Meta has just revealed its latest virtual reality headset, the Meta Quest 3S, at its annual Connect keynote. Priced at $300, the Quest 3S is a more affordable alternative to the original Quest 3, which retails at $500. While it shares many of the same key features, including full-color passthrough for mixed reality, the lower price point does come with a few trade-offs.
The design and tech of the Quest 3S closely mirror the Quest 3, including external sensors and cameras for hand tracking, stereoscopic color passthrough, and controller tracking. The two RGB cameras and four VGA cameras allow for accurate 3D tracking, and it includes flood LEDs for better illumination. Users will enjoy the same refresh rate, which ranges between 90Hz and 120Hz, ensuring smooth performance for games and apps.
What’s different?
To bring the price down, Meta has replaced the high-end pancake lenses of the Quest 3 with the older Fresnel lenses found in the Meta Quest 2. The resolution has also taken a slight hit, at 1832 x 1920 pixels per eye, with 20 PPD (pixels per degree), and the field of view is a bit smaller compared to the standard Quest 3.
Another notable difference is the reduced storage capacity. The base model of the Quest 3S comes with 128GB of storage, though there’s an option to upgrade to 256GB for $400. In contrast, the original Quest 3 offers a 512GB option, which has now dropped in price to $500 (down from $650).
Battery life and extras
Despite these downgrades, the Quest 3S actually delivers a small improvement in battery life, offering around 2.5 hours of use per charge compared to the Quest 3’s 2.2 hours. Another perk is the inclusion of a free digital copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow for anyone who purchases a Quest 3 or 3S before April 2024.
Preorders for the Meta Quest 3S are now open, with shipping set for October 15.
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