Quest 3's NEW Cooling Unlocks Way More Performance

Meta Quest 3 will be much more powerful than its predecessor, the much older Quest 2, and not just because of the new faster chipset...

The performance of standalone headsets is significantly affected by thermals and heat dissipation. Take the Meta Quest 2 as an example: To avoid overheating and maximize its potential, its SoC's CPU has been running at half load for years.

However, the upcoming firmware update is expected to reduce this limitation. It will result in a considerable boost of up to 45 percent in CPU performance in some cases. This achievement has been made possible through years of data analysis and software optimization. This case highlights the critical role of thermals and heat dissipation in the functionality of headsets.

Meta Quest 3 Has Majorly Better cooling with less throttling

Recently, Meta unveiled the Meta Quest 3, which boasts a new chipset claimed to provide two to two and a half times the performance of the Meta Quest 2's Snapdragon XR2. Meta's CTO, Andrew Bosworth, discusses the new SoC and its performance with Jason Rubin, co-founder of Naughty Dog and Facebook employee for almost ten years, on the latest episode of the Boz to the Future podcast. Bosworth shares that the Meta Quest 3 will have a new cooling solution that will allow for even greater performance, as the chipset won't need to be throttled as often.

(If you haven't seen the announcement video, here it is)

According to Bosworth, the upcoming device will have an updated cooling system that will enhance its performance beyond the already impressive chipset. This is due to the fact that improved cooling will reduce the need to throttle the chipset.

Heat Was the “real blocker” for these headsets

Andrew Bosworth said:

"You talked about the more power. A lot of the more power that we're talking about is coming from this improved chipset, but it's not the only place that we're getting more power. We've also done some really clevers things with how we manage the thermals on this device. [...] It's one of the coolest engineering work done on this headset and you'll never see it: It's how we manage the heat, because that is the real blocker for these headsets. And, for example, there's a little pin stripe running around the face plate. If you look at the front, that's actually the vent, and we're pushing air out of that little pin stripe all the way around the headset. It's a very clever way of merging design and functionality."

The teaser doesn't showcase the cooling system, implying that it must be discreet. Bosworth doesn't disclose any further details about the new cooling solution but assures that additional information regarding Meta Quest 3 will be available at Meta Connect 2023 in September. Although the headset was announced in June, a comprehensive reveal is yet to happen.

Sources and Andrew's amazing podcast can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/boz-to-the-future/id1574002430