After a torrent of leaks, Meta has finally unveiled Quest 3S at Connect today, detailing every reason why it thinks Quest and Quest 2 owners ought to upgrade to the company’s latest and now most affordable mixed reality headset. Here’s the breakdown:
In terms of specs, Quest 3S is straddling somewhere between the 2020-era Quest 2 and 2023-era Quest 3, notably ditching the monochrome passthrough and last-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset for full-color sensors and the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 as Quest 3.
Note: If you’re looking for the long of it, make sure to check out our hands-on to find out more about Quest 3S and what sets it apart from the Quest lineup.
For the side-by-side spec sheet, scroll down to the bottom of the article.
As you’d imagine, running the same chipset and offering color passthrough will give users access not only to the back catalogue of Quest titles, but also mixed reality games and exclusives designed for Quest 3 moving forward.
To hit that magical $300 price point (128GB model) though, it’s relying on older Fresnel lenses as well as a the same resolution displays as Quest 2. At least in terms of resolution, the gulf between Quest 2 and Quest 3 isn’t that wide, so it’s a pretty understandable holdover.
That means we’re again seeing some flavor of 1,832 × 1,920 (20ppd) LCD display with a 96-degree horizonal field of view (FOV), as seen on sheet below. By comparison, Quest 3 boasts dual 2,064 × 2,208 (4.5MP) LCD displays, a newer pancake lens design and 110-degree horizontal FOV.
With facial interfaces removed, Meta is trumpeting Quest 3S as “20 percent slimmer” than Quest 2, where as the claim for Quest 3 is 30 percent slimmer, owing to its inclusion of pancake lenses.
Strangely enough, Quest 3S is launching with the same storage options as Quest 2: 128GB and 256GB—something deemed too small for Quest 3 proper, which is discontinuing its 128GB version, leaving only the 512GB to choose from. Yeah, pricing as and availability for older models has changed a bit. Check out our full explainer on what’s staying and what’s going to learn more.
| Quest 2 | Quest 3S | Quest 3 | |
Visuals |
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| Display | 1 × LCD | 1 × LCD | 2 × LCD |
| Resolution (per-eye) | 1,832 × 1,920 (3.5MP) | 1,832 × 1,920 (3.5MP) | 2,064 × 2,208 (4.5MP) |
| Pixels Per-degree | 20 PPD | 20 PPD | 25 PPD |
| Refresh Rate | 60Hz, 72Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz | 120Hz | 72Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz |
| Optics | Fresnel | Fresnel | Pancake |
| Field-of-view | 96ºH × 90ºV | 96ºH × 90ºV | 110ºH × 96ºV |
| Pass-through view | Black & white (4 PPD) | Color (18 PPD) | Color (18 PPD) |
| Optical Adjustments | Stepped IPD eye-relief (via included spacer) |
Stepped IPD eye-relief (via included spacer) |
Continuous IPD, stepped eye-relief (built-in) |
| IPD Adjustment Range | 58mm, 63mm, 68mm | 58mm, 63mm, 68mm | 53–75mm |
Performance & IO |
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| Processor | Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 | Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 | Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 |
| RAM | 6GB | 8GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB | 128GB, 256GB | 512GB (128GB previously available) |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth | unknown (likely Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth) | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth |
| Connectors | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C contact pads for optional dock |
| Input | Touch v3 (AA battery 1×) hand-tracking, voice |
Touch Plus (AA battery 1×) hand-tracking, voice |
Touch Plus (AA battery 1×) hand-tracking, voice |
| Audio | In-headstrap speakers 3.5mm aux output |
In-headstrap speakers | In-headstrap speakers 3.5mm aux output |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | 1.5–2.5 hours (3,640 mAh) | 2.5 hours (4,324 mAh) | 2.2 hours (5,060 mAh) |
| Weight | 503 grams | 514 grams | 515 grams |
Sensing |
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| Headset-tracking | Inside-out (no external beacons) | Inside-out (no external beacons) | Inside-out (no external beacons) |
| Controller-tracking | Headset-tracked (headset line-of-sight needed) |
Headset-tracked (headset line-of-sight needed) |
Headset-tracked (headset line-of-sight needed) |
| Eye-tracking | No | No | No |
| Expression-tracking | No | No | No |
| On-board cameras | 4 × IR | 2 × RGB, 4 × IR 2 × IR flood LED |
2 × RGB, 4 × IR |
| Depth-sensor | No | No | Yes |
Price |
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| MSRP | $300 (128GB), $350 (256GB) | $300 (128GB), $400 (256GB) | $500 (512GB) |
