I've got to say, I'm a huge fan of the Quest Pro's open form - when not using the side pieces or the extra facial interface you can buy. I tend to have it in passthrough mode in the Home environment and I like having my peripheral vision open. Only when I play serious first person games do I use the extra facial interface.
I believe the Vive XR Elite also has a special accessory for MR too.
If passthrough on the Quest 3 is as good as or even better than Quest Pro and Meta push mixed reality games (and hopefully work/productivity apps) would you like to see more open 3rd party (or meta) facial interfaces?
I was hoping for a possible open option. Like you say, the Pro design is much better for mixed reality and I've found VR is just as good for moderately lit scenes, it's only when you have very dark games that you want to turn your room lighting down. I've been playing all kinds of stuff in the Pro and I just never bothered with any light blockers. Having your surroundings viewable at the periphery of your vision seem to give the illusion of a higher FOV in the headset. plus you have the eye relief adjustment and no interference with glasses.
The Quest 3 design looks like it may be difficult for third parties (or Meta) do adapt it to the open type. Although I guess it may be possible if an off-the-face facial interface can be installed in combination with a halo type strap with eye relief adjustment? not sure.
I have a feeling it will be used as a closed headset only, for both VR and AR, and just have a halo strap for added comfort if needed as per the Quest 2. I'm looking forward to reading reviews on comfort and compatibility with glasses given the smaller design... the facial interface looks proportionally larger so they may be going with a slightly more bendy plastic or thicker, softer cushion against the face.
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I think this is very much needed and the kind of feature people don't know they want until they get to try it. I'm looking into third parties and tinkerers and really hope for a convenient solution.
I've seen videos where people take the whole facial interface out and you have a gap all the way around - they say it's a bit weird having a gap at the top... and there are issues with the battery.
I'll post back when he lets me know his opinion - I'll try to get a go myself, too.
I've been using an elastic band on the forehead (ok as a workaround but not great). I started to see hacks on the web ie https://mixed-news.com/en/quest-3-hacks-open-periphery/ The halo straps are usually pretty bulky, something like the forehead foam interface seen in the article would be more convenient for my use (would be great if there is a way to switch easily).
I use a similar headstrap as the Bobovr m3 head strap (off brand version for the quest 3) that allows the headset to not rest on your face at all. This allowed me to remove the facial interface altogether, and it feels sooooo much better. I mostly use my quest 3 for working, so I don't need the tunnel vision.
