How Do I Watch Spatial Videos On My Quest 3?

Accessing the Quest 3’s latest feature—and how it steals the thunder from Apple’s Vision Pro headset

Published in

SideQuestVR

4 min readFeb 7, 2024

At SideQuest, we’re all about helping our users get the most out of the VR tech they choose—lately, that’s most often Meta’s Quest 3 headset.

However, the current VR buzz is all about Apple’s Vision Pro, which launched on February 2nd… With an eye-watering $3,500 price tag.

While the innovative technology on display is almost enough to warrant that cost—as there certainly is a lot to admire about the device and the risks that Apple is taking—the cost is very hard to ignore, and VR fans have been questioning whether it’s truly worth it.

In many ways, it undeniably is.

In others… perhaps not.

One of the prominently marketed features of the Vision Pro is its capability for capturing and playing immersive ‘spatial video’. Impressive stuff, for sure. But Meta has just rolled out the Quest 3 v62 update that enables true spatial video compatibility and pinch controls on its flagship headset—stealing just a bit of Apple's thunder in a move we can only describe as ‘ballsy’.

Now, we’re not about fuelling a ‘device war’. Nor is this a review of Apple’s headset. But this update presents a great benefit for Quest 3 owners looking for some Apple pizzazz on a budget. After all, while the Pro is $3,500, the Quest 3 is $649 for the higher-end 512GB model…

And we always love some bang for our VR buck!

What is spatial video?

Spatial video is essentially Apple’s fancy way of saying your 3D video will look and feel even more 3D by having a spatial ‘window’ effect placed in front of the footage. This means you’ll be able to ‘peer into it’, as it were, making it feel more realistic. It’s nothing new, though—the concept has been around for a little while, but the execution needed work.

Currently only enabled on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max devices (but will presumably be included with future iPhone iterations), spatial video uses two parallel cameras to capture footage, allowing for much greater depth, and giving it the illusion of being presented in 3 dimensions. The only real caveat is that the amount of storage space taken up by spatial videos will be close to double the size of a normal video.

The Vision Pro can play these spatial videos in either a minimized window or an immersive ‘full screen’ view that you can pinch to adjust, bringing the captured footage closer to life-size. Now, this is a pretty neat feature, literally adding a new dimension to video sharing.

But now the Quest 3 can do it, too.

How do I watch spatial videos on my Quest 3?

If you don’t have an iPhone 15 Pro/Max, or find the file transfer process tricky, Meta has included several spatial video demos in the update, ready for you to watch! Just head to ‘Files’ in your app listing, and you’ll see the ‘Spatial Videos’ folder has appeared on the left-hand side.

If you want to upload your own videos, you’ll need a spatial video-ready iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max to capture them.

Once you have some spatial videos ready to upload, you’ll need to connect your phone/PC to your headset and use a file manager to organize and send videos to your Quest—you should see that folder called ‘Spatial Videos’ in the files list—so go ahead and move them into there! You can also manage this with Google Drive within the headset itself. If you experience any difficulties with this, head to Meta’s support page, or get in touch with them directly.

Now, just go back to the folder in your headset, select a video, and watch it!

If your Quest 3 hasn’t updated to v62 yet, don’t fret! They’re rolling out the update in stages, so you’ll be sure to have access to it very soon!

So, what’s the big deal?

Spatial video has been sold as one of a suite of Vision Pro features bringing the future into the now, changing the way we relive recorded memories and experiences.

While this feature is currently tied to a specific niche of users (those who have iPhone 15 Pros and above), it’s nice to know that this tech is not shackled to an astronomical cost or cumbersome setup process (using Virtual Desktop, Skybox, or Moon VR, for example).

But we can’t forget that this v62 Quest 3 update wouldn’t exist without Apple’s innovation—sure, the Vision Pro is expensive, but it’s undeniably changing the landscape of VR already! Apple is shining a fresh light on capabilities that have so far been on the fringe for most users!

At SideQuest, we’re excited to see what the future holds—and how developers will start to leverage these new advancements.

About SideQuest

SideQuest represents the ultimate community in standalone VR. A place where developers and players around the globe can create, share, and get excited about the virtual reality apps they love.

Developers (like us) are free to experiment with mechanics and modes on their journey to official stores, while players can safely explore thousands of apps across the wonderful world of VR — the biggest collection all in one place, actually.

Because who needs limits, right?

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