Meta Quest 3 vs. XReal One in the test

Challenges and opportunities of remote working

VR/AR technologies in practice

Introduction

Remote work has become an integral part of modern working life. Many employees today want to be able to work from anywhere – whether in their home office, at a café, or even abroad. However, this location-independent way of working also brings with it challenges. Companies must ensure that efficiency and performance do not suffer even when away from the office. Smooth performance is particularly essential in demanding environments such as CAD design or software development. So the question is: How can we enable employees to work flexibly without compromising on technical performance?Internal tests at IntegaDesign GmbH

With this in mind, we conducted internal tests at IntegaDesign GmbH to find the best VR/AR technology for remote working. The idea behind it: With the help of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR), employees could theoretically set up a virtual office anywhere – including large screens and powerful computers, but without physically being in the office. We used three current headsets as test devices: the Meta Quest 3, the Meta Quest 3S (a lighter version of the Quest 3), and the XREAL One AR glasses. In several series of tests, we investigated how well these devices are suited for productive use, especially for computationally intensive activities such as 3D CAD and programming.

Results and experience

Meta Quest 3 and 3S

We first tested the Meta Quest 3 and 3S. Both VR headsets were tested in various application scenarios, including Meta Horizon Workrooms (Meta's virtual office environment), the Glue collaboration platform, and traditional remote desktop access to our workstations. Setup was straightforward: The Quest headsets operate wirelessly and independently, which essentially allows for a great deal of freedom of movement. In addition, a large ecosystem of apps is available for collaborative work in VR.

In practice, however, significant limitations became apparent. The latency – the delay between input and display – was often too high to allow for truly effective work. It was particularly noticeable that image loading occasionally lagged when working with detailed CAD models or when programming quickly. This minimal delay may be tolerable for VR gaming, but it was extremely disruptive when working intensively. There were also hardware-related issues: Both the Quest 3 and the 3S developed noticeable heat during longer sessions. After one to two hours, the headset not only became warm, but also somewhat uncomfortable due to its weight. Wearing comfort suffered, and longer periods of uninterrupted work became a challenge.

The field of view (FoV) is relatively large, making working in a virtual environment comfortable. Our conclusion for the Quest 3/3S: They're usable for VR meetings or simpler tasks, but for hours of focused work (especially in computationally intensive applications), they reach their limits.

XREAL One

Next, we tested the XREAL One – AR glasses that are particularly suitable for displaying virtual screens. Unlike Meta's VR headsets, the XREAL One is not a standalone device, but is usually connected to a notebook or smartphone. Our testing was primarily carried out in conjunction with a powerful laptop. After just a short time, it became clear: The XREAL One offers significant advantages in terms of performance. Thanks to the direct cable connection to the notebook, there was virtually no noticeable latency. The virtual screens responded quickly and smoothly to inputs, even with complex CAD drawings or when scrolling extensively in the code.

Long-term vision and outlook

Despite minor hurdles, the test results make us optimistic. Our long-term vision at IntegaDesign is to do without external displays and bulky workstations. We've already taken the first steps in this direction: In a pilot project, we paired the XREAL One with a Samsung Galaxy S24+. Using Samsung DeX, the smartphone was put into desktop mode and securely connected to our powerful workstation on the company network via VPN. The result was a fully-fledged virtual workplace.

Further tests are already underway: The XREAL One Pro, which has a slightly larger field of view, will be released soon. Furthermore, another AR headset, the Visor 4K, is in the pipeline and potentially delivers even better results. We will also evaluate these new technologies to see how suitable they are for productive use.

Comparison of the tested devices: advantages and disadvantages