Meta Quest 3S has one big advantage over the more expensive Quest 3
It may be cheaper, but don't dismiss the Meta Quest 3S just because of its price
đȘ Metaâs more budget-friendly headset is no slouch
đ It features better low-light tracking than the Quest 3
đ Itâs because it has IR Illuminators built-in
đ° The Meta Quest 3S is available today for $299
The Meta Quest 3S may be cheaper than the Quest 3, but it has one big advantage over Metaâs more expensive headset.
As Upload VR discovered, the Quest 3S does a better job of head and hand tracking in low-light conditions. The hand tracking is ânoticeably superior,â which should benefit those who play in the evening or only have a few lights on in a large room.
Upload VR said that âhand tracking initializes faster on Quest 3S, handles fast motions better without losing track, and produces false positive frames (your hand, but at the wrong angle or with wrong finger positions) far less often.â
The Quest 3 and Quest 2 headsets also donât work in total darkness, but the Quest 3S can track both your head and hands as long as youâre near a wall or other geometry. Obviously, this isnât how the headset is supposed to be used, and some minor jitter will be present, but itâs a welcome improvement nonetheless.
The reason why the Meta Quest 3S is superior in low-light conditions â even though it has inferior lenses, displays, and other cutbacks â is because it has IR illuminators on the front. These two glowing red dots are present on the Apple Vision Pro.
The Meta Quest 3 costs $499 for the 128GB model while the Meta Quest 3S is $299 and comes with a copy of Batman: Arkham Shadows and a 3-month trial of Meta Quest Plus. Itâs out today and features the same mixed reality experience as Quest 3, with 4.5 times the resolution and color compared to Quest 2. It also inherits the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 processor and boasts 8GB of RAM. You can carry over all your previously purchased games, too, including all of the Meta Quest Plus free games youâve downloaded.
Up next: PSVR 2 on PS5 Pro: what benefits will the new PlayStation 5 bring to Sony's headset?
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcutâs Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadarâs Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.