The Quest 3S is a curious device. I think we were all expecting a budget version of the Quest 3, but that’s not quite what this headset is. Yes, it does adopt some of the improvements made to the Quest 3 such as the redesigned speaker arms, color passthrough, and the Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 SoC to power it all. But as you’ll see, the Quest 3S is neither a successor nor a watered down version of the Quest 3, rather it’s the true successor to 2020’s Quest 2.
The most obvious difference between the Quest 3 and Quest 3S is in the optical stack. Meta saved themselves some local processing power—and probably millions worth in R&D—by opting for the bulkier but cheaper to implement Fresnel lenses, just like the ones used in the Quest 2. No, “just like” isn’t the right word. They are exactly the ones used in the Quest 2! These parts are 100% compatible with each other.
If we make our way past the optical stack and to the screen, we’ll find the same LCD panel being used too! This is the same RGB stripe LCD panel that the Quest 2 uses, right down to the display panel connector.
We did spot one tiny difference between the Quest 2 and Quest 3S panels. Literally. We had to put the panels under the microscope to see it. Both use an RGB stripe subpixel layout (thanks to Brad Lynch for verifying!) but as with the original Quest 2, the exact pixel layout will differ depending on who manufactured the LCD. Meta is expected to be using JDI, BOE, and possibly Sharp as their suppliers.
At the risk of sounding like a TV infomercial: but wait, there’s more! During the course of investigating one example of a melting Quest 2, we found that the proximity sensor inside the headset can short circuit and melt if exposed to moisture. And when I say moisture, I don’t mean taking your VR headset for a swim! The moisture is probably collected perspiration from many sessions of Beat Saber. This turned out to be a relatively rare occurrence and in all instances that we’re aware of, Meta did the right thing by offering free replacements.
But as a result, that proximity sensor is no more. The flex cable and corresponding connectors that ran from the center of the headset and through the battery pack are gone. The battery housing retains the same design as before, but the battery connector itself has changed as a result of losing that proximity sensor. Without that proximity sensor, the Quest 3S appears to be on a timed auto-shutoff which, if you ask me, is a reduction in complexity and a very easy way to solve what was a nasty problem.
As for the upgrades, the most important change is the spec bump from the 7nm Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen1 SoC with 6GB of RAM to the 4nm Gen2 SoC with 8GB of RAM. This is the single biggest similarity between the Quest 3 and Quest 3S. Along with this comes an upgrade to the wireless ICs bringing WiFi 6E and BT 5.2 support.
The speaker arms have also borrowed their design from the Quest 3, with the circular speaker-as-a-fulcrum design from the Quest 2 swapped out for a more logically placed speaker across the central length of the arm. This should substantially improve audio quality when compared to the Quest 2. Unfortunately, somebody at Meta forgot to include the headphone jack during this auditory transition. Of all the places a headphone jack would be most appreciated, surely immersive gameplay would be one?
In another noticeable design departure, a rare iterative improvement over the Quest 3, the depth sensor has been swapped out for two IR flood illuminators. From my brief testing, the flood illuminators did just as good a job at mapping out a room and have the added benefit of performing exceptionally well in unlit spaces—something the Quest 3 struggled with but the Apple Vision Pro excels at.
The entire sensor suite has been redesigned to give it a very sharp and somewhat arachnid aesthetic. Each cluster of sensors consists of one of the aforementioned IR illuminators, an RGB passthrough camera, and a tracking camera, with an additional two sensors mounted on the underside of the device pointing straight down for body, hand, and controller tracking.
Despite these improvements, there’s no getting away from the fact that this is mostly an update to the massively popular Quest 2. And everything from the hardware to the price point starts to make sense when you look at it from this perspective.
The Quest 2’s popularity stemmed from the quality of the experience at the most accessible price point possible. We’re not talking Google Cardboard or Samsung VR here, Quest 2 was (and still is) a full fledged standalone and PCVR experience that genuinely made strides to bring virtual reality to the masses. At launch back in 2020, the Quest 2 started out at $300—bumped up to $400 in August 2022—and four years later we have a successor device priced again at $300. Accounting for inflation, the Quest 3S is a touch over 20% cheaper than the Quest 2 while delivering substantially more bang for that entry-level buck.
Speaking of perspectives, here’s another for comparison. Using Lumafield’s Neptune CT scanner, we can dive in and really see the striking similarities between the Quest 2 and Quest 3S.
If you were Meta, why wouldn’t you double down on the price point and expand on the feature set? The Quest 3S does just that by using the Quest 2’s same LCD panel and cheap Fresnel optics to capitalize on hardware and software tech that has already been refined—at enormous cost to Meta—while bringing in not-so-iterative improvements by way of the latest generation Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 SoC to drive performance and maximize current generation software compatibility.
The Quest 3S, in a nutshell, brings support for current generation VR software at a palatable price point. This headset isn’t for the avid VR enthusiast, it’s aimed squarely at consumers that are still on the fence about splurging on their first VR headset.
The Quest 3S has a place in the VR ecosystem, though I’m not convinced that it makes the Quest 2 obsolete just yet. Take the optical stack as an example, it may not be the latest and greatest pancake lens design like those in the Apple Vision Pro or Quest 3, but the Fresnel lenses are just as relevant to VR technology today as they were in 2020, and they are more than up to the task of delivering VR experiences in the Quest 3S.
Because the Quest 2 and Quest 3S share some critical components, namely the LCD panel and optical stack, we have the ability to salvage broken old Quest 2’s and repurpose parts for use in the Quest 3S. This helps reduce the carbon footprint of both devices by allowing an avenue for the reuse of components in this next generation of Quest devices.
This is a big deal and shows exactly why it can be so beneficial to lean into existing technologies and manufacturing processes, not only to reduce development costs for the manufacturer but to also as a means to design for circularity. Being able to salvage components from old devices isn’t anywhere near as convenient or impactful as being able to buy OEM parts from the manufacturer, but it’s something.
We hope to see improvements on that front too, either voluntarily or through regulation. These devices may be complex but they are far from unrepairable. And given the joy they bring to family gatherings every holiday season, they are certainly worth the effort of repairing.
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