The all new Quest 3S had just been announced and seemed amazing. (Note: The S is part of the name of the headset, it is called the Quest 3S). The Specs and the features of the Quest 3S seem to be very similar and often the same as the quest 3, but the Quest 3S is 200 dollars cheaper than the Quest 3, which, as PCMag says, quote “The Meta Quest 3 is the gold standard for standalone VR headsets thanks to its swift processor, high resolution, and color pass-through cameras that enable high-quality augmented reality.” So what features and specs are we missing out by buying the Quest 3S?
Pricing
The price is the biggest selling point of this headset, starting at $299 for 128gb, which is 200 dollars cheaper than the Quest 3, which starts at $499 also at 128gb. (Disclaimer: Meta Quest is currently offering a discount to buy the Quest 3 at $429, but it’s better to compare base price.) You can also get more storage, at $399 for 256gb for the Meta Quest 3s, and $649 for 512gb for the Meta Quest 3.
Specs
Surprisingly, the specs for these two VR headsets are relatively similar, as they use the same powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip. Unfortunately, the vision portion has been compromised to cut costs, as the Quest 3s now uses a single LCD panel instead of two LCD panels, one for each eye, for the Quest 3, but that’s not as big of a deal as you’d think. The resolution stays relatively the same, changing from 2064 x 2208 pixels per eye to 1832 x 1920 pixels per eye. The refresh rate caps out at the same rate for both headsets, at 120hz, which is plentiful for all types of games. The ram stays the same, at 8gb, and the FOV changes from 110 degrees horizontal, 96 degrees vertical to 96 degrees horizontal, 90 degrees vertical.
Performance/Features.
The battery life of the Quest 3s is actually better than the Quest 3, advertising 2 hours and 30 minutes, while the Quest 3 hovers around 2 hours and 12 minutes. Another big part of the Quest series is Passthrough, and it’ll have 4 tracking cameras (2 on the front, 2 on the side), 2 color Passthrough cameras, and 2 IR illuminators (for depth sensing), which is amazing for mixed reality experiences.
The software is nearly identical from both of the headsets, as they have very similar specs, and both have color Passthrough cameras.
In conclusion, the Meta Quest 3s offers similar levels of specs, performance, and features as the Quest 3, which means that it is an excellent VR headset, especially when it is 200 dollars cheaper than the Quest 3. It is an amazing VR headset for people who want to get into VR or just want an upgrade from an older series, like the Quest 2.
Related Stories:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewwilliams/2024/09/27/meta-quest-3s-vs-3-what-you-do-lose/
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/meta-quest-3
https://www.meta.com/quest/quest-3s/
Take Action:
https://www.change.org/p/change-meta-quest-s-name-back-to-oculus-quest
