It's happening: people are once again walking into public places wearing a video-recording face computer on their heads. Only this time, the faceputer is sold by Meta, not Google.

Say hello to Meta's Glassholes.

Over the weekend, as buyers got their first uninterrupted stretches of time with the new Meta Quest 3 headset, some started posting videos of themselves interacting with the real world instead of playing games.

Sure, it's cool to blast low-poly baddies breaking through your walls, but isn't …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Almost two years ago, Mark Zuckerberg rebranded his company Facebook to Meta - and since then, he has been focused on building the "metaverse," a three-dimensional virtual reality. But the metaverse has lost some of its luster since 2021. Companies like Disney have closed down their metaverse divisions and deemphasized using the word, while crypto-based startup metaverses have quietly languished or imploded. In 2022, Meta's Reality Labs division reported an operational loss of $13.7 billion.

But at Meta Connect 2023, Zuckerberg still hasn't given up on the metaverse - he's just shifted how he talks about it. He once focused on the metavers …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Meta announced that the Meta Quest 3 will arrive on October 10th during its Meta Connect event, providing a little clarity around the headset’s initial “fall” launch timing. Unlike its predecessor, the Quest 2, the $499.99 Quest 3 will function as both a virtual reality and mixed reality headset. That means, like Apple’s Vision Pro headset, you’ll be able to see and interact with the real world while you wear it.

How well it does outside a highly curated demo space remains to be seen, of course, and we’ll let you know after we’ve fully tested the Quest 3. In the meantime, though, you can check out our initial impressions and place a preorder for the upcoming VR headset.

Where to preorder the Quest 3 headset

Powered by the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor, Meta claims the Quest 3 should offer double the graphics performance of its predecessor and even outperform last year’s Quest Pro, though it won’t offer more battery life. While it is more powerful, the headset is also smaller and slimmer, which Meta claims should make it more comfortable to wear.

The new headset also features two color cameras that should deliver better passthrough video. You can now switch between the immersive VR mode or opt for the “blended” mode, too, which lets you view both the real world and your game. In addition to better cameras, the Quest 3 sports a new 2064 x 2208 LCD display for each eye, along with a larger field of view than both the Quest 2 and the Pro.

Starting today, September 27th, you can preorder the Quest 3 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $499.99 or with an expanded 512GB of storage for $649.99. While it won’t ship until October 10th, you can preorder the headset at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and direct from Meta with a free copy of Asgard’s Wrath 2, an upcoming action-adventure RPG. Meta is also throwing in a six-month trial to Meta Quest Plus when you purchase the 512GB model.

Update September 27th, 4:43PM ET: Added additional preorder details for Best Buy, Walmart, and Amazon.