Apple Vision Pro vs. Meta Quest 3

The Meta Quest 3 and the Apple Vision Pro are two VR headsets that could hardly be more different at first glance. With a price of around €500, the Quest 3 is significantly cheaper than the Vision Pro, which costs around €3500. Nevertheless, a comparison is worthwhile, as both devices have their own advantages and weaknesses.

Gaming

The Meta Quest 3 VR glasses impress with an extensive library of VR games and precise controller control. The Vision Pro, on the other hand, offers a higher resolution for razor-sharp images. The controls are innovative with hand and eye tracking, but are somewhat imprecise in some situations where small control elements are arranged close together. As the controls of the Apple Vision Pro are a little sluggish, we have not yet seen any action games on the Apple glasses like on the Quest. However, this may also be due to the fact that the selection in the Apple Vision Pro App Store is not particularly varied. We have around 150 apps to choose from here. Meta speaks of an app offer of 1000 in connection with the Meta Quest. 

Control system

It can happen that interface elements that are quite close to each other are difficult to aim at using eye tracking on the Apple glasses. An example of this is when you want to control YouTube on the Vision Pro. Here, the fullscreen button and the quality button are close together. With the mouse it is no problem to hit the respective button, but with the Vision Pro and the eye tracking control it took me half a minute. That is frustrating.  

Productivity

The Quest 3 scores with its lower price and easy connection to PC games. Although the image sharpness is significantly better compared to the Quest 2, it is tiring to read small text on the Quest 3. The Vision Pro, on the other hand, impresses with its high resolution, realistic colors and an elegant passthrough mode. The integration into the Apple ecosystem enables seamless use with other Apple devices. The idea is that with the Vision Pro you can do without large monitors and work entirely with the headset. However, whether this is really possible over a long period of time remains controversial, as some users have complained of headaches and back pain after days of using the headset.

Compatibility

The Quest 3 is compatible with PC and Oculus Link, but offers weaker integration with other operating systems. Although Microsoft programs such as Word now also run on the Quest, there is no connection to the PC. Data has to be laboriously transferred back and forth via USB and even Dropbox does not always work. The Vision Pro, on the other hand, fits seamlessly into the Apple ecosystem and is compatible with iPhones, iPads and Macs.

However, if you are not a Mac user, you will not benefit from this compatibility. On the contrary, you will be frustrated to find that the Vision Pro only works well with Apple devices.

Performance

The Quest 3 currently offers the best computing power in its price class thanks to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chip. However, the graphics quality is significantly weaker compared to the Vision Pro.

The Vision Pro, on the other hand, impresses with the highest computing power in the standalone VR sector and enables photorealistic graphics.

Thanks to the M2 chip that is also used in Apple laptops. However, the Apple glasses therefore also consume a lot of power.

This is an important factor as graphics on mobile VR headsets have always been significantly inferior to the quality of PC-based VR headsets. The Vision pro can display high-resolution 3D files without any unsightly polgon edges in near photorealistic quality. This can be of great importance for virtual product presentations.

For movie lovers

Battery

However, this computing power requires a lot of electricity. As a result, the Vision Pro has outsourced the battery to an external, corded power bank. Personally, however, I don't find this particularly annoying. The power of the Apple Vision Pro power bank is sufficient for 2 hours. That's not exactly long if you want to work with it. At a price of 200 euros, the purchase of another power bank becomes quite cost-intensive. Some users have therefore decided to connect a generic power bank to the Apple power bank to get the battery performance.

However, walking around with two power banks in your bag is a bit inelegant.

The Meta Quest 3 manages around 3 hours without a power bank. With and the 4-5 hours. 

Processor

Apple relies on the M2 Pro chip for the processor, which is also used in Apple laptops. The performance of the Vision Pro is therefore more like that of a laptop than that of a fast tablet, as is the case with the Quest 3. Apple is clearly focusing on performance at the expense of energy efficiency. You can argue about whether this is the right approach. The runtime of a standalone VR headset is a significant factor for the user experience. 

Conclusion

The choice between Quest 3 and Vision Pro depends heavily on individual needs and budget. However, the Apple Vision Pro still seems like an advanced developer product at the moment. Both in terms of the selection of apps, the high price and the sometimes frustrating controls. The glasses are reminiscent of developer products such as the Hololens 2 from Microsoft. The fact that Apple is touting the Vision Pro as a consumer product seems like a bold strategy. The Apple glasses are certainly not a product for the masses like the iPhone, that much is clear and the sales figures speak for themselves.

GamerQuest 3 is the best choice for gamers looking for a large game library. You can also play all XBOX games on the Quest. Perhaps Apple's VR glasses will also support some games in the future. At the moment, however, it still looks a bit sparse. At a price of around 3500$, the Apple Vision Pro would be a very expensive purchase just for gaming.

ProductivityThe Vision Pro is ideal for Apple users who need a high-resolution and intuitive VR device for productive tasks and spend a lot of money on Apple products. Whether the Vision Pro gives its users a big productivity boost remains to be seen. Working all day with VR glasses on your head is simply too strenuous. There are many factors involved. Ergonomics, but also the sense of balance, which leads to dizziness and eye fatigue.

Enthusiasts: The Vision Pro offers the best VR experience with the highest resolution, computing power and integration into the Apple ecosystem. Not to mention, Apple products bring with them a prestige that Meta's glasses simply don't have. For VR enthusiasts, the Vision Pro is the holy grail at the moment. However, it is possible that the VR products from Samsung and Sony, some of which will be launched this year, will catch up with the Apple Vision Pro.