Meta has begun rolling out a new software update for its Quest headsets, Horizon OS v83, and among its changes are a couple of very neat new abilities for Quest 3, Quest 3S
Two of the more interesting features in OS v83 are System Positional TimeWarp and Temporal Dimming. But what do they do?
System Positional TimeWarp operates by re-projecting a frame when the frame rate of an app or game drops, in order to increase perceived smoothness. This should also have a positive effect on VR-related nausea symptoms too.
Effectively it means image data gets re-interpreted even when the software is not offering any new information. Doing so for rotational movement is the norm in VR headsets, of course, but this new feature allows for alteration of the presentation based on other positional data, using ”Depth-From-Stereo” information.
Meta says this will have no effect on the actual performance of apps, suggesting it has minimal computational overhead.
The next new feature is Temporal Dimming, which has been added to the Quest 3 and Quest 3S.
It’s an optional feature that dims the display intensity as a session runs on, with the aim of reducing eyestrain and increasing battery life. If it is truly gradual, the dimming should not be too obvious, as when wearing a headset there’s no exterior baseline with which to compare brightness levels.
It could actually increase perceived image quality with some content, as lower brightness will reduce the glow of the LCD panel, which can be quite obvious in the Quest 3 and Quest 3S.
There are some other features too. For example, setting up the virtual environment to match your actual room(s) has become more nuanced, allowing for floors with multiple height levels, even though that sounds like a major trip hazard, “slanted ceilings” and inner walls.
This Horizon OS v83 began rolling out in this week, so it’s worth checking whether your own headset has been graced with the update yet.