Now Meta’s Quest 3 lets you choose: better battery life or better VR graphics?

Meta is rolling out a software update that lets Quest 3 users eke out more battery life at the expense of graphics quality.

In addition to this new Battery Saver mode, the v59 update also gives VR streamers a way to keep track of YouTube Live Chat within the headset, includes more reactions and stickers in a chat, adds legs to your avatar in Horizon Home, and enhances the Activities tab to easily find friend recommendations and drop in to play. Another note says that the Remote Display app from the Quest Pro “will become available for Quest 3 and Quest 2 over time,” allowing wearers to project their own computer screen into a VR environment.

With the new update, users can switch to a lower graphics output setting on Meta Quest 3 that can help extend its battery life, which, according to our review, normally lasts about two hours for any users who want to explore its worlds for that long. (Coincidentally, there’s also an update for Horizon Worlds that now can keep track of how much time you spend there.)

It’s unclear what battery performance improvement Meta Quest 3’s Battery Saver mode brings, but any extra time could please users who don’t want to buy a $130 battery strap or weren’t impressed by the extra time it added. On other portable devices like the Steam Deck, more granular settings offer even more control, like per-game settings and frame rate limits.

You can activate Battery Saver by going to System Settings > Power.

The extra battery life could help VR streamers who are increasingly active online using the Meta Quest 3. And now, some streamers can get early access to view and interact with YouTube Live Chat so they don’t have to leave the experience to acknowledge their audience. This feature will first be handed out to YouTube creators who sign up through an early access interest form.

For those who just want to chill with friends in VR, a new Activities tab shows you pending invitations to games and apps so you can quickly jump in with others. It also lets you easily view and join an active group call. The chat experience gets a boost, too, with the ability to use avatar stickers, add reactions, and send images (in included regions).

Meta is also rolling out an updated parental controls feature called Family Center, where you can manage daily time limits for kids, enforce break periods, and more within the Meta Quest mobile app. For this and other features in Meta Quest version 59, you’ll have to wait until Meta completes the rollout, which is happening now.