The Meta Quest 3 was just about everything we had hoped for, delivering a next-generation visual upgrade, impressive new crystal clear lenses, and a thinner design. But all of this came at a cost; the Meta Quest 3 is $200 more than the Quest 2.
As rumor has it, the Meta Quest 3s — potentially also known as the Meta Quest 3 Lite — is likely to launch at either $199 or $299 sometime this Fall. Everything we know about the Meta Quest 3s so far says the headset will sport the same powerful Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset as the Meta Quest 3 but will cut the cost by stripping away several other features.
So, what exactly can we expect from this headset? Essentially, a more affordable Meta Quest 3 designed to accelerate mass-market adoption.
Meta Quest 3s: Price and availability
Right now, most rumors and leaks point to a $299 price for the Meta Quest 3s, meaning it'll cost exactly the same as the Oculus Quest 2 when it launched in 2020. Considering that everything else has gone up in price since then, it's nice to see the possibility of a lower cost device with notable upgrades over the Quest 2.
Those would include a better mixed reality experience than the Quest 2 offers, plus an upgraded chipset and improved design, which we'll talk about more below.
Initially, this product was referred to as the Meta Quest Lite. Ever since one March leak, however, every leak has referred to the headset as the Meta Quest 3s. That even includes official files from the PC Meta Quest app.
We expect the Meta Quest 3s to appear at the annual Meta Connect conference on September 25, 2024.
Meta Quest 3s: Design
The image above was leaked in march, allegedly coming from an internal product presentation for the Quest 3s. The design looks like a cross between the old Oculus Go headset and the Oculus Quest 2, including dual iPhone Pro-like triple camera arrays on the front. The headset is set to be thinner than the Quest 2 and not as thin as a Quest 3.
The Meta Quest 3s should retain the interchangeable headset straps from the Quest 2 and Quest 3 and also ship with simple cloth straps. The headset size would be closer to a Quest 2 since it's reportedly using the same types of lenses — known as Fresnel (pronounced fruh-nel) lenses — as the Quest 2.
A mid-September leak from the arca.live forum (via UploadVR) gave us the best look at the Quest 3s yet, with images that appear to have come from a regulatory certification test, similar to the FCC.
Aside from essentially confirming the leaked design, these pictures help show a new button on the bottom that isn't present on any other Quest headset to date. Official Meta documentation, leaked by Luna on X, calls it the Action Button and notes that pressing it will toggle between mixed reality and immersive reality modes.
In mixed reality mode, the Quest's Horizon OS will overlay virtual objects onto your real room by using the color passthrough cameras on the Meta Quest 3s. Immersive reality mode turns off the external cameras, showing the traditional virtual reality home environment, instead.
All other Quest headsets require an awkward double-tap on the side of the headset—which is very unreliable—or tapping the toggle button on the home bar in the Quest's UI.
The leaked regulatory images also gave us a look at the battery inside the Meta Quest 3s showing a 16.7Wh capacity. That's an improvement over the 14Wh capacity of the Quest 2 but not as large as the 18.9Wh battery in the Quest 3.
A smaller battery means the headset could weight less than the Quest 3, as batteries tend to be one of the heavier components in any modern piece of electronics. Additionally, the use of Fresnel lenses means Meta likely won't need to use as bright of a display on the Quest 3s as it uses on the Quest 3, potentially saving battery life further. Fresnel lenses are more optically efficient than Pancake lenses, even though Pancake lenses are clearer
Quest 3s is expected to use the same lenses as the Quest 2 but feature full-color passthrough cameras.
The Meta Quest 3s will likely have the same lens adjustment system as the Quest 2. That's less than ideal, for sure, as Quest 2 IPD adjustment was always a bit tricky with its three-preset system. If it's identical, that means users will choose between 58mm, 63mm, and 68mm presets to get as close to their natural eye spacing as possible.
Once again, VR Panda on X delivers a unique look at the new headset design, including 3D prints of the headset next to a Quest 2 and Quest 3. The Quest 3s is the black 3D-printed model in the images below. The final product is expected to debut in a white colorway just like the Quest 2 and Quest 3.
Having two IR illuminators could mean the Meta Quest 3s will work in the dark, making it the first Quest headset with such a capability.
So far, all leaks in 2024 point to Meta using a 6-camera layout on the front of the Meta Quest 3. Essentially, the camera layout looks identical to an iPhone Pro on the left and right halves of the front of the headset. A May leak from X user Luna shows that the Meta Quest 3s will have four IR tracking cameras, two 4MP color passthrough cameras, and two IR illuminators for depth sensing.
That last part was surprising as it was thought Meta would forego depth sensors to save costs. Having two IR illuminators could mean the Meta Quest 3s will work in the dark, making it the first Quest headset with such a capability.
The combination of cameras and sensors will allow the Quest 3s to perform automated room setup, building upon the automated room scanning feature launched on the Meta Quest 3 in April 2024.
One of the biggest improvements over the Quest 2 is the color passthrough vision, which will enable proper mixed reality content.
Regardless of camera configuration, we expect the Meta Quest 3s to use full-color passthrough cameras, as UploadVR also pointed out.
Paul Furgale, director of engineering for XR tech at Meta Reality Labs, expressed his thoughts on this in a recent blog post. "After Quest 3," Furgale said, "I’m convinced that Passthrough and MR will be a standard feature on all future headsets."
Andrew Bosworth, Meta's CTO, held a March AMA on Instagram saying that "mixed reality...platform capabilities will be the same" for "several generations of headsets to come."
Both comments do more than suggest that color passthrough is a regular feature going forward, regardless of headset cost.
Meta Quest 3s: Controls
Leaks so far have shown that the Meta Quest 3s will ship with similar — or maybe even identical — controllers as the Quest 3. That means no controller tracking ring and a smaller overall profile. The Meta Quest 3's Touch controllers shipped with enhanced haptic feedback but we're not yet sure of the Quest 3s's controllers will ship with that same level of haptics.
A leaked regulatory certification image shows that the controllers that ship with the Quest 3s look visually identical to the ones that come with the Quest 3.
Some rumors say that Meta may also offer a version sold without controllers for a lower price.
Those rumors claim that Meta will ship the Meta Quest 3s without any controllers at all, matching Apple's method of controlling mixed-reality content with just your hands. Meta Quest hand tracking is extremely good and the company has been working toward making hand tracking as effortless as Apple's unique implementation.
It would be surprising to see Meta pushing hand-tracking as a main input method, though, because there aren't many good hand-tracking games on the Quest, even though that situation is improving every month. Plus, there's likely no eye tracking or other assistive technologies in the Quest 3s as there are in Apple Vision Pro, potentially making a hands-only option a bit frustrating.
If this pans out, it's entirely likely the Meta Quest 3s will work with existing Quest controllers, though, so there's always the possibility that you could purchase controllers separately.
Meta Quest 3s: Specs
It's said that the Meta Quest 3s is using the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset as the Meta Quest 3. This would give it a significant power boost and let players enjoy new Quest 3-exclusive games like Batman Arkham Shadows and Alien Rogue Incursion without having to spend $500 or more on a Quest 3.
The headset is expected to ship with several external cameras including four IR tracking cameras, two 4MP color passthrough cameras, and two IR illuminators for depth sensing.
The Meta Quest 3s's battery capacity was revealed at 16.7Wh from a regulatory certification leak. That puts it in between the 14Wh capacity battery in the Quest 2 and the 18.9Wh battery in the Quest 3. Meta is said to be shipping an 18W power adapter with each Quest 3s per the same regulatory certification leak.
We expect the headset to use an LCD behind Fresnel lenses. So far, we don't have any rumors or leaks to confirm the amount of RAM or storage in the headset.
Meta Quest 3s: Wishlist
Because Meta has yet to launch a product in this price category, it's difficult to know what we can or should expect. There are some things we definitely don't want to see Meta cut, however, so we'll start there.
Proper IPD adjustment
One of the Meta Quest 2's biggest issues was its limited range of IPD presets. With Meta Quest 3s, we've like to see Meta stick with an IPD slider like the original Oculus Quest had or a wheel like the Quest 3 has. IPD adjustments are super important for user comfort and we hope Meta doesn't mess this part up.
A comfortable head strap
One of Meta's biggest problems with most Quest generations so far is the inclusion of a simple cloth head strap. While these are great for easy cleaning and keeping costs down, they are uncomfortable. Especially when wearing the headset for a long time.
We're hoping the rumors of a built-in halo-style head strap are true, and Meta uses that to keep weight off users' faces, making it more comfortable to wear long term.
Color passthrough
While we don't expect the passthrough quality of the Meta Quest 3s to match that of the Quest 3, it would be nice to see it in color, at least. The black-and-white passthrough of the Quest 2 is terrible and would be a big setback for a potential Meta Quest 3s's efforts to be a mixed-reality headset.
