iFixit's Quest 3 Teardown Reveals the Quest Pro's Abandoned Potential
The Meta Quest 3 launched just a few days ago, so it's time for the teardowns. But while the folks at iFixit find the usual problems with VR repair, the most interesting Quest 3 reveal shows how much better the Quest Pro could have been.
Given its lower price and similar capabilities, it might be tempting to think of the Quest 3 as a lesser version of the Quest Pro. But that's not quite right. As iFixit finds in its teardown, the Quest 3's hardware setup is much closer to the Quest 2 than the redesigned Quest Pro. But you'll find some similarities. In taking apart the Quest 3, iFixit spots lots and lots of screws, for instance. We don't learn how many in the video, but it sounds similar to the Quest Pro with its whopping 146 screws. The Quest 2 has far fewer, at under 50.
Other choices are closer to the Quest 2, such as the flat battery instead of the Quest Pro's curved battery. Good luck replacing it, though, since you'll need to remove the front face plate, antennae bracket, cameras, time of flight sensors, heat sink bracket, fan, the main board, and a metal plate covering the battery. All told, you'll remove 50 screws to get to the battery.
The time of flight sensor may be one of the more interesting points of the Quest 3 teardown. That depth sensor enables the Quest 3's fantastic AR and passthrough capabilities. With previous Meta Quest devices, you had to painstakingly draw borders around the room to prevent yourself from tripping over a couch or desk. That's not necessary with the Quest 3.
It uses the depth sensor to scan your surroundings and create a safe border automatically. You can even move around your home, and it will not only enable passthrough automatically but keep track of multiple boundaries you've
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