After observing the rumor mill spinning for months regarding the Meta Quest 3S, all has seemingly been confirmed by none other than Meta itself. An image of the supposed new, cheaper headset has been discovered in the Quest Link app on PC.
The Meta Quest 3 is among the best VR headsets that money can buy, but unfortunately, they’re still quite pricey. This is why the Quest 3S is a great idea, because it increases the affordability of VR, and could bring in a new wave of fans. It’s just a shame the headset doesn’t look very nice.
The image from the Quest Link app appeared on Reddit a few days ago and shows that the capsule-shaped cameras are being replaced with triangular clusters. Maybe it’s just my arachnophobia kicking in, but the design is a complete downgrade and doesn’t look great.
More curiously, shortly after this image surfaced, it became possible to buy accessories for the Meta Quest 3S, just not officially licensed ones. Chinese sites have already started selling protective covers for the headset with the new camera positions cut out.
These same stores are also listing existing Quest 3 headbands as compatible with the Quest 3S. While the headband positioning and design are unlikely to change based on what I’ve seen of the leaks up to now, it’s still subject to confirmation from Meta.
Whether you’re a fan of the Meta Quest 3S design or not, the concept behind it is solid. It is set to be a less powerful headset, cutting the initial cost of getting into VR without sacrificing a ton of quality. It’s also rumored that a big part of the cost-cutting will include selling the headset without any controllers, instead relying on the improvements to hand tracking that have been made since the Quest 3 release.
If you’re wondering what experience to tackle next in VR, check out the best VR games, or more specifically, the best Meta Quest 3 games, for some inspiration.
