Quest 3S, Quest 3, and Quest 2 Specs Compared

After a torrent of leaks, Meta has finally unveiled Quest 3S at Connect today, detailing every reason why it thinks Quest and Quest 2 owners ought to upgrade to the company’s latest and now most affordable mixed reality headset. Here’s the breakdown:

In terms of specs, Quest 3S is straddling somewhere between the 2020-era Quest 2 and 2023-era Quest 3, notably ditching the monochrome passthrough and last-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset for full-color sensors and the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 as Quest 3.

Note: If you’re looking for the long of it, make sure to check out our hands-on to find out more about Quest 3S and what sets it apart from the Quest lineup.

For the side-by-side spec sheet, scroll down to the bottom of the article.

As you’d imagine, running the same chipset and offering color passthrough will give users access not only to the back catalogue of Quest titles, but also mixed reality games and exclusives designed for Quest 3 moving forward.

Image courtesy Meta

To hit that magical $300 price point (128GB model) though, it’s relying on older Fresnel lenses as well as a the same resolution displays as Quest 2. At least in terms of resolution, the gulf between Quest 2 and Quest 3 isn’t that wide, so it’s a pretty understandable holdover.

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That means we’re again seeing some flavor of 1,832 × 1,920 (20ppd) LCD display with a 96-degree horizonal field of view (FOV), as seen on sheet below. By comparison, Quest 3 boasts dual 2,064 × 2,208 (4.5MP) LCD displays, a newer pancake lens design and 110-degree horizontal FOV.

Quest 2 (left) and Quest 3 (right) | Image courtesy Meta

With facial interfaces removed, Meta is trumpeting Quest 3S as “20 percent slimmer” than Quest 2, where as the claim for Quest 3 is 30 percent slimmer, owing to its inclusion of pancake lenses.

Strangely enough, Quest 3S is launching with the same storage options as Quest 2: 128GB and 256GB—something deemed too small for Quest 3 proper, which is discontinuing its 128GB version, leaving only the 512GB to choose from. Yeah, pricing as and availability for older models has changed a bit. Check out our full explainer on what’s staying and what’s going to learn more.

Quest 2 Quest 3S Quest 3

Visuals

Display 1 × LCD 1 × LCD 2 × LCD
Resolution (per-eye) 1,832 × 1,920 (3.5MP) 1,832 × 1,920 (3.5MP) 2,064 × 2,208 (4.5MP)
Pixels Per-degree 20 PPD 20 PPD 25 PPD
Refresh Rate 60Hz, 72Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz 120Hz 72Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz
Optics Fresnel Fresnel Pancake
Field-of-view 96ºH × 90ºV 96ºH × 90ºV 110ºH × 96ºV
Pass-through view Black & white (4 PPD) Color (18 PPD) Color (18 PPD)
Optical Adjustments Stepped IPD
eye-relief (via included spacer)
Stepped IPD
eye-relief (via included spacer)
Continuous IPD, stepped eye-relief (built-in)
IPD Adjustment Range 58mm, 63mm, 68mm 58mm, 63mm, 68mm 53–75mm

Performance & IO

Processor Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2
RAM 6GB 8GB 8GB
Storage 128GB, 256GB 128GB, 256GB 512GB
(128GB previously available)
Connectivity Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth unknown (likely Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth) Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth
Connectors USB-C USB-C USB-C
contact pads for optional dock
Input Touch v3 (AA battery 1×)
hand-tracking, voice
Touch Plus (AA battery 1×)
hand-tracking, voice
Touch Plus (AA battery 1×)
hand-tracking, voice
Audio In-headstrap speakers
3.5mm aux output
In-headstrap speakers In-headstrap speakers
3.5mm aux output
Microphone Yes Yes Yes
Battery 1.5–2.5 hours (3,640 mAh) 2.5 hours (4,324 mAh) 2.2 hours (5,060 mAh)
Weight 503 grams 514 grams 515 grams

Sensing

Headset-tracking Inside-out (no external beacons) Inside-out (no external beacons) Inside-out (no external beacons)
Controller-tracking Headset-tracked
(headset line-of-sight needed)
Headset-tracked
(headset line-of-sight needed)
Headset-tracked
(headset line-of-sight needed)
Eye-tracking No No No
Expression-tracking No No No
On-board cameras 4 × IR 2 × RGB, 4 × IR
2 × IR flood LED
2 × RGB, 4 × IR
Depth-sensor No No Yes

Price

MSRP $300 (128GB), $350 (256GB) $300 (128GB), $400 (256GB) $500 (512GB)

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