David referred to as the Meta Quest 3 “higher than its predecessors in nearly each approach” in our full Verge review — however what’s it like on the within? iFixit now has the reply in a superb teardown video that will get proper up shut to the gadget’s delightfully shiny guts.
You received’t discover a curved battery in right here like the “largely unfixable” Quest Pro, however you do get a curved heatsink above the fan — and, in fact, the Time of Flight depth sensor that the Quest Professional apparently determined to scrap. iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari says it might probably even connect to a Quest Professional’s board, although it’s not clear whether or not you can get it to work there.
We additionally get a have a look at the pancake lenses, an 820x microscope-enhanced have a look at the diagonal LCD traces beneath them (which might result in some unlucky tearing), plus the fifty (50!) whole screws it’s important to take away simply to interchange the battery.
Talking of that battery, it’s 19.44 watt-hours now, up from 14.3 watt-hours within the Quest 2, which means that Meta’s actually, actually pushing for efficiency out of its new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip as a substitute of higher battery life. (Meta says the Quest 3 has roughly the identical battery life because the Quest 2, regardless of the bigger battery pack.)
iFixit additionally tears down the Quest 3’s new controllers, revealing the constellation of (seven?) IR LEDs that permit the headset’s cameras monitor their actions in 3D house. Whereas the Oculus Contact, Quest, and Quest 2’s controllers initially positioned these LEDs in a protruding ring and the Quest Professional has cameras within the controllers themselves, Meta now apparently believes it might probably monitor controllers properly sufficient with an easier LED setup.
Whereas the controllers do have magnetic Corridor impact triggers, they do not have drift-resistant Corridor impact joysticks, I’m afraid:
The controllers are simpler to tear down than the Quest Professional’s, with less complicated boards and disassembly steps, however you do nonetheless need to take away a glued-on prime. Mokhtari additionally wound up cracking the attention reduction’s thin plastic whereas eradicating it from the Quest 3, however which may not be an issue going ahead — this teardown may help present you the place the plastic snaps are situated, so you may pry fastidiously.
General, iFixit says the design is “a big enchancment over the Quest Professional on the subject of repairability” however offers it a restore rating of 4 out of 10 due to the difficult layers of elements and simply how lengthy it takes to succeed in the battery.