Considering a Meta Quest 3S as an upgrade from your Quest 2? Here's what you miss out on (and gain) from picking it over the classic Quest 3.

Meta Connect 2024 just revealed its new Quest 3S headset, but how does it stack up to the lower-end Meta Quest 2?

With the Quest 3 and the Quest 3S, Meta has a strong lineup. Even though VR headsets remain relatively niche — and the company’s metaverse ambitions haven’t even come close to fruition — if you’re new to VR, Meta offers great hardware and a ton of VR experiences to get lost in. And perhaps best of all, you won’t have to pay $3,499 to get started.

Meta's Quest 3S was just announced, and these worthwhile games headed to the budget-friendly headset might just convince you to treat yourself.

In essence, the Quest 3S is nearly the same headset but with downgraded optics. On the plus side, since both headsets use the same processor, running at a lower resolution reduces the load on the APU, which could theoretically improve performance in games and also account for the increased battery life.

With a $300 starting price, the Meta Quest 3S is a full $200 less expensive than the Quest 3. Clearly Meta’s strategy of flooding the market with devices is still in full effect with this one.

The Quest 3S comes in the box with two of the same Touch Plus controllers as the Quest 3 and the same head strap as last time. It should also accept “some, but not all” of the Quest 3’s accessories, including the elite strap with battery and carrying case.

Meta just revealed the budget-friendly Quest 3S VR headset at its annual Connect keynote event, but it also made a sad announcement about some of its previous headsets. The company will stop selling both the Quest 2 and the Quest Pro by the end of the year.