The Meta Quest 3S, a standalone virtual reality headset, has seen its price drop back to its original MSRP thanks to a Prime Day deal. This reduction addresses the price increase that affected the headset earlier this year, which was attributed to memory cost issues impacting various PC gaming and VR hardware components.
Meta had raised the prices of both the Quest 3 and Quest 3S to $600 and $350 respectively. The recent discount at Amazon, and similarly at Best Buy, brings the Quest 3S closer to its initial suggested retail price of $297. While this restores the headset to its prior cost, it's noted that the price should not have increased in the first place.
The Quest 3S features several upgrades over its predecessor, the Quest 2. A key improvement is the inclusion of the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor, the same chip found in the Quest 3. It also boasts 8 GB of RAM, enabling it to run the same internal games as the higher-end Quest 3 model. For users interested in PCVR, the headset can be connected to a PC via a USB Type-C cable.
Additional features of the Quest 3S include full-color passthrough for easier setup and inside-out tracking. These capabilities are designed to provide a solid virtual reality experience for newcomers to the technology. However, the headset utilizes Fresnel optics, which may be less desirable for experienced VR users who might prefer the pancake lenses and eye-tracking features found in more advanced models.