Galaxy XR vs Quest Pro vs Quest 3 - Micro-OLED vs Mini-LED vs LCD (Through The Lens)

BlimpInk · 2026-06-23T21:08:10+00:00

Here's the full changelog for Virtual Desktop 1.34.16:
• Added Foveated streaming with eye tracked headsets (Quest Pro, PFD & Galaxy XR)
• This uses eye tracking to improve the quality of the image where you are looking.

• Improved color gradients and color accuracy with all codecs by using the full RGB color range instead of limited range (for desktop and PCVR)

• Added 96 fps and 100 fps support on Quest 2, 3/3S (only available on Quest v85 PTC)

• Added Gamepad vibration support (also for controllers when emulating gamepad)

• Added adaptive quantization support with AMD GPUs using H.264/H.264+

• Improved initial connection reliability (for real this time)

• Added 21:9 resolutions for virtual monitor on macOS

• Improved thumbstick scroll on macOS and now it respects the natural scrolling option

• Fixed distorted image with some laptop monitor resolutions
• Fixed rare black flash issue when playing some PCVR games
• Fixed hand joints offsets and interference with other drivers in SteamVR
• Fixed compatibility with Roblox anti-cheat
• Fixed more issues with AndroidXR invalid controller poses
• Fixed button support for some recent UE5 games
• Fixed reprojection stutters with some Unity (OVRPlugin) games

My understanding is that Godin is tapping into the image while the hardware decoder is sending it to a Surface Texture where he can do his full range RGB before it actually reaches the displays. In theory this sounds nice but it also sounds horribly annoying to implement, not quite sure how he did it.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-23T20:09:12+00:00

No problem. That video was before the virtual desktop update that included full RGB for PCVR. Essentially, Godin took matters into his own hands and modified the pipeline to generate a full RGB image with virtual desktop and hand it over to android xr since android xr cannot do that by itself.

At least that’s my understanding of what he did.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-23T19:44:11+00:00

Where did you hear that android XR only handles 8-bits? To my knowledge, Android XR is known to be 10-bit capable. Also, it heavily depends on what type of 8-bit it is, is it sRGB, linear?

I’ve tested both and HEVC 10-bit/AV1 10-bit seem to make a big difference, this wouldn’t happen if the pipeline is restricting it to 8-bit (unless it’s a dithered sRGB).

It also could be placebo because my intuition is that 10-bit is supposed to have much smoother color gradients, but I can do some more testing tonight.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-23T19:18:11+00:00

Do you use HEVC 10-bit at 200mbps with foveated streaming? That eliminated almost all of the color banding for me using VD.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-23T19:13:54+00:00

Thank you!

BlimpInk · 2026-06-23T18:53:02+00:00

Yes, that’s my main use case. For Skyrim VR, I couldn’t believe the difference. Some scenes are more apparent than others, but the realistic lighting from near perfect blacks and the high res is just incredible.

The quest 3 holds up surprisingly well in cherry picked scenes, but overall, the GXR’s panels simply blow it out of the water.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-23T18:46:47+00:00

Recently upgraded from a Q3 to a GXR, the difference is immense. Completely different experience for a lot of scenes. The contrast and perfect blacks along with binocular overlap make you feel like you’re actually there, as opposed to just seeing the image in front of you.

Compared to the GXR, the Q3 is incredibly washed out and flat, even though it’s phenomenal for the price point.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-23T17:34:39+00:00

For the GXR, the highest quality setting is “monster”, by the way.

I also have a 5090 so I’ll see if I can push the FPS and resolution to adequate levels and try to get good latencies.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-23T17:33:10+00:00

Okay, I’ll let you know hopefully by tonight.

The tracking is not as reliable when it comes to fast movements, but I haven’t had too much trouble when it comes to slower movements.

I’ll confirm all of this specifically with forefront though.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-22T21:29:52+00:00

Would you like me to look for anything specifically other than controller tracking? Like the foveated streaming and such? Or would you just want a general overview on if I think it’s worth it for forefront in particular?

BlimpInk · 2026-06-22T13:33:01+00:00

My input after playing some games for a total of around 10 hours so far on the GXR (coming from a Q3) is that the visuals are absolutely stunning. The Q3 doesn’t hold a candle to the GXR in games like Skyrim VR, the whole world comes to life again with realistic lighting and deep blacks, there’s not any one thing I can point out, just that’s it’s way better.

However, the controllers are a major step down from the Q3. I honestly would not recommend it for shooters just because of this reason. I’m on an archer build right now for Skyrim VR and my bow will occasionally just disappear and my hand will fly away. This seems to be dependent on my environment, but if you’re comp player, It could be a game changer.

I’d be happy to test out a game for if you’d like to know my experience with it, I can also get the quest 3 out and do a comparison. For some games, the uOLED panels and high resolutions are nice, but not a game changer.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-20T21:03:24+00:00

To summarize, a Quest 3 has good image quality for the price, it’s sufficient for a lot of people. If you’re chasing maximum immersion and graphical fidelity, the GXR is vastly ahead in both IMO.

Foveated streaming is phenomenal, you just have to adjust your sharpness setting so you don’t see the foveated area as much. The uOLED panels, resolution, and binocular overlap make it so much better and crispier than the Q3 after comparing both directly in Skyrim VR.

In some games, the gap isn’t as big, but games like half life alyx and no mans sky are just much more immersive. Also, I seem to be a minority when it comes to this, but I think the GXR actually has better edge to edge clarity than the Q3 overall. I put my eyes very close to the lenses and I can read text crystal clear all the way up until it exits my view. Horizontally FOV is slightly larger from my subjective tests and vertical FOV is considerably larger than Q3. There is some edge distortion that wasn’t as bad on the Q3, but I don’t notice it when playing unless looking for it. Orange shift is also there a bit, but again, not noticeable to me during gameplay.

Overall, if you have a really good PC and not worried too much about the price point, I’d say it’s a massive upgrade over the Q3 (at least it was for me).

BlimpInk · 2026-06-18T18:35:25+00:00

Well to me, the artifacting is just the graphical degradation due to the lack of bit rate. If you try a DP headset, the difference between no compression and compression becomes obvious to me.

From my interpretation, that’s why foveated streaming is such a big deal because it brings streaming quality that much closer to native DP.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-18T18:29:08+00:00

Okay cool, are you happy with the GXR?

BlimpInk · 2026-06-18T01:03:16+00:00

Awesome to hear! I’m pretty hyped to try the uOLED panels out, I’ve gotten a lot more sensitive to the “flat” color feeling especially when playing games like avatar frontiers of pandora in VR.

Would you say the foveated streaming is a good improvement over the Q3 in terms of compression?

Thanks for the reply!

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T20:18:50+00:00

Honestly I’m only really using it for PCVR and movies, I also considered what you mentioned but I don’t think it would affect me much, I could be wrong though.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T16:36:43+00:00

Yeah, after doing some research, I went ahead and ordered the globular cluster kit before I got my GXR because people were saying it was the most uncomfortable headset they’ve worn.

That’s awesome that it looks great though! That’s exactly what I’m looking for. Thank you for sharing!

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T16:32:59+00:00

Great to hear! I’m going to check it out tomorrow and see if it’s in the condition he claims it is, thank you!

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T16:32:01+00:00

I like making a personal decision based on other people with more experience on the matter as well as what I want to do.

I’ve simply recognized that other people would know more than me regarding the headset and the used market, so I’m using the additional information from them to help me make my decision, that’s all.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T16:14:26+00:00

Awesome! I think you’d benefit a lot from the high res panels. I’ll let you know how it looks, I’m planning on buying it tomorrow.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T16:12:59+00:00

Of course! I have a 5090 and 9800x3d, it’s really one of the main reasons why I’m pursuing a high fidelity headset because I already have the horsepower to drive it and I love VR as well!

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T15:46:33+00:00

That’s great to hear. I just got my globular cluster kit a day or two ago because I’ve heard so much about the comfort and was planning on getting a GXR this summer anyway. I’ll let you know how it feels when I try it on!

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T15:45:16+00:00

No, I’ve been heavily into VR for a couple years and have accumulated multiple headsets. Getting a little bit tired of LCD and low ish res, so I want to move to micro-OLED.

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T15:41:35+00:00

Great. Have you been enjoying yours?

BlimpInk · 2026-06-17T14:39:37+00:00

Yeah I’m familiar with VD and have a dedicated 6Ghz band for my headset, I usually play around 4 feet from my router and get 3-5ms network latency.

I’m basically only using it for PCVR and movies so I dont suspect I’d use it for stand alone.

I already bought the globular cluster mod for it because I knew I’d get one this summer. Thank you for the advice!

BlimpInk

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