Following in the footsteps of the Apple Vision Pro, Meta has announced Travel Mode for its Quest 3 and Quest 2 headsets. As of now the Meta Quest Pro does not seem to support this new addition.
Designed specifically for air travel, Travel Mode’s main function is to let you use your Quest headset mid-flight without it breaking everything. If you try to use VR headsets in moving vehicles it doesn’t seem to go too well. All the virtual objects can’t stay still and motion tracking completely fails.
The Apple Vision Pro introduced a Travel Mode. It adapted to a plane’s movement and was able to give you a smooth VR experience. Meta claims to have accomplished the same for Quest 3 and Quest 2. Furthermore, the company says its Travel Mode even works if you look out the window. Something the Vision Pro wasn’t capable of.
Not pictured are the other passengers with confused expressions. | Image credit — Meta
With Travel Mode enabled users can play VR games and watch movies on a giant screen on a plane. For certain airlines your Quest headset might automatically detect you’re on a plane and prompt you to turn on Travel Mode. Your Quest headset will also be able to detect a plane’s Wi-Fi and ask you if you want to connect to it.
Meta says the current Travel Mode being rolled out is experimental and mostly designed for planes. The company says it’s working on expanding Travel Mode to other forms of transport in the future: like trains.
Travel Mode turns Quest into the ultimate in-flight entertainment device, so you can watch movies on a massive virtual screen, kick back with a game or meditation app, and even get some work done in private.
Meta is also partnering with Lufthansa to bring custom MR (Mixed Reality) content to Lufthansa Allegris Business Class Suite passengers. Like an airline hands out headphones for in-flight use, Lufthansa will give you Quest 3 headsets.
This partnership will bring Lufthansa Allegris Business Class Suite customers a selection of premium content including:
An immersive cinema experience.
Travel podcasts accompanied by spatial videos that bring them to life.
Bird’s-eye view virtual sightseeing previews for travel destinations.
VR and MR games.
Calming experiences and meditation exercises.
The Quest 3 has come a long way in a very short time.
This, to me, is absolutely amazing news. Because this means a lot more people are about to experience MR games, mind-blowing VR content and AR (Augmented Reality) apps. The XR industry needs more exposure and this is definitely one way to get it.
Travel Mode can be enabled by following these steps:
Go into the Settings menu.
Open the Experimental section.
Opt into Travel Mode.
After opting in, Travel Mode can be toggled from the Quick Settings of your Quest headset.
Meta has been on a roll lately. First the company made Quest OS open-source, then it brought AI to smart glasses and now this. Quest OS, now called Horizon OS, being opened up to third parties also means exposure for the XR industry. Because now other manufacturers will be more incentivized to make their own XR headsets.
Lenovo and Asus are already working on productivity-focused and performance-oriented XR headsets respectively. Meta has gone all in on XR being the future of computing and I’m here for it.
This also isn’t the first time Meta has introduced a feature to its Quest headsets that was first seen in the Vision Pro. The Quest v65 update brought with it the ability to upload and watch spatial videos recorded on iOS devices. Something Apple heavily markets for the Vision Pro.
If you don’t see an option for Travel Mode in your Quest headset, Meta advises giving it a restart. And if you own a Quest 3 or Quest 2 and have a long plane ride coming up, you now have something really cool to look forward to.
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Abdullah is an ardent believer in the future of VR, and can't wait to see what more it brings to the table as technology improves. He enjoys covering new software releases in the XR industry, as well as major news about hardware and companies focused on VR.
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