Meta Quest 3S Vs. 3: What do you lose?

Meta has announced the Quest 3S, a long-awaited headset that rounds out the more affordable end of the virtual reality headset range.

You'll pay $299.99 for a Quest 3S, compared to $429.99 for the 128GB Quest 3 or $499.99 for the 512GB version.

The main goal is to bring the standard and cheaper Quest headset options on par in terms of performance and mixed reality capability. This will make it easier for developers over time and ensure that all owners of current-generation headsets have access to a number of core features.

Each features the Snapdragon XR 2 Gen 2 chipset and the color passthrough cameras needed for good mixed reality results

But what are you losing?

ForbesMeta Quest 3 Vs. Quest Pro – Best Meta VR Headset?From Andrew Williams

Pancakes vs. Fresnel Lenses

The Meta Quest 3S uses Fresnel lenses, just like the Quest 2. Meta upgraded to pancake lenses on the Quest 3, and I found this upgrade to be the most significant visual change of the generation.

It's not just about better peak sharpness, but also that the sides of the images are much clearer. This makes it much more useful to look around with your eyes instead of your head. And it makes the headset less picky about fit because the lens' sweet spot is wider.

Lower resolution

The Quest 3 has 4.5 million display pixels available. The Quest 3S has 3.5 million.

Their overall resolutions are 2064 x 2208 (Quest 3) and 1832 x 1920 (Quest 3S). Here too, the cheaper headset is more consistent with the quality of the Quest 2 than the newer model.

These are the numbers you could use when talking on a telephone. But what matters most in a headset is PPD, pixels per degree. Here's how sharp an image appears in a VR headset, because the wider the field of view of a headset, the more you stretch the panel pixels. Here too, the Quest 3 with 25ppd is better than the Quest 3S with 20ppd.

Narrower field of vision

In fact, the Quest 3 has a better and wider field of view than the Quest 3S. The angle of the Quest 3 is 110 degrees horizontally and 96 degrees vertically. The Quest 3S is 96 horizontal and 90 vertical.

What does this mean in practice? You get a reduced porthole effect, where it looks more like you're looking through a limited window rather than seeing the virtual world with just your eyes.

In both cases, however, you don't quite get the feeling that the image is completely taking over your view.

The cheaper headset has a longer battery life

It's not all bad news for the Quest 3S. The running time is slightly longer than the Quest 3 at 2.5 to 2.2 hours when fully charged.

This is despite the Quest 3's higher battery capacity – 5060 mAh compared to the Quest 3S's 4324 mAh.

What is there? Not only does the Quest 3 have higher resolution displays, but it will likely need to push them harder, as the headset's pancake lenses are typically much less efficient than the Fresnel type used in the Quest 3S and Quest 2.

Verdict – Should you pay more?

The Meta Quest 3S is effectively a Quest 2 upgraded with color passthrough cameras, the Quest 3's controllers, and a much better processor.

It delivers better graphics in many apps and games, but no significant improvement in visual quality.

This should be of interest to the many Quest 2 owners who still like VR but are disappointed by all the Quest 3 upgrades they're missing out on. But does the Quest 3 still deliver a legitimately better picture? Sure, it does.