Last week saw the official release and availability of the Meta Quest 3S, the company's take on a budget-friendly mixed reality headset that is under the Quest 3 series to deliver the massive experience to users for almost half its price. However, it is not getting kind words and warm reception from the VR industry as revealed by recent reviews, as many are plainly disappointed with what it delivered.
It is known that while Meta's original Quest 3 release from last year is not as premium as the Apple Vision Pro, it saw adequate reviews from the industry and its fan base for what it had to offer, at a significantly low price.
Meta Quest 3S is Disappointing Fans in Latest Reviews
The Meta Quest 3S is disappointing according to reviews from the likes of Ars Technica, and it also saw several negative connotations from Tech Radar, claiming that users should opt for the more premium version which is the original Quest 3. A year has passed since Meta introduced the Quest 3, and this meant that the company also had one full global cycle to develop the Quest 3S for its aspirations to deliver a budget XR headset.
First off, there is only a 1-gram difference between the Quest 3 which weighs 515g, and the Quest 3S which comes in at 514g.
It was also noted by iFixit in a recent teardown of the Quest 3S that it has the same stack fresnel lenses and LCD panels as the Quest 2, claiming that it is closer to the past-generation VR headset than the mixed reality one.
Moreover, instead of the 110 horizontal degrees on its field-of-view (FOV) like the Quest 3, it gets a narrower FOV at 97 degrees which makes it harder to read text.
What is with the Budget XR Headset from Meta?
The reviews noted that the cheaper headset has lenses farther from one's eyes, and its side view profile shows that the Quest 3S is thicker than the Quest 3. This factor makes it harder for users to get the full immersive experience previously enjoyed on Meta's 2023 release, with the black housing surrounding the lenses appearing on the corners of one's eyes.
Reviews suggested that users should opt for the $499 Quest 3 instead, especially if coming from Quest 2, as it has almost similar problems to the $299 Quest 3S.
Meta's Quest Headset Developments
After last year's release of Meta's mixed reality headset which is the Quest 3, the company has not looked back on its product lineup by offering a new virtual reality-exclusive wearable. Its Quest 3 was a successful release as earlier this year, it was revealed that there are over 1 million users who completed the 'First Encounters' tutorial, relating it to units sold, but it is speculated that the number might be larger as many have skipped it.
Earlier this year, leaks behind Meta Quest's roadmap appeared from reports, claiming that the multinational Big Tech company is planning for more wearables coming in the future that will expand more of what it has to offer. The leak accurately pointed out this year's wearable development from Meta which would focus on a budget version of the mixed-reality headset that is called the Quest 3S.
Following an official unveiling last September, Meta promised that the same mixed reality experiences are coming with the Quest 3S once it drops, but noted several sacrifices of the original Quest 3 to make it more affordable to users. Despite featuring the same performance as its predecessor, the Quest 3S is not getting positive reviews, centering on its weird displays and seeing large comparisons to Quest 2 instead.
