Meta is set to unveil a cheaper Quest 3S tomorrow, here’s what to expect

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We’re waist-deep into a season of tech launches, and next on the agenda is Meta Connect. Tomorrow, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is expected to unveil a less advanced but significantly cheaper Meta Quest 3S VR headset to rival the Quest 3 at its upcoming keynote, as well as give us a look at its true Orion AR glasses.

The budget VR headset will reportedly cut costs by removing some of the more premium features of the Meta Quest 3 while keeping core components like the speedy Snapdragon XR Gen 2 processor and will replace the wildly popular Quest 2. Essentially leaked ahead of time, we’re sure to get a full, informed and in-depth look at the new device at Meta’s event on Wednesday.

If you want to watch Meta Connect live, you’ll be able to tune in tomorrow at 6pm BST, where Zuckerberg is expected to present for an hour. Below, we’re rounding up all the release date, price and spec rumours floating in the ether.

While we’re expecting Meta to announce a release date for the Quest 3S tomorrow at Meta Connect, the headset’s release date may have already been leaked by an Amazon advert on Peacock. Whoops! According to the leak, posted to Reddit, the VR headset will launch on 16 October 2024.

Again, we don’t have anything concrete about the price of the Meta Quest 3S, but according to the same Amazon advert on Peacock, the Meta Quest 3S will cost $299 for a 128GB model. Given that the Meta Quest 3 costs $499 in the US and £479.99 in the UK, we think that the Quest 3S could cost £279 to £299 – a huge £200 cheaper than the current cheapest VR headset. That makes it incredibly more budget-friendly.

There are a huge number of leaks and rumours out there regarding the Meta Quest 3S’s specs, features and design. Based on rumours so far, it appears the Quest 3S will be a VR headset that has the internals of a Quest 3, but the body of a Quest 2.

Leaks suggest that the Quest 3S will house the exact same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip, and will feature the same full-colour passthrough capabilities. However, it won’t have the same pancake lenses, instead sticking with the Quest 2’s fresnel lenses and single panel.

Last week, nine images of the Quest 3S appeared on South Korea’s version of Reddit Arcalive, displaying the headset from a range of different angles. It looks similar to the Quest 3 in design, contrary to previous rumours that it will be a Quest 2 clone, but looks slightly chunkier.

It features the same Quest 3 temple speakers, a more comfortable facial interface and a new head strap. Noticeably, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack or IPD wheel, however, and there’s at least one USB-C port on the side. The images also show a controller that looks exactly like the Touch Plus controller that comes with the Meta Quest 3.

The leaked images also displayed the battery capacity of the Quest 3S, giving it a 16.74Wh battery capacity. That means the battery is bigger than the one found in the Meta Quest 2, which has a 14Wh battery capacity, but slightly smaller than the Quest 3’s 18.9Wh battery capacity.

Another Reddit leak from March purports to show the Meta Quest 3S in an internal presentation slide, where it features a front camera array. The slide compares the Meta Quest 3S to the regular Meta Quest 3 and details some of the new headset’s specifications. According to this rumour, the cheaper headset will have a resolution of 1832 x 1920 compared to the Meta Quest 3’s 2064 x 2208, and onboard storage of either 128GB or 256GB.

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In our review of the Meta Quest 3, it was praised for being “an astounding virtual reality (now mixed reality) headset, and is arguably the best consumer device currently out there”.

The model has “full-colour passthrough, a faster processor, a more comfortable and ergonomic fit, as well as better hand-tracking”, and the pancake lenses “make everything so much more stable”. While you won’t find any discounts on the VR headset, we’ve spotted this refurbished model at Amazon, which currently has a £50 discount.

For the latest discounts on phones and tablets, try the links below:

Got a PS5? Check out our full review of the PSVR2