what you need to know
- A leaked internal Meta demo suggests that Meta Quest 3 Lite will be called Meta Quest 3s.
- This budget headset features a unique front-facing camera array and a design similar to the Oculus Go.
- The headset is rumored to launch this year for $299 and use older Quest 2 lenses but a more powerful Quest 3 chipset.
We got our first look at a potential Meta Quest 3 Lite in a now-deleted Reddit post (reposted on X), revealing that Meta might call its new affordable VR headset Meta Quest 3s.
The naming convention is a bit strange, as many products use an “s” after the number to indicate a supercharged version of an existing product. However, the headset is rumored to be priced at just $299 when it launches later this year, helping to completely replace the Meta Quest 2 as the affordable VR headset.
The leak revealed that the headset’s design is thicker than the Meta Quest 3 – which is what we’d expect considering the Meta is likely still using the older Fresnel lenses from the Quest 2 to save costs – and flatter The design feels like it’s been borrowed from the classic Oculus Go headset. years ago.
Android Central has reached out to Meta about a potential Quest 3, but they didn’t get back to us in time for publication. We will update this article once we have more information.
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Notably, there appears to be only a power button and a volume rocker on the bottom of the headset. There’s no lens spacing adjustment slider or wheel visible, further suggesting that Meta may be using older lenses in this design.
Some have questioned the authenticity of the leak, citing the fact that the original post was suspiciously deleted from Reddit and that the leaker “forgot” to remove his face from the leaked presentation slides. The VR community was recently deceived by a fake Valve Prism announcement, posted on a website that looked genuine, but turned out to be an elaborate hoax for the standalone headset that Valve was rumored to be developing.
Regardless of whether this design is real or not, we are very confident that Meta will launch an affordable Quest 3 headset this year. It is said that after plans to partner with Tencent fell through and initial plans to launch only in China were scrapped, Meta was forced to launch the headset elsewhere in the world to replace the aging Quest 2 in the same price range.
Meta is said to be using the same powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 headset in the Meta Quest 3s as in the more expensive Meta Quest 3. The headset is said to continue to use color mixed reality, rather than blurry black and white video from the Quest 2’s camera.
Meta Quest 3 is a VR headset worth buying, with its powerful Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor, crystal-clear pancake lenses, gorgeous mixed reality gameplay, and thousands of VR games waiting to be played.