In context: Apple's super-pricey Vision Pro mixed reality headset went on sale recently, and social media is already filled with viral videos of early adopters trying out the device on the beach, in the kitchen, and even while driving their Cybertruck. While most initial reviews seem to be positive, one person who is distinctly unimpressed by it is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
In a video posted on Instagram, Zuck claimed that he found the Vision Pro rather underwhelming when he tried it out to see how it compares to the Meta Quest 3. Zuckerberg said he always expected the Quest 3 to offer better value but was surprised to find that it is "the better product, period."
While you'd expect the Meta boss to wax eloquent about his company's products, Zuck explained why he believes the Quest 3 to be better than the Vision Pro. For starters, he said that the former has a higher field-of-view and is 120 grams lighter than the latter, making it more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time.
Zuckerberg also pointed out that the Quest 3 supports Xbox games, while the Vision Pro is yet to offer support for console titles. Despite the latter's higher-resolution display, Zuckerberg believes that the Quest 3 is better than Apple's headset "for the vast majority of things" that AR/VR headset owners typically use their devices for. According to him, the tradeoffs Apple made to get the high-res display far outweigh the positives.
Also read: Why some Apple Vision Pro early adopters are returning their headsets
Zuckerberg, however, admitted that he liked the Vision Pro's eye-tracking feature, and promised that it will return to future Quest headsets. He also reminded viewers that the feature originally debuted in the Quest Pro. Zuckerberg further highlighted that the Quest 3 has a better immersive content library than the Vision Pro, despite the latter now boasting more than 1,000 spatial apps and over 1.5 million compatible applications.
While the Vision Pro costs a whopping $3,500, the Meta Quest 3 starts at a much more modest $499.99 for the 128GB model. The massive price difference and support for Xbox titles make the Meta headset a much better bet for gamers right now, but it remains to be seen if that will change in the future when Apple releases a more wallet-friendly mixed-reality device.