Rather than stuff more technology into its Quest VR headsets, which would drive their price up, Meta has taken the opposite approach with the Quest 3S. It’s a slightly bigger and slightly less sharp version of the Quest 3 that starts at $300, roughly half that headset’s $500 launch price.
The Quest 3S’s pitch is clear to both consumers and developers: it’s a more powerful and feature-rich budget device than the now-discontinued Quest 2, and since it has the same processor and GPU as the Quest 3, developers don’t have to worry as much about supporting the older headset.
Based on my brief experience with the Quest 3S (our full review is up), it’s easy to see how this could be another hit for Meta. Despite its lower price, it doesn’t look or feel any less than the Quest 3 at first glance.
The only noticeable external difference is that it uses a triangular array of sensors on the front instead of three pill-shaped modules. While it’s a little bigger than the Quest 3, it still sits comfortably on my face, and is easily adjustable via its straps on the back and top.
I was shocked when I saw it no longer has a 3.5mm jack, forcing you to use wireless headphones or a USB-C dongle, but not having it makes sense for a cheaper product. I’d bet those who care most about a headphone jack will opt for the Quest 3 instead.
Meta cut corners everywhere to bring the Quest 3S’ price down. There are only three lens adjustment positions to match your pupil distance, while the Quest 3 has better controls. And instead of a pancake lens, the Quest 3S uses a Fresnel lens that can cause extra glare or other artifacts.
They also get by with lower quality displays, offering 1,832 by 1,920 pixels per eye (like the Quest 2) instead of the Quest 3’s 2,064 by 2,208 resolution.
The most important thing for consumers is what Meta has included in the Quest 3S. It has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor and 8GB of RAM, and uses the same updated touch controllers. So while the Quest 3S might look a little dimmer than the Quest 3, it should perform similarly.
This is something I noticed immediately upon booting up the Quest 3S. Navigating its main menu and Quest Store felt easy and fast, with little lag between screens or apps loading. The touch controllers still feel very responsive, something I confirmed with a few Beat Saber sessions.
Although it gets a bit hot like its more expensive sibling, the Quest 3S kept running without any noticeable slowdowns even when I was installing several large games. The mixed reality experience was also similar to the Quest 3 – it’s not real-life, but it’s clear enough to read text on your monitor or phone.
Based on a few hours of testing, the Quest 3S clearly manages to deliver an immersive VR experience at a low price. But we’ll need to spend a little more time in virtual reality to determine how it differs from the Quest 3.