Meta has begun rolling out Horizon OS v85 for the Quest 3, and while official release notes are not yet published by Meta, early users are already sharing impressions of what’s changed. I was shocked to see v85 on my Quest 3 last night when I turned it on. This latest update isn’t a massive feature leap, but it offers some efficiency upgrades but also more questions about user interfaces and feedback from VR gamers.
Watch my update below or read further down.
✨ Polish and Core System Refinements
Although v85 doesn’t include headline new features like a complete UI overhaul (more like a backpedal), users report a number of under-the-hood improvements that build on what arrived in v83:
• Better Mixed-Reality Room Mapping
Users are noticing improved handling of complex spaces during room setup — such as multi-height floors and angled walls — helping mixed-reality content fit more convincingly within real rooms.
• Temporal Dimming for Comfort & Battery Life
The subtle brightness reduction over long sessions that debuted in v83 appears to be active here too — dimming the view gradually to reduce eye strain and improve battery efficiency while staying unobtrusive.
• System Positional TimeWarp
This behind-the-scenes graphics smoothing system continues to aid overall visual stability, using depth data to reduce judder when apps miss frame deadlines.
• “Meta Horizon Link” Improvements
The PC VR connectivity app and related tooling have now fully moved under the Horizon branding, simplifying Meta’s ecosystem naming and positioning.
All of this combines to give users a noticeably smoother, more responsive experience overall — especially when mixed reality and multitasking features are in play.
🔄 Major UI Change: Navigator Interface Removed?
Perhaps the most talked-about change in v85 is what Meta took away, rather than what it added:
Many Quest 3 owners who updated to v85 report that the experimental “Navigator” UI and its toggle disappeared entirely. Users note that:
- The Navigator interface no longer appears after updating.
- The experimental setting to enable it is gone, even if you have PTC enabled.
- The device reverts back to the older Universal Menu UI.
One poster summed it up:
“I just randomly received v85 and it completely removed the new navigator and any option to turn it back on. RIP.”
This aligns with community chatter that Meta has been testing Navigator in incremental phases, sometimes rolling it out to limited groups and then retracting it across updates as part of broader experimentation.
For some users this feels like a step back, losing a UI many had just gotten used to, but it may also indicate that Meta is reworking Navigator for a future, more polished release.
Personally, I like the new interface but also liked the old one. There are things about both that I liked and disliked. What I don’t like is that Meta will give features and then take them away. Tease this, then decide it wasn’t good. Some users have access while others don’t, etc. It all seems very unprofessional and makes the overall VR experience much less enjoyable.
📊 Overall Impressions from the Community
Here’s a quick snapshot of what users are commenting on so far:
👍 What people feel is improved
- Smoother visuals and system responsiveness.
- Better MR room scanning and scene handling.
- Slight extended battery life thanks to subtle brightness controls.
👎 What’s controversial / disappointing
- Losing the Navigator UI unexpectedly.
- No obvious new headline features beyond polish.
- Users are left waiting for official notes from Meta.
📌 Bottom Line
Even without official release documentation, v85 seems to be a polishing update that smooths out key mixed-reality experiences and reinforces system stability. However, the removal of the experimental Navigator UI is the biggest talking point among users — both positive and negative — because it affects how people interact with the Quest’s operating environment.
If you’re running a Quest 3 or 3s, this update feels more refined overall, but it may leave you wondering what’s next for the interface and broader feature set as Meta continues refining Horizon OS for 2026.
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