Your Meta Quest 3 is getting a free Windows PC upgrade - and it could change how you work

If you've been itching for a mixed-reality version of Windows, your time is here. 

At its 2024 Ignite event this week, Microsoft announced it's bringing "full capabilities of Windows 11" to mixed reality headsets, starting with the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S. 

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This feature allows you to access your local Windows PC or Windows 365 Cloud PC from a Quest headset. It only takes a few seconds to connect, Microsoft says, and get a private, high-quality, multiple-monitor workstation with huge screens. 

This doesn't mean that you'll be able to run Windows on your Quest, but you will be able to stream your PC or virtual cloud PC to your headset. 

Watch Microsoft's short video about the new feature below. 

The ability to take a computer screen to a VR headset was previously one of the biggest differences between Meta's headset and Apple's Vision Pro. At Meta Connect 2024, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that all you need to do to connect your Quest headsets to Windows 11 PCs is "just look at the keyboard." He didn't elaborate on whether we would see Vision Pro-style gesture controls.

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Casting is already available to a degree in the Meta Horizon Workroom app, with Meta's Air Link, or through a third-party app, but now you don't need any new software or apps.

Details are pretty sparse, but Microsoft did say that the feature would arrive in December as part of a public preview. Given Microsoft's wording of "starting" with the Quest 3 and 3S, it seems likely that support for other headsets is on the way.

Earlier this year, Microsoft teased a further collaboration with Meta, saying that it was working on "Windows Volumetric Apps" for Meta Quest headsets that extend flat screens into a 3D space. It didn't reveal exactly which apps would be compatible.