record-breaking , and secondly, the has just launched, meaning you can finally use the device on a PC, which has waaay more VR games to choose from.

The PSVR 2 PC adapter is itself ridiculously expensiv🐭e at AU$94, but it's a reasonably small price to pay to make the PSVR 2 much, much more useful than 𝄹it would be otherwise.

Meanwhile, if you've any interest in Horizon VR spin-off Horizon Call of the Mountain, a PSVR 2 bundling that g🍸ame , down from AU$959.95.

Discounted or not, the question remains: 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:is the PSVR 2 worth it? Duncan addressed this question early last year, concluding that it is with a number of caveats. Some of those cavཧeats (including price, and limited software support) are definitely less relevant right now, with the 🐼discount and the PC adapter. 

Unless it's not obvious, you'll need a PS5 to use the PSVR 2—it's not a standalone unit like the Meta Quest headsets. If you don't have the console, want to play PSVR 2, and have money to burn, the standalone 🌱, down from AU$799.95.

Not happy with that PS5 price? Check out our regularly updated page on the best place to 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:buy a PS5 in Australia.

Today, Roto VR🦩 has announced the VR Explorer, a fully motorized “look and turn” gaming chair designed to be used with the Meta Quest 3. Its clever proprietary technology does exactly what it says on the tin; you clip a small receiver to the top of the head strap on your Quest 3, and the chair will then swivel around based on your movements. 

For those like me who can still suffer the motion sickness wobbles when using one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets, t🐼his could be a godsend. Tricking your body into actually feeling some motion could be a way to lessen nausea, but 🌼it could be great for anyone who spends a lot of time in VR games. 

Not all VR experi꧋ences lend themselves to standing up - think racing games, for example. In fairness, playing whil💫e standing can be tiring after a while, so a chair like this will help take a load off.

A couch, or one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming chairs can be awkward when using a VR headset because their shape can end up getting in the way of all-important arm movements. The Roto VR Explorer has a shorter b🍌ackrest, meaning your arms will be free to move around, uninhibited by a bulky seat and armrests. 

The immersion doesn’t stop there though, because this new throne also has a built-in rumble pack that provides whole-body haptic feedback. If that reminds you of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage 🎐H🐠aptic Feedback shirt, you’re on the right track.

As you might expect if you’ve shopped around for a gaming chair recently, this seat will set you back some serious cash. Preꩵ-orders are available in th🅺e US and UK today for . 

Herman Miller better get cracking on some VR 𝓀swivel tech, because this thing is coming for its market share.

The compatibility problem 

This is the first chair in the Made for Meta partnership program, which might bring us more inventive 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest accessories as time goes on. That does mean the Explorer has been designed with Meta in mind, which could be disappointing for owners of PSVR 2, or any other PC VR headset. 

Will these headsets be able to work with the chair as well, or is it exclusively linked to Zuck's hardware? Who knows, but it seems like 🎃it's firmly in the Meta camp for launch. 

“Meta has transformed how we experience virtual reality in rec🎃ent years, especially so with the standout Quest 3”, says Elliott Myers, CEO and Founder of Roto. 

“With the Roto VR Explorer, we’ve been able to 😼amplify that immersion to a whole new level. VR is more than just visuals - it’s about being able to go and explore places and feel like you’re really there. Roto not only solves the challenges of exploring virtual worlds whilst seated, but i🎃t also offers another layer of immersion with haptic feedback.

“Roto with Quest offers gamers the most fantastical adventures fr🔯om the comfort of their home”, the CEO adds.

We’ll need to get our hands (or butts) on this chair to really test its compatibility with other headsets, but Roto does say the Explorer is fully compatible with over 400+ games and apps available on the Meta Quest store, so that’s quite a boon for anyone who already owns a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3. 

A gimmick, or here to stay? 

I’m always pretty skeptical about full-bod൩y VR controllers, because I don’t think they’re ever practical as a mainstay piece of tec♊h you can have in your home without uprooting other living room furniture. I’ve had a few of these land in my inbox in the last 12 months, and while they’re incredibly inventive, they’re usually great bulking body braces that just aren’t viable for the average gamer.

The same goes for Disney’s Holotile Infinite Floor - it’s incredibly clever technology, but not something that peo𓃲ple will be able to roll out and use whenever they feel a VR urge coming on.

Similarly, Virtuix has an incredible that holds you in place as you fully commit to VR gameplay, but that isn’t something that will ever r🍸eally be viable for use at home.

I feel differently about this chair though, because while it has a fairly outlandish design that would give the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best pink gaming chairs a run for their money, it is an unassuming bit of 𝓰furniture that you could get away with having around the house. Depending on howꦅ heavy it is, and how much of a faff it is to roll out and set up when you want to use it, it could go either way for me. 

I also like that this is a refined iteration of something Roto tried to make successful a whole seven years ago - which🍷 I realiz෴ed from a quick look at the brand’s YouTube channel.

Still, your average VR gamer could get some use out of this new model since it has some versatility as a chair on its own. For VR veterans who want to invest in a full-time setup, this could be like one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best racing wheels for PC that are constantly attached to a desk or 🐻play space. 

I’m optimistic ab🧔out this chair, and I think it has legs beyond a gꦜimmick. I hope I get the chance to test it out.

There’s more gaming furniture where that came from, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best console gaming chairs, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming desks, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best standing desks. 

If you’re looking for a return to a silicone face cushion, or simply to improve the experience all-round, then the rather bizarrely named Razer Facial Interface Authorized for Meta Quest 3 could be a good choice. This premium option is a pricey one - more expensive than some of the other 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories - and will set you back a whopping $69.99/£69.99, almost double the cost of the official Meta Quest 3 silicone facial interface. It begs the question, does double the cost bring double the v𝄹alue, or has Razer cut off its nose to spite its facial interface? 

Design & Features

Razer hasn’t exactly changed the game when it comes to the design of its own Facial Interface, at a quick glance it looks nearly identical to Meta’s official offering. This is to be expected, of course, there’s only so much you can do to mix things up with an accessory like this but therꩵe are a couple of key differences to the stock option.

The most obvious difference between the Razer Facial Interface and what’s included in the box with the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 is what it’s covered in. While the standard option made the switch to a fabric-covered interface, Razer uses a h𒊎ypoallergenic silicone created in collaboration with medical equipment company ResMed. Razer says the interface includes special membranes that “float on the surface of your face on a microscopic level”, without a microscope to hand I can’t verify that but whatever’s going on that close-up is working because it’s supremely soft and comfortable. It almost feels gently inflated, molding to your face like a balloon and providing an excellent fit in the process. I also appreciated the fact there are no folds, creases, or seams across the entire unit, it’s one seamless surface that means no irritation or sweat traps.

While the shape of the Razer Facial Interface largely mirrors the original, it also includes an additional nose flap for blocking out light. This concept is quite common on third-party facial interfaces (and notably absent on any Meta option) and Razer’s implementation is the best I’ve tested. I usually find these flaps irritating on the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets and dist🌃racting as they tickle your nose, but on the Razer Facial Interface for Que♔st 3, it's positioned in such a way that I quickly forgot it was there. That’s a good thing too because unlike others, it’s a fixed part of the interface with no option to remove it.

Performance

There’s no denying the Razer Facial Interface Authorized for Meta Quest 3 is more comfortable than the stock option, it ticks that box handsomely. It also scores points for the increased hygiene of its easily wipeable, sweat-proof silicone coveಞring. On more than one occasion with the standard facial interface, both me and my friends have become self-conscious in a pass-the-headset situation wondering just how moist that mask is going to be by the time the next person puts it on. 

When it comes to sweaty faces, not only has Razer offered a treatment for the symptoms but an attempt to ease the cause too. Subtly built into the top and bottom of the facial interface is a series of vents to offer sꦡome level of airflow. I didn’t find these to be an absolute game-changer, you’ll still walk away from an intense session with the telltale red ring around your eyes, but they certainly didn’t make matters worse. Best of all, they’re designed in such a way that they let no light bleed into the headset.

There is an accessibility drawback to the Razer Facial Interface however which may cause problems for glasses wearers. While the Meta Quest 3’s stock facial interface is adjustable to move the pancake lenses nearer or further from your face, the Razer interface is fixed in one position. It does appear to offer quite a bit of depth so 🐓may still be able to accommodate a pair of glasses but it's a shame to see this functionality removed.

Should you buy the Razer Facial Interface for Meta Quest 3?

The Razer Facial Interface for Meta Quest 3 certainly has its advan🧔tages over the standard option. It’s softer and more comfortable to wear than the stock interface and the switch back to a hypoallergenic silicone covering has its perks too. Combined with a more immersive, light-blocking fit and bonus ventilation it seems to tick all the boxes. 

Apart from the lack of adjustability in lens distance and the fixed nose flaps, there’s little to complain about here. That is, apart from the price which is an unfortunate dealbreaker. $69.99/£69.99 is j🌟ust too much for a facial interface on its own and it’s impossible to recommend Razer’s option while it’s at that level. As good as it may be, it’s not twice as good as other first or third-party options and unless the price comes down you’re better off investing elsewhere.

Happy to stick with console gaming for now? Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best PS5 accessories, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Xbox Series X accessories, or the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Nintendo Switch accessories.

A soft replacement head strap, Razer’s Adjustable Head Strap System aims to be one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Meta Quest accessories. Although it will add greater comfort, balance, and a better fit this all-round upgrade will cost you. At $69.99🔜/£69.99 it’s certainly a premium investment, particularly when options from other brands come in aro💙und half of that price, but is that a small price to pay for a better overall experience?

Design & Features

The Razer Adjustable Head Strap System for 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Meta Quest 3 is refreshingly simple in its design, there’s not a single RGB strip in sight. Installation is an easy task, the hard plastic clips were a perfect fit for the Meta Quest 3’s side arms with cutouts for the charging and headphon♌e ports lining up nicely. I was pleased to see an extra tab at the end of each clip too which makes removing the head strap a less terrifying ordeal. I’ve found other straps make you feel like you’re about to rip the arms off or snap your headset in half so this extra leverage makes all the difference.

The all-black nylon system combines three super soft velcro straps with a rear halo that hugs the back of your 💖head for stability. It’s a similar approach to the official Meta Elite Strap, albeit a less rigid version, and there’s plenty of flexibility in the padded ring but with enough structure to hold its shape. Build quality is solid enough across the board and I have no major complaints, though there’s also not much here that scಌreams “I’m an expensive, luxury head strap”. The material is noticeably soft and flexible, particularly on the side and top straps which feel great and quickly conform to the shape of your head. The velcro connections are secure and I found it easy to adjust the fit while wearing the headset, unlike some other straps there doesn’t seem to be any muscle memory in these which makes fine adjustments between different users much more reliable. 

The rear halo features chunky stitching between the padded panels which looks a little short of the premium vibe Razer is going for. These bands are much firmer than thꦰe rest of the strap though as they’re a little thinner than the padding on either side. Fortunately, I didn’t notice them digging into my head while wearing the head strap. It’s worth noting that despite adjustable being in the name, there’s no way to change the size or fit of this rear unit which feels like an oversꦚight. It’s quite large and while it fits my head well, younger users may find it offers a far less secure fit.

Performance

Whether the Razer Adjustable Head Strap System for Quest 3 is right for you is going to be a matter of how you use one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets. In my testing, there were situations where it excelled and sit🍬uations wherꦛe I much preferred other options.

I’ve got no quibbles when it comes to comfort. The Razer Adjustable Head Strap System for Quest꧂ 3 is considerably more comfortable than both the Meta stock strap but also more rigid Elite Strap options. It conformed to my head nicely and the rear halo did a good job of giving my skull a comforting, nylon cuddle. It’s also easier to fit and remove the Razer Adjustable Head Strap System compared to others, there’s a little stretch in the material which makes sliding it on and off a breeze.

For lower-intensity games, the Razer Head Strap performed well and in this situation, I actually preferred it over any other strap I’ve tested. Playing F1 24 in VR with a racing wheel and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Playseat Trophy cockpit I have no complaints, this kind of low-movement situation is where Razer’s system excels. The added comfort meant I was rarely made aware of the strap or headset itself which helped with immersion and I didn’t feel the need to squirm or adjust it during longer sessions. Plus, the lower profile rear strap makes it possible to comfortably play while sitting in a chair with a high back or headrest - perfect for anyone looking to the Quest 3 for things like Xbox GamePass s🐻treaming or watching media.

Where the Razer Adjustable Head Strap System for Quest 3 falls down though is higher intensity situations. All of the things that work in the strap's favor when it comes to comfort, work against it when it comes to a secure, stable fit under pressure. The little bit of stretch in the side straps means quick head movements produce noticeable, unstable wobbles with the headset wiggling on my face, letting light in and breaking the immersion. The Razer Adjustable Head Strap System for Quest 3 also doesn’t clamp particularly firmly to your head so when tilting forward I always felt the headset was at risk of falling off, not ideal when plaꦉying Walkabout Mini Golf and forever looking down and lining up another putt.

Should you buy the Razer Adjustable Head Strap for Meta Quest 3?

In the right situation, the Razer Adjustable Head Strap System for Quest 3 is a strong performer and is without question a much more comfortable option than the stock head strap. It isn’t particularly versatile however and those playing a range of different games, and in particular ones with a lot of physical movement, are likely to be underwhe൩lmed.

Then there’s the issue of price because the Razer Adjustable Head Strap System for Quest 3 is eye-watꦇeringly expensive for what it is. When you consider there are battery head straps from other brands that add both comfort and double your play time, it’s hard to justify paying $69.99/£69.99 for comfort alone.

You can make your gaming sessions more comfortable in other ways. Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming chairs, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best console gaming chairs, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming desks.

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Prime Day gaming deals were pretty impressive last year, especially when it came to accessories for the Meta Quest headsets. We didn't really see many discounts on the Quest 3 last year though, and the 3S only launched last October (when the last Prime-exclusive sale took place). That said, Meta isn't the only sheriff in town these days, and straight shooters like PSVR 2 and Pico 4 Ultra are holding big irons in terms of price. I'd be surprised if we didn't see some of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best VR headsets on offer this summer, and tha🌌t's an exciting thing worth preparing for.

Of course, accessories are a real mainstay of deals events li🍷ke these, and the biggest savings we usually find come from charging docks and head straps. If you scroll far enough, you'll see a list of the best offers I saw while covering Prime Day in October of 2024. Hopefully, they'll provide you with an idea of the sorts of budgets you'll need to have when shopping for accessories. For now, though, let's dig into what you should expect for this July.

Prime Day Meta Quest deals - FAQ