A Worthier Heir To The Mobile VR Throne

The long-awaited Quest 3S has finally hit the shelves. While it may not be pushing the boundaries in terms of tech, Meta seems to be going back to a formula that brought it plenty of success before with the new headset. It’s capable, and relatively cheap – just like the Quest 2 was.

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Despite the fact it was designed to be a stripped-down Quest 3 for people who didn’t want to pay just under $500, you shouldn’t underestimate the Quest 3S (priced at around $300 on Amazon right now). It’s packing a close to cutting edge chipset, shares one of the Quest 3’s most standout features (as we discussed in our original Quest 3 Review, and even does better than the more expensive device in one key department.

There is a small amount of controversy though. Meta has pulled an Apple and dumped their device’s audio jack. So users who want to avoid disturbing those around them should look for a decent set of Bluetooth headphones.

Anyway, Meta sent a sample of the Quest 3S out to test, and I’ve managed to have a pretty thorough look at it. Here’s what the company did to get the price down, what it didn’t skimp on, and most importantly what using the device is actually like.

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The Quest 3S uses the same lenses as you’ll find on the Quest 2. This wasn’t a problem on the Quest 2, and isn’t a major issue now, but it is one of the areas where the 3S is noticeably worse than the 3.

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First, there’s the adjustment aspect. There are the same three pre-set options for IPD that you may remember from the Quest 2. Then there’s a lot of adjustment and wiggling to ensure the headset is angled correctly and your eyes are pointing at the sweet spot. The standard Quest 3 is far easier to adjust.

The 3S’ noticeably smaller sweet spot has other issues too. The stuff on the edge of your vision is noticeably out of focus, as opposed to the Quest 3 which keeps everything in front of you sharp. I’m not talking about your peripherals here, I’m talking about something towards the edge of your central vision that should really be sharp. Your brain will notice this, and it will be pretty off-putting. You also have a narrower field of view than you’ll get from a Quest 3, roughly 96-degrees horizontal as opposed to 110 on the 3, and 90 degrees vertical vs 96.

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The lenses aren’t the only downgrade on the Quest 3S. With a resolution of 1832 x 1920 pixels per eye it’s a noticeable step down from the 2064×2208 pixels you get on the full fledged Quest 3. 200-300 pixels may not initially seem like a lot, but it makes a massive difference when the screens are an inch from your eye and being magnified through a lens. While the screen door effect may be all but gone on the Quest 3, it is back with a vengeance on the 3S.

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However, this may not matter as much as you think. If you’re opting for the 3S over the 3, you’re probably not dabbling in PCVR too much. While it’s not as much as it used to be, the cost of a decent PCVR-capable computer makes the price difference between the 3 and 3S seem trivial. So you’re probably sticking to games and experiences that the headset can run itself.

The on-headset stuff is still a little graphically challenged for the most part, so the displays aren’t going to be what is bottlenecking your experience most of the time. In fact, it covers up this particular shortcoming very well.

On the plus side, you’ll get a 120Hz refresh rate right out of the box. As opposed to previous generations that had to work their way up from as low as 72Hz.

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While the displays may be a bit of a compromise, what’s going on under the hood isn’t. The Quest 3S runs off the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip, which is the same thing you’ll find in the Quest 3. In terms of performance, it’s night and day when compared to the Quest 2, and even more powerful than what you’ll find in the Pro. In fact, it’s pretty much overkill. It can support a 3K display for each eye, which the 3S certainly does not have. It also has 8GB of RAM which really helps with the multi-tasking.

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At the time of writing, the Quest 3S won’t struggle to play any content currently available for the Quest. That is likely to be the case for several years in the future. Meta has discontinued the Quest 2 and Pro, but will continue supporting those devices for the next few years. So you can expect the Quest 3S to pack enough punch to stay around for a similar length of time.

The Quest 3S is about a gram lighter than the full fledged Quest 3, and what this essentially means is there’s very little difference in comfort. Both devices are heavier than the Quest 2, but again this is only by ten grams or so. If you’ve worn a Quest 2 or 3 before, you’ll pretty much know what to expect comfort-wise.

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The soft sponge gasket that sits between the device and your face is perfectly fine for an average play session, though it will start to get a bit sore once you pass the hour mark. It’s also pretty absorbent, as it has been with previous generations, so if you’re going to break a sweat a silicone cover may be worth considering. Of course, you can do a lot more than just gaming with a VR headset. Comfort is also important to people who want to make it through a Netflix binge, or get some VR exercise out of the way.

A downside comes in the form of the elasticated strap that has adorned the device family since the Quest 2. It does the job, though you may have to tighten it to the point of things being a little uncomfortable for it to feel truly secure. The part you slide to tighten the strap can catch your hair quite easily, and it’s not the smoothest thing to adjust. I would honestly recommend upgrading to a halo strap at the earliest opportunity. Quest 3 accessories, including the official halo strap and numerous third-party alternatives should fit the Quest 3S.

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One of the main differences between the Quest 3 and Quest 3S is in the depth sensor. The Quest 3’s is a pretty advanced piece of kit, but the Quest 3S packs its own cheaper version that seems to work equally well. The 3S’ version uses a couple of infrared sensors that work in a stereoscopic fashion. A bit like your eyes do. So just as you can look at an object and judge roughly how far away it is, the headset can look at a wall, the floor, or an obstacle and do a pretty similar thing.

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There are a few AR apps where this proves pretty useful, but by far the standout feature is the room mapping function. Just like with the Quest 3, you don’t have to draw a boundary any more. Just take a good look around, the headset will work out where everything is, then suggest a boundary for you.

As with the Quest 3, passthrough on the 3S is a huge improvement on both the Quest 2 and Quest Pro. Compared to the Quest 2, there’s no more greyscale and the image is a lot sharper. Compared to the Pro, the colors and perspectives are more accurate and true to life, and it’s not just a colored-in version of the Quest 2’s greyscale like the Pro had. Couple it with the headset’s depth sensing abilities, and AR games shouldn’t be off limits.

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So how does the passthrough compare with the Quest 3? It’s pretty close, but this is one area where you may see the differences in resolution between the two headsets. You can just about read a phone with the Quest 3S’ passthrough, though I wouldn’t recommend trying for too long if you want to spare yourself a migraine. This task is a little easier on the 3S. You can happily wander around your house with either, and you’re unlikely to bump into anything.

The Mets Quest 3S uses the same controllers as the Quest 3, and they track equally as well. They also track better than the Quest 2’s controllers, and are a massive improvement over the ones that shipped with the Quest Pro–especially in low light conditions.

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This makes a major difference in games that require accurate tracking, like “The Thrill of The Fight.” Those of you who stick to things like “A Township Tale” and “VR Chat” may not notice as big of a difference. Quest 2 users thinking of upgrading should note that the new controllers don’t have tracking rings on the top. So if you were doing something like sliding that ring around the handle of a cricket bat before securing the controller, that won’t work any more.

Surprisingly, the Quest 3S outpaces the Quest 3 in one pretty key area. On paper, you’ll get roughly an extra 20 minutes of battery life from the new headset when compared to its more expensive sibling. It’s rated for 2 hours and 30 minutes as opposed to the Quest 3’s 2 hours and 12 minutes. I’m not exactly sure why, but if I had to guess the difference is the lower resolution display making the already very efficient processor do less work and draw less power as a result.

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Obviously, exact battery life depends on what you’re doing with the headset. But after months of use I’ve found the Quest 3 regularly taps out in less than two hours while the 3S (admittedly in a shorter testing period) has lasted longer than two hours every time. This may be a huge plus for some people, but between battery straps and the ability to simply plug a power bank into the headset it doesn’t seem like too big a deal in the grand scheme of things.

While the Quest 3 is objectively the better piece of hardware, the 3S has a far more appealing price tag. At the time of writing, you can nab one for under $300. The strategy at play here is pretty obvious. The Quest 2 is the company’s most successful headset by far, and affordability is a core reason for that success. Now Meta seems to be doing the same thing all over again. Obviously omissions have to be made when you’re keeping the price down, but in my opinion Meta has made the right choices here. Yes, the system the Quest 3S uses arguably isn’t as sharp as the Quest 3’s depth sensor, but it doesn’t need to be. Pancake lenses are nice, but again not essential when you’re trying to trim $200 off a piece of hardware. 

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Most of the effort seems to have gone towards the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform. Given the things that come with that: increased hardware life, better power efficiency, and ability to play newer games, that’s not a bad investment at all. The Quest 3S is basically a straight swap for the now discontinued Quest 2, the accessible price point makes that much obvious. Quest 2 users aren’t exactly being forced to upgrade, with another few years of support available for their headsets at the very least. However, with all of Meta’s current devices on a current-gen chipset, you may see plenty of games pushing forwards and beyond the Quest 2’s capabilities in the next couple of years. On the bright side, when you do opt to upgrade to a Quest 3S, you won’t be disappointed.

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You can snag a Quest 3S for $299.99 via Amazon should you opt for the 128GB version, with the 256GB option priced at $399.99. Various bundles are also available.