Could the Quest 3 get an accessory that adds eye-tracking? And if not: why?
Hey, did you get your Quest 3 yet? Well, don’t worry: when you do, it won’t take you long to figure out why it became one of the best VR headsets on the market. And yeah, being compatible with the Quest’s huge library of games and apps definitely helped out.
But you know what, even with all that power and all of that content, the Quest 3 isn’t exactly a finished product. We’re still waiting for first-party, native MR features, which are promised to come in 2024 and — oh, that’s right — the Quest 3doesn’t have eye-tracking.
And that’s mind-boggling to me, because the PSVR has eye tracking that you can use to navigate the UI! That’s exactly what most of us want out of a next-gen XR headset, right? So what about us getting some sort of upgrade that allows us to utilize eye-tracking on the Quest 3?
So, just in case this became confusing: I’m not talking about some sort of software upgrade, like with the promised AR features. The Quest 3 has no sensors for eye-tracking, so if it is to get the feature, that would mean a physical add-on that you’d buy and place between the headset and your face.
Don’t look at me like that: this isn’t my bright idea! Someone presented this question to Andrew Bosworth — Meta’s CTO — during a new round of Q&A over on Instagram. So what did Andrew had to say about that?
Well, that sorts it out then.
But you know what, even with all that power and all of that content, the Quest 3 isn’t exactly a finished product. We’re still waiting for first-party, native MR features, which are promised to come in 2024 and — oh, that’s right — the Quest 3doesn’t have eye-tracking.
So, just in case this became confusing: I’m not talking about some sort of software upgrade, like with the promised AR features. The Quest 3 has no sensors for eye-tracking, so if it is to get the feature, that would mean a physical add-on that you’d buy and place between the headset and your face.
There's not really a credible way to do eye tracking or upper face tracking underneath the headset as an accessory.
Well, that sorts it out then.
Naturally, he proceeded to get to the technical root of his reasoning, which is of course plenty of plausible. But the mere existence of this question serves to prove that people absolutely expected the Quest 3 to support eye-tracking, especially after the Quest Pro.
Andrew has said it himself: Meta would like eye-tracking to be an expected inclusion for Quest headsets moving forward. But… Just not now, even though the PSVR has it and Meta’s very own previous headset had it.
For a reason that the company deemed proper at the time, Meta excluded eye-tracking on the Quest 3. But the prevalence of related questions during these social-media Q&A rounds combined with Andrew’s own thoughts on the subject make one thing clear: everyone likes eye-tracking, so future headsets beware!
Andrew has said it himself: Meta would like eye-tracking to be an expected inclusion for Quest headsets moving forward. But… Just not now, even though the PSVR has it and Meta’s very own previous headset had it.
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