Meta announced Quest 3, a sequel to the bestselling VR headset of all time, on Wednesday.
The device, starting at $499, is more expensive than its predecessor by $200, but it includes a more powerful chip from Qualcomm, better screens and an ability called “passthrough” which is expected to be one of the key features on Apple’s competing Vision Pro headset.
Preorders open on Wednesday and it ships on Oct. 10.
The defining feature of the Quest 3 headset is the ability to quickly see the world outside the headset, which will make the device less isolating and thus more comfortable to use for long periods. When in an app on the Quest 3, double-tapping any part of the headset brings you out of a virtual world and into “passthrough” mode.
Other improvements include “pancake lenses,” a kind of optic first used on Meta’s $1,499 Quest Pro that make images sharper and allows for higher resolution.
The release of Meta’s latest VR headset comes as a battle looms with Apple in virtual reality. Many in the technology industry believe Apple’s entrance could expand the total market and create new winners, similar to how the iPhone jump-started the smartphone market.
So far Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has a head start. Its Quest 2 is by far the bestselling VR headset, with nearly 10 million units sold last year, slightly down from a pandemic peak, according to an industry estimate. Apple’s Vision Pro headset won’t go on sale until next year, and costs significantly more than Meta’s headsets, starting at $3,499.
But despite Meta’s current success in sales, it’s not clear just how many Quest 2 owners use it on a daily or weekly basis, and the killer app or must-have scenario for VR remains elusive. Meta has invested over $21 billion to date in its Reality Labs division, which develops headsets and VR software.
Passthrough
CNBC was able to try out the Quest 3 for about an hourlong demo ahead of its launch Wednesday that included game playing and being walked through a few programs that showed off the company’s hardware.
The hardware has been significantly updated, with a new headband strap and a slimmer headset shape. The headband splits the top strap into two to better distribute weight. The whole headset, though, is a hair heavier than its predecessor at 515 grams. The speakers on the device also have been improved, and provide a quality audio experience.
Meta has also updated the two necessary controllers with better haptic feedback. It uses Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip, which is Arm-based and closer in power and energy drain to a mobile processor than a PC processor.
The extra power on the chip is used to power displays at 2,064 x 2,208 resolution per eye, higher than the Quest 2’s 1,832 x 1,920 resolution per eye. The additional pixels will make it easier to read text inside the headset. Users can expect about two hours and 12 minutes of battery life, Meta says.
During the demo, I tried out Samba de Amigo, a $30 game from Sega that is like Dance Dance Revolution or Rock Band with maracas (in real life, the Quest 3 controllers). I enjoyed it, and even sweated a little bit.
The biggest improvement to usability is that the Quest 3 emphasizes passthrough, which means the cameras outside the device can show live video on the displays inside the headset, working somewhat like a transparent pair of glasses that can also show computer windows and other graphics. The Quest 3 can also scan the room around you so apps can warn you when you’re about to bump into your surroundings.
Passthrough, while a core component of mixed-reality experiences which integrate computer graphics with the real world, for now is a nice-to-have usability feature. In practice, it means that users can stop their game or experience inside the Quest 3 without taking the headset off. During the demo, I was able to chat with Meta officials while wearing the headset, a major improvement over the last version.
Meta’s launch of the Quest 3 will be compared to Apple’s more expensive Vision Pro headset. But while Apple packed as much pricey technology into its headset as possible to enable its own passthrough mode it calls “spatial computing,” Meta is seeking to match many of its features, or at least an approximation of them, at a fraction of the price. Meta’s $1,499 Quest Pro is a lower-volume product.
But if there’s one major difference between Meta and Apple at this point, it’s that the former envisions the Quest mainly as a gaming device, while Apple frames its device as a computer. Meta says it’s lined up 500 games and apps for the headset, including a Ghostbusters title, an Assassin’s Creed game, and a Stranger Things experience developed in conjunction with Netflix.
At ThredUp‘s 600,000-square-foot warehouse in Suwanee, Georgia, roughly 40,000 pieces of used clothing are processed each day. The company’s logistics network — four facilities across the U.S. — now rivals that of some fast-fashion giants.
“This is the largest garment-on-hanger system in the world,” said Justin Pina, ThredUp’s senior director of operations. “We can hold more than 3.5 million items here.”
Secondhand shopping is booming. The global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $367 billion by 2029, growing almost three times faster than the overall apparel market, according to GlobalData.
About 97 percent of clothing sold in the U.S. is imported, mostly from China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and India, according to the American Apparel and Footwear Association.
“When tariffs raise those costs, resale platforms suddenly look like the smart buy. This isn’t just a fad,” said Jasmine Enberg, co-CEO of Scalable. “Tariffs are accelerating trends that were already reshaping the way Americans shop.”
For James Reinhart, ThredUp’s CEO, the company is already seeing it play out.
“The business is free-cash-flow positive and growing double digits,” said Reinhart. “We feel really good about the economics, gross margins near 80% and operations built entirely within the U.S.”
ThredUp reported that revenue grew 34% year over year in the third quarter. The company also said it acquired more new customers in the quarter than at any other time in its history, with new buyer growth up 54% from the same period last year.
“If tariffs add 20% to 30% to retail prices, that’s a huge advantage for resale,” said Dylan Carden, research analyst at William Blair & Company. “Pre-owned items aren’t subject to those duties, so demand naturally shifts.”
Inside the ThredUp warehouse, where CNBC got a behind-the-scenes look. automation hums alongside human workers. AI systems photograph, categorize, and price thousands of garments per hour. For Reinhart, the technology is key to scaling resale like retail.
“AI has really accelerated adoption,” said Reinhart. “It’s helping us improve discovery, styling, and personalization for buyers.”
That tech wave extends beyond ThredUp. Fashion-tech startups Phia, co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, is using AI to scan thousands of listings across retail and resale in seconds.
“The fact that we’ve driven millions in transaction volume shows how big this need is,” Gates said. “People want smarter, cheaper ways to shop.”
ThredUp is betting that domestic infrastructure, automation, and AI will keep it ahead of the curve, and that tariffs meant to revive U.S. manufacturing could end up powering a new kind of American fashion economy.
“The future of fashion will be more sustainable than it is today,” said Reinhart. “And secondhand will be at the center of it.”
CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa asked those at the epicenter of the boom for their take, sitting down with the founders of two of the buzziest AI startups.
Amjad Masad, founder and CEO of AI coding startup Replit, admits there’s been a cooldown.
“Early on in the year, there was the vibe coding hype market, where everyone’s heard about vibe coding. Everyone wanted to go try it. The tools were not as good as they are today. So I think that burnt a lot of people,” Masad said. “So there’s a bit of a vibe coding, I would say, hype slow down, and a lot of companies that were making money are not making as much money.”
Masad added that a lot companies were publishing their annualized recurring revenue figures every week, and “now they’re not.”
Navrina Singh, founder and CEO of startup Credo AI, which helps enterprises with AI oversight and risk management, is seeing more excitement than fear.
“I don’t think we are in a bubble,” she said. “I really believe this is the new reality of the world that we are living in. As we know, AI is going to be and already is our biggest growth driver for businesses. So it just makes sense that there has to be more investment, not only on the capability side, governance side, but energy and infrastructure side as well.”
Alphabet and Disney on Friday announced that they’ve reached a deal to restore content from ABC and ESPN onto Google’s YouTube TV.
The deal comes after a two-week standoff between the two companies that started on Oct. 31. The stalemate resulted in numerous live sporting events, including college football games and two Monday Night Football games, being absent from the popular streaming service.
“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Disney that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers and future flexibility in our offers,” YouTube said in a statement. “Subscribers should see channels including ABC, ESPN and FX returning to their service over the course of the day, as well as any recordings that were previously in their Library. We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers’ patience as we negotiated on their behalf.”
Disney Entertainment’s co-chairs Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, along with ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, said in a statement that said the agreement reflects “how audiences choose to watch” entertainment.
“We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football,” they said.
More than 20 Disney-owned channels were removed from YouTube TV, which offered its subscribers $20 credits this week due to the dispute. In addition to ABC and ESPN, other networks that were unavailable included FX, NatGeo, Disney Channel and Freeform.
The main sticking point between the two companies was the rate Disney charges YouTube TV for its networks. Disney’s most valuable channel, ESPN, charges carriage of more than $10 a month per pay-TV subscriber, a higher fee than any other network in the U.S., CNBC previously reported.
It’s not the first conflict this year between YouTube and legacy media.
NBCUniversal content was nearly removed from YouTube TV before the companies reached an agreement in October, preventing shows like “Sunday Night Football” and “America’s Got Talent” from being pulled.
YouTube TV also found itself in a standoff with Fox in August that almost resulted in Fox News, Fox Sports and other Fox channels going dark on the service just before the start of the college football season. The two sides were able to strike a deal to prevent a blackout.
YouTube said it has the option for future program packages with Disney and other partners.
Disney said that access to a selection of live and on-demand programming from ESPN Unlimited, which includes content from ESPN+ and new content on its all-inclusive digital service coming later this year, will be available on YouTube TV to base plan subscribers at no additional cost by the end of 2026.
Here’s the memo that Disney executives sent to employees:
Team,
We’re pleased to share that we’ve reached a new agreement with YouTube TV, and all of our stations and networks are in the process of being restored to the service.
While this was a challenging moment, it ultimately led to a strong outcome for both consumers and for our company, with a deal that recognizes the tremendous value of the high-quality entertainment, sports, and news that fans have come to expect from Disney.
Over the past few years, we’ve led the way in creating innovative deals with key partners – each one unique, and each designed to recognize the full value of our programming. This new agreement reflects that same creativity and commitment to doing what’s best for both our audiences and our business.
We’re proud of the work that went into this deal and grateful to everyone who helped make it happen — especially Sean Breen, Jimmy Zasowski, and the Platform Distribution team for their tireless commitment throughout this process.
Thank you all for your patience and professionalism over the past several weeks. As you all know, the media landscape continues to evolve quickly, which makes these types of negotiations complex. What hasn’t changed is our focus on the viewer. Our priority is — and will always be — delivering the best experiences and the best value to fans, and we’ll continue working closely with our partners to ensure we’re fulfilling that mission for our audiences.
We’re incredibly optimistic about what’s ahead and grateful to all of you for continuing to set the standard for entertainment around the world.
Alan, Dana & Jimmy
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant.
