The Meta Quest 3 Has Incredible Potential, But Meta Keeps Holding It Back
I’ve been in the Meta Quest ecosystem for years, starting with the Quest 2 that I bought in the U.S. for about $250 on Black Friday. Later, I upgraded to the Meta Quest 3 here in Europe. I purchased the 512GB model at full retail price from Coolblue, which was close to €700 with no discounts. Because of that investment, I expected a polished, next-generation VR experience. Instead, the device feels restricted in ways that make no sense for its price or its potential. To bring friends into VR with me, I gave my Quest 2 to a friend so we could play together. He didn’t enjoy it and passed it to his brother, and now I’m the one trying to convince his brother to use it. I then bought the same friend a Meta Quest 3S, hoping a newer model would change his mind, but he lost interest after a few months and gave it back to me. That says a lot about how empty the ecosystem feels. If Horizon Worlds had more depth, better tools, stronger communities, and easier ways for creators to flourish, people wouldn’t walk away so fast. The biggest problem with the Quest 3 is how creator-unfriendly it is. Streaming to YouTube requires workarounds, third-party apps, and unnecessary steps. Streaming to Facebook is the only direct option, yet very few people use Facebook for live content anymore. The strangest part is that Meta owns Instagram, yet there is still no way to stream directly to Instagram from inside the headset. There’s also no simple option for TikTok, even though VR content performs extremely well on TikTok. If Meta wants VR to grow, they need to empower creators, not limit them. Right now, creators have to fight the system just to show people what VR can do. Inside Horizon Worlds, the gaps become even clearer. VRChat already allows avatar streaming, virtual selfie cameras, expressive tools, and full creative freedom. Horizon Worlds should be leading the industry, not lagging behind it. Instead, it often feels limited, closed off, and inconsistent. Many sessions are filled with trolls, children, and chaotic interactions that make the platform frustrating for adults who bought the device to relax, socialize, or create. Meta needs stronger moderation tools, age controls, and better systems to keep Horizon enjoyable for adults. Productivity is another area that needs improvement. I work remotely, so I wanted to use the Quest for work tasks, but Meta Workrooms and Meta Remote Desktop feel restricted. I had to buy Virtual Desktop just to get the proper functionality. A third-party app should not outperform Meta’s official version on Meta’s own hardware. This shows how much the ecosystem is still unfinished. Even accessories fall short. I bought the Meta Pen (the Logitech stylus collaboration) expecting a deeper creative experience, but many apps don’t correctly display the pen and instead show the standard controller. This breaks immersion and makes it feel like the pen was added to the lineup without developers being prepared to support it. The overall user experience feels inconsistent. Avatar consistency is another issue. Some apps show the updated avatars while others use older versions. This breaks the feeling of a connected metaverse. If Meta wants a unified VR identity system, avatars need to be consistent across all apps, not left to chance. One of the biggest concerns I want to warn buyers about is the replacement process. My original Meta Quest 3 had a strap loop break, so I sent it in expecting a repair. Instead, Meta replaced the device. Normally that would sound positive, but the replacement was not equal in quality. My original Quest 3 had a very clear and sharp screen. Every replacement I received was noticeably blurrier, almost like a downgrade. It felt like Meta was sending refurbished units of lower value instead of matching the premium device I originally purchased. This should not happen to customers who pay full price for a flagship headset. Meta keeps focusing on building the “next headset,” but they are ignoring the problems with the one they already sold to millions of people. The Quest 3 has incredible hardware and could be the strongest VR device on the market, but Meta needs to unlock its potential. They need to improve streaming, open up creator tools, unify avatars, fix Horizon Worlds moderation, push out affordable Quest 2 inventory to grow the user base, improve Workrooms, make the Meta Pen properly supported, and ensure replacement devices match the original quality. I’ve invested time, money, and belief into this platform. I’ve bought multiple headsets for myself, friends, and their family members, and even then, the ecosystem is not strong enough to hold their interest. That’s not a hardware problem. It’s an ecosystem problem. Meta can fix this if they prioritize the users who already believe in their vision. The Quest 3 could be incredible, but Meta needs to stop limiting it and start listening.
Quest 3 Update Broke My emulated tracking and other problems as well.
Since the last update, I'm having major tracking issues. Estimation tracking is completely unusable. I keep getting a Link Not Working error and the error persists even after I turned off auto link. Hand and body tracking is now unreliable. Sometimes the main menu gets stuck while Im playing games forcing me to find the application that Im playing to close menu. This update is buggy and have some many softaware errors. I tried resetting boundaries and deleting boundary history as well. At some point I even factory reset just for it to break again. Please roll back your updates or fix the problems because I'm unfortunately not the only one.
How do I stop apps in library auto downloading?
I redeemed a bunch of games from horizon+ and now they are constantly trying to auto install, even after i remove them from my library and cancel the download. I redeemed them from the phone app and thats where the issue started I think. Any tips please, this is really annoying. It takes up all my space and ruins my internet speed :(Touch Pro Controllers "Starting Update..." forever...
So...I picked my controllers out of the chargers today... Booted up my Quest 2. And...now it'll say "Starting update" on both controllers...never give anymore feedback, still register the menu button, not track my hands, no matter what... I've tried, rebooting the headset, factory resetting it, and the controllers. Nothing's worked... It's been half a day, and it's still "Starting Update..." Was there an update that bricked controllers?
Developer documentation updates for the week of July 15th, 2024
Hello Meta Quest Developers! Here are the latest developer.oculus.com documentation updates for the week of July 15th, 2024. Updates: Introducing Acoustic Ray Tracing. Acoustic Ray Tracing is a new tool included in the Meta XR Audio SDK that simulate how sound propagates from its source to the listener based on actual game geometry. (Unity, Unreal) A new Unity topic Getting Started with Interaction SDK and Unity XR has been added. “Meta XR Interaction SDK Essentials for Unity can also integrate with Unity’s OpenXR and XR Hands packages enabling potential for cross platform development.” The Unity topic Mixed Reality Utility Kit Features has been updated with new guidance and screenshots. Additionally, the MRUKStart component has been deprecated and replaced with a SpawnOnStart property instead. The Unity topic Mixed Reality Utility Kit Samples has been updated with new samples. The Unreal topic Mixed Reality Utility Kit Getting Started has been updated with new guidance for v66 and v67. The Unreal topic Passthrough Relighting has been updated with new guidance and troubleshooting. The topic Depth API for Unity has updated requirements, new info on permissions, a new section on Using the API with code samples, guidance on shader graphs, and info on adding occluded objects to the scene. The topic Body Tracking for Movement SDK for Unity has updates for prerequisites, clarified steps for configuring the project, and other improvements. Minor updates: The Platform Solutions topic Multiplayer Overview has minor updates for clarity (Unity, Native, Unreal) The following Unity topics have minor updates for clarity: Get Started with OVRSceneManager using Building Blocks (deprecated) Unity Plane and Volume Scene Sample (deprecated) Use OVRSceneManager (deprecated) The Use Capsense topics have minor updates for clarity (Unity, Native, Unreal) The Use Simultaneous Hands and Controllers (Multimodal) topics have minor updates for clarity (Unity, Native) The Platform Solutions topic Achievements has minor updates for clarity (Unity, Native, Unreal) The Meta XR Simulator Introduction topic has minor updates for clarity (Unity, Native, Unreal) The Developer Tools topic Use Meta Quest Scriptable Testing Services to Enable E2E Testing has minor updates for clarity (Unity, Native, Unreal) The Platform Solutions topic Subscriptions has minor updates for clarity. The Platform Solutions topic In-App Purchase Server to Server APIs has minor updates for clarity (Unity, Native, Unreal) The Platform Solutions topic App Deep Linking has minor updates for clarity and improved images (Unity, Native, Unreal) The Passthrough topic Passthrough API Overview has minor updates for clarity (Unity, Unreal) A number of topics have been updated to remove outdated branding references. Removed topics: The following Unity topics have been removed because they are now included in the MR Utility Kit samples: Unity Bouncing Ball Scene Tutorial Unity Bouncing Ball Scene Sample Unity Virtual Furniture Sample Last week’s post: Developer documentation updates for the week of July 8th, 2024Developer documentation updates for the week of July 1st, 2024
Hello Meta Quest Developers! Here are the latest developer.oculus.com documentation updates for the week of July 1st, 2024. Updates: The Meta Quest Store has been renamed as the Meta Horizon Store. We’re updating the documentation to reflect this over the coming weeks. Starting August 5th, 2024, all App Lab apps will be moved to the Store. From that date forward, apps can only be submitted to the Store. If you have an App Lab app, you can choose to delist the app instead of having it moved for you to the Store. For more details on these updates, see today’s blog post. The topic Meta Quest Virtual Reality Check (VRC) Guidelines has been updated with the required VRCs that all apps must pass to get onto the Store starting on August 5th, 2024. Early Access is now available for App Lab apps that are moving to the store. From August 5th, 2024 onward, all new app submissions to the Store have the option of applying the Early Access label. In this first iteration, Early Access is just a label that applies to apps when searching the Store, in app PDPs, and in customer reviews. The Native topic Getting Started with Meta XR Simulator has updated guidance for setting up the Meta XR Simulator on macOS. The Unity topic Set Up Development Environment and Headset has been updated with the latest guidance. The Unreal topic Get Age Category API has been updated with a corrected code example. The Native PC topic Native Development - Get Started with the Platform SDK has been updated with new platform library filenames for v67 and onward. The Unity topic Stereo180Video Sample Scene has been updated with more samples. The Platform Solutions topic Server APIs for Subscriptions has been updated with new types of subscription trials (Unity | Native | Unreal) The topic Meta Quest Store Asset Design Guidelines has been updated with new downloadable templates for Store asset safe areas. Minor updates: The following Unreal topics have minor updates for clarity: Meta Fork Game Engine Performance Enhancement Oculus Source Distribution for Unreal Engine The Monitor Performance with OVR Metrics Tool topic has minor updates for clarity (Unity | Native | Unreal) The Movement SDK topic Overview and Setup has been updated with improved screenshots (Unity | Unreal) A number of the Meta XR Simulator topics have minor updates for clarity: (Unity | Native | Unreal) Removed topics: The outdated Unity topic Known Issues With Vulkan API has been removed. Last week’s post: https://communityforums.atmeta.com/t5/General-Development/Developer-documentation-updates-for-the-week-of-June-24th-2024/td-p/1211423Developer documentation updates for the week of June 17th, 2024
Hello Meta Quest Developers! Here are the latest developer.oculus.com documentation updates for the week of June 17th, 2024. Updates: The topic Apply Spatialization in Unreal has updated steps for using the Meta XR Audio Spatializer. v66 introduces new debug commands for tracking CPU/GPU thresholds. This is now documented in the Logcat Stats Definitions topic here: Unity | Native | Unreal With v66, hand tracking in the Meta XR Simulator is no longer an experimental feature. The content has been upgraded and migrated. You can find it here: Unity | Native | Unreal The graphics subsystem topic App Spacewarp has updated guidance on debugging (different from last week’s update) that highlights the most efficient way to discover quick objects are creating AppSW artifacts, including a suggested custom adb command for QA testers, artists, and other non-developers who use MQDH. The Unity topic Passthrough Basic Tutorial has been updated with new steps. The Unity topic Tutorial - Create Your First VR App on Meta Quest Headset has updated steps for how to download the Meta XR All-in-One SDK from the Unity Asset Store. The Unity topic Mixed Reality Utility Kit Getting Started has been updated with improved screenshots and clarified steps. The previously removed Unreal topic Meta Mixed Reality Template has been re-added. The Unity topic Getting Started with Meta XR Simulator has been updated with guidance for installing the Meta XR Simulator on macOS. The Unity topic Building Blocks has been updated to identify newly deprecated building blocks (Grabbable Item, Room Model, and Throwable Item). The VRC topic VRC.Quest.Privacy.2 has been updated. An App’s privacy policy must have a clear explanation of what data the app is processing, collecting, and/or storing about the user. A new topic on creating App Ads in the European Union has been created, and the existing App Ads topic has been updated with additional information. Minor updates: References throughout the documentation to Oculus Link have been updated to Meta Quest Link. The Depth API intro topic has minor updates for clarity: Unity | Native | Unreal A number of Unity topics, including Movement SDK for Unity - Overview and Setup and Surfaces have had minor updates for clarity and formatting. The Unreal topic Oculus Rift: Quick Start has minor updates for clarity. Removed topics: There were no removed topics this week. Last week's post: Developer documentation updates for the week of June 10th, 2024Developer documentation updates for the week of June 3rd, 2024
Hello Meta Quest Developers! This is a quick post, hopefully the first in a weekly series, to share the latest documentation updates that have gone live on developer.oculus.com. Here are the docs that have been updated this week, the week of June 3rd, 2024. Updated topics: https://developer.oculus.com/resources/publish-create-app: Updated with new guidance on modifying apps, grouping apps, and deleting apps in the Developer Dashboard. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/unity-haptics-sdk: Updated instructions for downloading the Meta XR Haptics SDK from the Unity Asset Store. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/unity-conf-settings: Updated instructions on defining graphics quality settings. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/unity-isdk-throw-object: This tutorial has been moved under Tutorials (Legacy) as all grabbable objects are now throwable by default in v65+ of the Interaction SDK. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/haptics-studio, https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unreal/haptics-studio, https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/native/haptics-studio: Updated instructions for the Haptics SDK tutorial. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/web/browser-release-notes: Updated with release notes for Meta Quest Browser 33.3. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/VK-unity-IntegratePrefab: Updated with new guidance and screenshots. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/bb-overview: Updated with new guidance for Building Blocks for the Unity Integration SDK. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/unity-mr-utility-kit-features: Updated with new guidance for the Space Setup system flow that generates a Scene Model. Minor updates: https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/xrsim-data-forwarding, https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unreal/xrsim-data-forwarding, https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/native/xrsim-data-forwarding: Minor updates for clarity on how to use Quest controllers with the Meta XR simulator, a lightweight XR runtime (for PC, Mac, and Unity) built for developers that enables the simulation of Meta Quest headsets and features on the API level. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/unity-passthrough-gs: Minor updates for clarity. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/VK-unity-sample: Minor updates for clarity. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/controller-animations: Minor updates for clarity. https://developer.oculus.com/resources/publish-release-channels-add-custom: Minor updates for clarity. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unreal/unreal-iteration-time-best-practices: Minor updates for clarity. https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/unity/unity-isdk-hand-grab-interaction: Minor updates for clarity. Removed topics: The outdated Unity topic Upgrading Interaction SDK has been removed, as the Meta XR Interaction SDK for Unity is available on the Unity Asset Store as either a set of three standalone packages or as part of an All-in-One SDK.
