The Quest 3 v69 Update Is Here Already?
Some folks haven’t even got v67 yet—and now Meta is bringing us the v69 update for Quest headsets!
Meta continues its recent trend of pushing out Quest updates at lightning speed. With v69 now in Meta’s Public Test Channel (PTC) and in the final stages of testing, that’s 4 major updates in just 3 months—and that is speedy as heck! But, the real question on our minds is:
Is the v69 update actually any good?
Well, according to early testers, it adds a feature that Quest users have wanted since day one—so, while this won’t be a full list of what we’ll get when the full v69 update launches, let’s find out what they’ve been tinkering with and what we might expect come the full release.
Seamless Multitasking lets you pin windows while playing a game
Let’s kick things off with the one we’ve all been waiting for: Seamless Multitasking.
The ability to pin a window in-game.
Meta has already given us 3 extra windows and then let us pin them about in passthrough with the v67 and v68 updates—and now, we can take that to the next level and pin a window while we play, boosting productivity yet again.
Streamers will love this because they can check the live chat and respond while they play. Completionists will love this because they can load up a tutorial video while solving that tricky puzzle or trying to beat that tough-as-nails boss. And pretty much anyone who enjoys watching or listening to content while gaming will get a kick out of this, taking in a podcast or catching up on that Netflix binge.
Our pals over at Upload VR posted a quick clip showcasing the update on their Twitter. They’re running Demeo on Quest Pro, with a Seamless Multitasking window open on the side:
And, for a nice comparison, PTC tester, Luna, uploaded a video to their Twitter showcasing some Pavlov gameplay:
Now, it looks like we’ll only be able to pin just one window so far, but that’s plenty for now — we’ve been waiting for this feature for ages! However, Luna and other testers have also noted a little performance trade-off—but that’s to be expected. And, of course, you can close the window any time if things get a bit laggy.
We should be able to find this Seamless Multitasking feature under ‘Experimental Settings’ when the update goes to full release.
Native connection to Windows computers
Some users digging around in the v69 XML data strings have discovered what appears to be the ability to connect your Quest headset to a Windows PC wirelessly and use it in Mixed Reality without needing Meta Remote Desktop.
This sounds pretty similar to what we’ve seen from the Vision Pro and its ability to connect to Apple devices—you see an icon appear above the device in passthrough if you’re able to connect, click it, and presto!
This will make streaming PC content SO much easier, so if this is indeed included in the full release of v69, it’s exciting stuff!
And, let’s face it, Meta wants to prove that Quest 3 can do anything the Vision Pro can do, so it seems pretty likely it’ll be coming up soon if not in v69!
Passthrough updates
Remember when passthrough used to have that awful level of warping if you tried to check your phone or watch? Well, Meta has done quite a lot to patch that—and the work continues in v69!
While the difference between the v69 and the previous patch isn’t as dramatic as that initial jump into smoother territory, testers have reported that v69 has made some improvements once again, making checking your phone, responding to texts, and more pretty seamless. Which is great!
Use the volume button to select (tutorial)
We’ve actually been able to do this for a while—but loads of people probably didn’t know about it!
Seems Meta wants to change that, as testers have discovered a little video tutorial buried in the v69 update files to help users make the most of this (admittedly limited) feature. But let’s not knock it too much—it’s great for accessibility!
Say you’ve mislaid your controllers or you’ve disabled hand tracking—or it’s too dark to use! Well, you can use the head cursor to look at what you want to select, then use the volume button to click. And now you’ll have a little tutorial to remind you of that.
Remember, folks: It’s the little things that make a difference.
Turn off Spatial Audio
The only use case we can think of for this is if you’re watching content through your headset and want the audio coming at you full blast front-on… But, once again, it’s nice to have options!
You definitely won’t want to turn this off while you’re gaming though—you won’t be able to accurately pinpoint gunfire or environmental stings very well at all.
Conclusions
Looks like v69 is shaping up to be a winner, finally adding one of the community’s most-requested features and giving us the ability to pin external windows in-game and multitask to the max!
We’re also pretty keen to test the Windows PC wireless connectivity if the rumors are true—this will be a boon for productivity (giving us a great reason to avoid the clunky Meta Remote Desktop app!) and bring the Quest 3 yet another step closer to the Vision Pro’s impressive capabilities.
Remember: Some of the features discussed here may not make it to the final v69 rollout, and they may add more features that we haven’t discussed yet! We’ll have to wait and see when it hits our headsets—probably very soon!
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