What you need to know
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared a video comparing Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro.
- Zuckerberg claims that Meta Quest is not just a better value than Apple Vision Pro, but that "Quest is the better product, period."
- The CEO then goes on to compare several features on Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest.
- Microsoft recently deprecated Windows Mixed Reality, but the company has invested in virtual reality and augmented reality by releasing its apps and services on both Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro.
Apple Vision Pro is the talk of the tech world, but one prominent figure in the industry is not talking about it as positively as early reviews. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently compared the headsets in a video. Unsurprisingly, Zuckerberg prefers the headset made by Meta, which he runs, over Apple Vision Pro.
Zuckerberg's video goes on to compare several ways that he feels Quest is better than Apple Vision Pro, including hand tracking, gaming, and having lower latency. His central argument is that "Quest is better for the vast majority of things that people use mixed reality for."
The sentiments shared by Zuckerberg are hardly shocking. Meta has invested a fortune into virtual and augmented reality and Zuckerberg has pushed the Metaverse heavily, even if that specific term isn't used much anymore.
Zuck on the Apple Vision ProHe's still got fire in him, love to see it pic.twitter.com/httIBlpZJXFebruary 13, 2024
Even if people disagree with Zuckerberg's premise that Meta Quest is a better overall product than Apple Vision Pro, the CEO is steering the narrative well, at least from Meta's perspective. His video raises enough valid points to make it clear that even if you disagree with him regarding which product is better, Meta Quest is a better value.
Sheel Mohnot shared Zuckerberg's video on X (formerly Twitter).
Microsoft's plans for augmented and virtual reality
Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) has been deprecated. A recent Insider build of Windows 11 was the first to not support WMR. With Microsoft moving away from some of its longstanding augmented reality and virtual reality tech, some have questioned Microsoft's VR and AR plans going forward. That's a reasonable thing to ask, considering that Microsoft worked on HoloLens for years, stepped back, and then Apple Vision Pro made headlines with a similar product.
While Microsoft has no current plans for a HoloLens 3 and is dropping Windows Mixed Reality, the company still has plans for augmented reality and virtual reality. Somewhat like its software efforts on other platforms, Microsoft plans to have its apps and services accessible on devices and operating systems made and maintained by other companies. Apple Vision Pro launched with several Microsoft apps. Meta Quest has a growing library of Microsoft apps as well, including Office apps and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Microsoft doesn't seem to care where you use its services. The company's leadership just wants you to use Microsoft apps and services. I also doubt that anyone is buying a Meta Quest or an Apple Vision Pro to entirely replace a computer and a smartphone, so Microsoft could argue that supporting the mixed reality headsets extends its ecosystem to other form factors rather than competing.
With apps on both Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro, it doesn't matter if Zuckerberg is right. Microsoft can move its mixed reality efforts forward while letting Apple and Meta battle it out on the hardware and interface side of things.
Is Zuckerberg right about Apple Vision Pro?
Zuckerberg is about as far from a neutral party as you can get when it comes to Apple Vision Pro. He is the CEO of Meta, which makes Meta Quest. So, are Zuckerberg's points valid? Despite his inherent bias, the CEO raises some good points.
I don't think anyone can reasonably dispute that Meta Quest is a better value than Apple Vision Pro. Meta Quest costs just under $500 while Apple Vision Pro costs just under $3,500. The fact that two devices with such drastically different price points compete at all indicates that Meta Quest is a better value.
What can be disputed, however, is if Meta Quest is an overall better product, which Zuckerberg claims. The Meta CEO claimed that Meta Quest is better than Apple Vision Pro in the following ways:
- Quest has no external wires
- Quest is more comfortable
- Quest is lighter
- Quest has more games
- Quest is designed with gaming in mind
- Quest has better hand tracking
- Quest supports precision controllers
- Quest has a wider field of view
- Quest "seems to have" a brighter screen
Zuckerberg also highlights many things that Meta Quest can do that people laud Apple Vision Pro for, such as high-fidelity passthrough and socializing in mixed reality. He credited Apple Vision Pro for having a higher resolution display but said there are too many tradeoffs on the device overall. He also briefly mentioned that Apple Vision Pro's eye tracking is nice before mentioning that future Quest headsets will have the feature (Quest Pro already has eye tracking).
Zuckerberg also highlighted that Quest supports Xbox Cloud Gaming and has some notable apps that aren't available on Apple Vision Pro.
I haven't used Apple Vision Pro myself, but early impressions of the headset suggest that Zuckerberg's opinion differs from many users.
While Apple Vision Pro may wear the crown when it comes to productivity, Meta Quest 3 is better for gaming. It has a larger library of titles, better latency for hand tracking, and supports dedicated VR controllers.
So, is Zuckerberg right? I would say that for many people Meta Quest is a better product than Apple Vision Pro. If you want to use a headset for a mix of productivity and gaming, Meta Quest is the better choice. If you prioritize productivity, Apple Vision Pro has better multitasking features and has more immersive augmented reality.
But the fact that there's even a discussion about which headset is better overall will point many toward the conclusion that Meta Quest is a better value, which may matter more when it comes to which headset people buy.
