Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, recently criticized Apple’s Vision Pro headset, asserting that the Meta Quest 3 surpasses it in performance and capabilities. This statement came in response to an analyst’s post on Threads which suggested that the Vision Pro is significantly ahead of Meta’s device, potentially by five years. This marks the second instance of Zuckerberg publicly casting doubt on Apple’s mixed reality offering, which carries a price tag of $3,499 (approximately Rs. 2.89 lakh), in contrast to the Quest 3’s price of $499 (around Rs. 41,300).
In the Threads post, analyst Benedict Evans remarked that the Vision Pro represents the target Meta aims to achieve in three to five years. He expressed confusion over Meta’s VR engineers describing the Vision Pro as “basically just the same thing” as the Quest 3. Evans further noted that Apple seeks to position its devices similarly to the Quest 3 in terms of price within the same timeframe.
Zuckerberg took issue with Evans’ characterization, asserting that the Quest 3 outperforms the Vision Pro. He remarked, “If our devices weigh as much as theirs in 3-5 years, or have the motion blur theirs has, or the lack of precision inputs, etc., then that means we’ll have regressed significantly.” He also pointed out that Apple had to make several compromises in order to achieve a higher resolution than the Quest 3.
Following this exchange, Evans suggested that the Vision Pro’s enhanced resolution could enable Apple to provide more than just a gaming device. In his rebuttal, Zuckerberg highlighted the popularity of social applications on the Quest 3, noting that three out of its top seven apps—Horizon, VR Chat, and Rec Room—are social in nature. He emphasized that while the Quest’s resolution is commendable, it should not be sacrificed for ergonomics or to eliminate motion blur.
Both the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro utilize pancake lenses. Specifically, the Quest 3 features LCD displays with a resolution of 2,064×2,208 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz, while the Vision Pro boasts a resolution of 2,160×3,840 pixels and a remarkable total of 23 million pixels, according to Apple’s specifications. Additionally, the Vision Pro incorporates hand and eye tracking capabilities, whereas the Quest 3 provides hand tracking along with Meta’s Touch Plus controllers. The weights of the two headsets are 513g for the Quest 3 and up to 650g for the Vision Pro.
