Meta Quest 3S: price, release date, and everything we know about the VR headset
It’s finally official. After months of leaks – including a few from Meta itself – Meta Connect 2024 finally revealed everything about the Meta Quest 3S, and as expected it’s a budget-friendly alternative to the Quest 3.
As expected it has the brains of the Meta Quest 3 – meaning it can play upcoming exclusives like Batman: Arkham Shadow – but the bulkier body of the Meta Quest 2 – though, Meta tells us it’s about 20% slimmer even if it does boast fresnel lenses.
This might not immediately look like the most exciting VR headset announcement when compared to the likes of the Apple Vision Pro, but a device that’s making VR accessible again is a definite winner in our book.
Scroll down for everything there is to know about the Meta Quest 3S including its price, specs, and release date. Or you can check out our hands on Meta Quest 3S review for our initial thoughts on it.
Meta Quest 3S: Specs
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Meta Quest 3S | Meta Quest 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | Row 0 – Cell 1 | 184 mm x 160 mm x 98 mm |
| Weight | 514g | 515g |
| Display | Fresnel Lens | Two LCD displays |
| Display resolution | 1832 x 1920 per eye | 2064 x 2208 pixels per eye |
| FOV | 96 degrees horizontal, 90 degrees vertical | 110 degrees horizontal, 96 degrees vertical |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz | 72Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 |
| RAM | 89GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB or 256GB | 128GB or 512GB |
| Battery life | 2 hours 30 minutes | 2 hours 12 minutes |
Meta Quest 3S: Price
The Meta Quest 3 comes in two models 128GB, and 256GB. The smaller memory unit will cost you $299.99 / £289.99, while the other will set you back $399.99 / £379.99 (we’re waiting on Australian prices for both models).
For this you’re getting a slightly better device than we expected. The displays are less sharp than the Quest 3 screens – boasting 1,832 x 1,920 pixels per eye rather than 2,064 x 2,208– but you get the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 from Qualcomm and 8GB of RAM (we were anticipating just 6GB so this is great news).
You’ll also get the same 4MP RGB 18ppd cameras for mixed reality but no hardware depth sensor. Lastly it boasts Fresnel lenses which are thicker than the pancake lens system used by the Quest 3, and can cause the image to appear a bit less sharp around the fringes.
Meta Quest 3S: Release date
The Meta Quest 3S is launching on October 15, so you don’t have long to wait until you get your hands on it. And if you like what you read in our hands-on preview you can preorder the headset right now.
Alternatively you can skip the wait and nab the Meta Quest 3 – though you likely don’t have long until the Meta Quest 3 128GB model sells out as Meta has discontinued it. The 128GB Meta Quest 3 will be on sale for $429.99 (UK and Australian pricing to be confirmed) while stock lasts, but the 512GB model will stick around at $499.99 / £469.99 (Australian pricing to be confirmed).
Meta Quest 3S: Design & Features
The Meta Quest 3S looks just like it did in the leaks. That is it’s a little bigger than the Quest 3 (though still 20% slimmer than the Quest 2 according to Meta), and at 514g it’s 1g lighter than the Quest 3.
We also learned that the new button on the headset next to the volume bar isn’t a programmable action button as was rumored, it’s a simple home button to make navigation a little easier when you’re using hand tracking instead of controllers.
Speaking of the Quest 3S has the same controllers as the Meta Quest 3, so if your were worried it might have lost its handsets in an effort to cut costs you have nothing to fear.
Features-wise the Quest 3S can seemingly do almost everything the Meta Quest 3 can. You’ll be able to enjoy full-color mixed reality, hand tracking in experiences that support it, Xbox Cloud game streaming, and the multitasking features recently added to Horizon OS too.
The only issues you might run into are any apps that rely on the Quest 3’s depth sensor as the Meta Quest 3S doesn’t have one. This shouldn’t cause too many issues for playing games and watching videos, but some apps might not work as effectively (or at all) as they would on the Quest 3.
Meta Quest 3S: Software
Because the Meta Quest 3S has similar mixed-reality capabilities and specs to the Meta Quest 3, it’ll have access to all of the same software – which is to say, everything available on the Quest platform’s Store (and many other games and apps available through sideloading via third-party digital storefronts).
This includes the upcoming Meta Quest 3-exclusive Batman: Arkham Shadow which is being bundled with new purchases of both Quest 3S and the 512GB Meta Quest 3.
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It’s finally official. After months of leaks – including a few from Meta itself – Meta Connect 2024 finally revealed everything about the Meta Quest 3S, and as expected it’s a budget-friendly alternative to the Quest 3. As expected it has the brains of the Meta Quest 3 – meaning…
