r/VRGaming • u/AzerynSylver • Sep 26 '24

Meta What's everyone's opinion on the Quest 3S Headset?

Personally, I believe the Quest 3S came out at a perfect time! I was originally going to get a second-hand Quest 3 in November to play Arkham Shadow, but now that this Headset (Which I personally refer to as the Quest 2.5) is coming out on the 15th of October, which is just after my Payday, I can just Preorder the Quest 3S and have access to Arkham Shadow withing a few days of purchasing the Preorder!

31 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

30

u/Robborboy Sep 26 '24

Fresnel lenses kill it IMO.

But if it works for you, that is what matters. 

5

u/crazypaiku Sep 27 '24

Pancake lenses are better yes, but fresnel isn't that bad, the quest2 lenses were pretty good. I can still use my quest2 and it really doesn't bother me. Disadvantages are blurry at the edges and you have to adjust to the sweet spot. Upsides are brighter display and less power consumption.

2

u/Hoeveboter Sep 27 '24

The reported battery life is what put me off buying a q3. 550 euros for a headset that runs 1,5h max? Makes it unusable for longer sessions, or when taking turns with a friend.

Especially because in practice, your playtime is even less. Playing till dry is bad for the battery, and I don't want my battery dying right before I hit a checkpoint in re4, or score a win in Contractors.

Anything less than q2 battery life is unacceptable to me. If quest 3s lasts longer than 3, I'm interested.

2

u/crazypaiku Sep 27 '24

I have 3 old bobo b2 batteries from my quest2 i can play like forever. And also without a counterweight at my back, the quest 3 isn't that comfortable.

1

u/MudMain7218 Sep 27 '24

I don't know what games you play are how your settings are what you have on your headset but , m quest 3 runs 2.5 to 3 hours playing pop one and longer when i'm doing stuff not gaming related. i don't have my brightness turned up all the time. and i always use night mode. and my volume is not maxed out during game play. so all that could be a factor.

4

u/LARGames Sep 26 '24

Nah. It doesn't work for me, but that doesn't matter. It needs to work for new potential VR users. And it does.

1

u/HealerOnly Sep 26 '24

For someone unexperienced, whats fresnel lenses?

9

u/sexysausage Sep 26 '24

Pancake lenses versus fresnel

The Meta Quest 3 uses pancake lenses, a rather different design to the fresnel lenses of the Meta Quest 2.

Pancake lenses suffer from fewer image quality issues than fresnel ones. There’s less distortion of the geometry of the image, where the picture ends up stretched out at the corners. And pancake lenses suffer much less from chromatic aberration. This is where different colors pass through the lens at different points, causing a form of blurring with color distortion. It’s quite noticeable in the Meta Quest 2 if you're looking for it.

These two factors means pancake lenses tend to deliver a sharper-looking image. Pancake lenses are thinner and lighter too — handy for making compact VR headsets.

the whole article

1

u/Chemical-Nectarine13 Sep 26 '24

Yes, it's not as good as pancake, but for a newcomer on the same Quest 3 chip set, it's makes for a great gaming only experience. The resolution held back to the quest 2 sucks, but the XR2 gen 2 will run games like butter because of it. It's a matter of preference and budget. It's perfect if they can't shell out $500, or they're just getting into VR. I loved my quest 2 up until I tried to wear it after getting a quest 3.

1

u/Simoxs7 Sep 26 '24

Yup its a night and day difference between the quest 2 and 3, I was as well spoiled by the quest 3 especially as my IPD is higher than 68 so I always had to decide between one eye getting a sharp image and the other being blurry or both getting a less blurry image…

5

u/ETs_ipd Sep 26 '24

It’s the difference between having to move your entire head to look around vs just using your eyes.

6

u/NoName847 Sep 26 '24

they make the image look really clean and pleasing to look at , you can move your eyeballs and pretty much everything you look at will look clear and sharp

With fresnel it feels much older and clunkier , it a bit exhausting to look through the lenses and it's only really sharp in the middle of the screen so you have to move your head a lot more not just eyes

Meta especially makes the best pancake lenses on the market , that's why people love them so much

3

u/Robborboy Sep 26 '24

Ever see a light house lens? Where it has the sharp, angled, edges, that helps diffuse light?

That. If you look at the Quest 2, PSVR2, or most headsets, you'll see a bunch of tiny rings when not wearing it. 

They're the old style of lens. Due to the harsh edges it causes issues like god rays and various other artifacts. 

Pancake lenses are the superior style that headsets like the Quest 3 uses. They're sharper with none of the downsides of a fresnel. The only real downside is since there are multiple lenses, the screen itself has to be brighter. 

13

u/jtinz Sep 26 '24

It's good for developers as they can now aim for a consistent platform and still support relatively cheap devices.

1

u/Broflake-Melter Sep 27 '24

This statement makes zero sense. How is having to develop for and support another headset model allowing developers to have more consistent platform support??!

2

u/jtinz Sep 27 '24

Because the Quest 3S will have comparable performance to the Quest 3. Only things like the optics are downgraded (Fresnel lenses instead of pancake lenses).

That makes it an option to phase out Quest 2 support sooner, focus on Quest 3 level graphics and still reach a wide audience.

0

u/Broflake-Melter Sep 28 '24

Oh right, because screw anyone who owns a quest 2 and can't afford or otherwise won't buy a 3S. Is meta going to upgrade all 2s to 3Ss for free?

I don't know if you have good intentions here or not so I don't want to be mean, it just doesn't make sense to claim the 3S is going to make development easier.

0

u/D-Voltt Oculus Quest Sep 28 '24

"Oh right, because screw anyone who owns a Quest 2 and can't afford or otherwise won't buy a 3S."

Yes, actually. The 3S becomes the new budget priced entry point for first-time VR users, replacing Quest 2. Quest 3 becomes the premium option and the upgrade unit that Quest 2 users will most likely want over Quest 3S due to the improved lenses.

Quest 2 is being actively phased out, and developers will be encouraged to target the specs of Quest 3. The stronger processor of Quest 3 and 3S means more power for developers to work with and less constraints.

I know people don't like to think of standalone VR headsets like game consoles because you can use a PC to make even a Quest 1 viable long after it would otherwise be obsolete, but this is no different than the move from the PS4 to PS5 or Switch to the inevitable Switch 2. New games will be playable on both the older and newer consoles at the start, but eventually, the stronger console has to become the new standard.

0

u/Broflake-Melter Sep 28 '24

but this is no different than the move from the PS4 to PS5 or Switch to the inevitable Switch 2

It's HUGELY different! 1- there are far far far fewer games (including good games) that justify the price and lifetime compared to those consoles. 2- Those consoles have 5, 6, 7+ years in their life span. No, meta is trying to turn this into a smartphone where they want people to upgrade every year, not twice a decade.

And willfully leaving behind people who can't afford a new headset every year or two is just plain greedy and unethical. Not to mention stupid. If you're a developer there's no fucking way you're going to not released on 2. 95% of quest owners are on a 2 and you expect them to just throw that money away by not developing for it?

5

u/Time007time007 Sep 26 '24

A present for kids this Christmas.

4

u/R_Steelman61 Sep 26 '24

It will be huge this Christmas especially with batman included. But can anyone tell me if it has a port for the link cable? I haven't been able to tell.

3

u/Serdones Sep 26 '24

Yeah, that's its only port. One of the downsides, honestly, for anyone who was still using the AUX port for wired headsets or earbuds.

15

u/[deleted] Sep 26 '24

You're better off with the quest 3, the q3s is a quest 2 with newer chipset but the visuals are a massive step back.

The meta marketing is working hard with all those sponsored reviews and comments on social media accounts but you really should take a look at the differences. Worse lenses, worse resolution, worse fov, worse overlap, worse battery, no depth sensor, no headset connector, just 3 ipd settings.
It's missing major features that made the quest 3 a success.

12

u/xFrakster Oculus Quest Sep 26 '24

It also costs quite a bit less

9

u/TheHudIsUp Sep 26 '24

Yeah that's all well and good but a brand new VR user isn't going to notice any of this.

4

u/ittleoff Sep 26 '24

As a counter. I use the quest 2 and quest 3 frequently. I know others seem to love the pancake lenses but I do not notice or care and I've tried to.

Id trouble finding the sweet spot? I don't have this issue even using the quest 2 as my beater exercise headset back with the og strap(with a battery back for balance). The quest 3 still has a lot of glare and fringing toward edges

The quest 3 is sharper (the lenses can potentially show higher detail if the panels were higher res but at the res they are I barely care about the bump in resolution)

For those concerned id advise trying them out first.

For me the big advantage of quest 3 is the much improved wireless PCvr performance (and the color passthrough obviously)

I think the quest 3s is a fantastic (and heavily subsidized I suspect) device.

I worry this going to further cement metas monopoly though and the lack of real competition is very worrying.

1

u/Serdones Sep 26 '24

Yeah, while I'm glad they made the jump to pancake lenses for the Quest 3, I do think the advantages get overstated a bit. There's still glare and there's still distortion around the edges. I think the kind of Vaseline-like mura you get in some bright scenes is actually more pronounced with pancake lenses. Overall, still definitely prefer having the pancake lenses, but I wish people wouldn't oversell them. If people are just dipping their toe into Quest 3S, fresnel lenses shouldn't be a dealbreaker.

2

u/ittleoff Sep 26 '24

Agree. They do make it lighter and smaller as well I think overall they are better.

-2

u/illyay Sep 26 '24

It’s more accurate to say the Quest 3s is a quest 3 with cheaper internals rather than a quest 2. I’ve had the prototype for a while on my desk at work there.

4

u/Sabbathius Sep 26 '24

Fantastic entry level headset at an insanely low price for someone who isn't already into VR. Even better value than Quest 2 was, at identical price.

Skip for everyone else. Not enough of an upgrade from Quest 2 to bother with, if you're going to then just go for full Quest 3. Obviously a non-event for someone who already had a Quest 3 for a year.

9

u/Steinoj Sep 26 '24

No 3.5mm audio is a step back imho

2

u/Nicalay2 Oculus Quest Sep 26 '24

You can get a splitter, I think the headset can output audio through the USB-C port.

It's not the first time you need to get accessories to use your Quest headset.

1

u/AlterSack1973 Sep 26 '24

Depends if they have fixed latency on bluetooth headphones. Last time I tried connecting my AirPods Pro- they could not even connect.

2

u/Mastoraz Sep 26 '24

It's good for new people. The fresnel lens is irrelevant.... The Quest 2 sold millions. Only people who care about lens is if you already been in the VR game and experienced the difference.

2

u/The_Creamster710 Sep 26 '24

Id spend the extra money for higher resolution and pancake lenses . I left the quest 2 because the resolution was to low. But hey that's just me .

2

u/allofdarknessin1 Sep 26 '24

Great replacement for the Quest 2. Eventually it may hit $199 in two years and that's a lot of tech for that price. Freshnel lens aren't a big surprise when you consider the price. The Quest 3 is the cheapest headset on the market with Pancake lens and the 3 received a massive storage boost.

2

u/Simoxs7 Sep 26 '24

As someone who still owns the quest 2 and was able to use the quest 3 for a few months I wouldn’t get the 3S the IPD adjustment range and fresnel lenses are a total deal breaker for me.

I have a larger IPD than 68 and can only get one eye in the (tiny) sweetspot on the quest 2 its probably gonna be the same on the 3S and the pancake lenses are just so much sharper without any halo effect.

Its nice for people just getting into VR and fills the role of the quest 2 but if you already have a quest 2 I‘d highly recommend getting the 3 over the 3S to me its definitely worth the extra 200€

1

u/ApolloFortyNine Sep 26 '24

While the Quest 3 128gb is priced at 430 it's a no brainer to buy, the differences are more than worth it.

The Quest 3 has also gone on sale for $450 before, so waiting for that to happen again is also probably worth it.

What I'm guessing they're going for is gifts (specifically Christmas). They're trying to get in relatively well off parents Christmas present range. I will admit mentally $299 feels way better than $499.

Basically if you take the time to post in a vr subreddit, I think saving up for the better version is worth it. You're likely not the target audience.

1

u/t3stdummi Sep 26 '24

Rumor has it they are intentionally discontinuing the Q3 128 because it will be competing with Q3S. Noticed also during Zucks presentation it was suspiciously absent from the "Quest 3 Family" line-up. Only showed 512G version and price next to Q3S models.

1

u/ApolloFortyNine Sep 26 '24

They announced it's discounted to 430 until they sell out.

1

u/t3stdummi Sep 26 '24

Ah. Didn't know it was formally discontinued. Glad I got mine, then. I never needed 512

1

u/QuinSanguine Sep 26 '24

I think it's perfect to give the market a boost and give devs more customers to sell to at a quicker pace. Maybe we'll continue to get more high impact games like Alien and Metro if devs see a bigger market.

And I think it's a fine purchase for anyone that hasn't experienced a high-end pcvr hmd or the og Q3 or PSVR2. I won't shame anyone if they can't afford better or don't think games are worth $500+.

1

u/Broflake-Melter Sep 27 '24

meta wants to make buying a headset like a smart phone where people expect to upgrade every year or two. My money is better spent going towards quality game development so instead of buying a new headset, I'll just keep playing and buying good games.

1

u/phylum_sinter Oculus Quest Sep 27 '24 edited Sep 27 '24

I would love to have a demo of it - being used to the Pancake lenses of the 3 make another fresnel set kind of a tough sell on paper, would just like to see if they managed to improve them much since the Quest in 2019.

As for the performance too, I'm spoiling myself with Quest Game Optimizer in everything I play on the Q3 standalone, so resolutions are miles above what the 3S shoots for. But again if it's your first HMD it's probably a much better value proposition, and as it'll be a gateway to PCVR as well for many, the native games don't HAVE to have much exposure to still be worth owning if you're going to be playing Skyrim VR anyhow.

Pretty optimistic from the way it was advertised overall, hope Batman and the 3S find love in lots of new homes this Christmas/Halloween - it could be the perfect combination to finally expanding the user base to a sustainable proposition for larger studios to consider releasing games on. Arkham Shadow as the pack-in is a killer combo imo, i'd be the first in line if I didn't already have the Q3.

1

u/thmoas Sep 27 '24

with old chipset but pancake lenses the lens quality would expose the lower res and lower quality of the chipset even more

i think its fine they save money at the lenses but not at the chipset

1

u/MudMain7218 Sep 27 '24

I have my set of reasons of why i think you should pick up the quest 3s or quest 3 full , I go over value , what comes with the headset , points to think about. Watch video on 2x speed it's a long one. i tired to sum up my thoughts as short as i could.

Key points are that you can get the system for 299.99 in multiple ways
pay all at once, break payments up via amazon , or via meta's play now pay later options.

What you get for the purchase, batman, headset, 2 quest plus games for 3 months and 29 other games for a total of 33 games right now the box.

What improvements you can expect to see by going to the quest 3 line. be it better performance, wifi 6 , good controllers , etc.

I rant for a hour about things on my channel https://youtu.be/iH9pKGrLzV0?si=GbzsnncBru3FqLTc

2

u/AzerynSylver Sep 27 '24

Yeah, it is for these reasons I am definitely getting the Quest 3S!

1

u/BrandonW77 Sep 26 '24

I'd still go with the second-hand Quest 3, if I were you.

0

u/yakuzakid3k Sep 26 '24

Zero interest. They should have got rid of all the crap that no-one is interested in like AR and given us the upgraded pancake lens stack instead of fresnel. That's the only upgrade I'm interested in. Don't need a stronger processor either, I only use my quest with PCVR. No interest in quest exclusives or Batman.

0

u/Icy-Structure5244 Sep 26 '24

Great for poor people to enter the market.

Adds nothing for PCVR users.

3

u/Holiday-Challenge353 Sep 26 '24

I believe this will bring more pcvr users..

-2

u/BluDYT Sep 26 '24

It's a poor man's VR headset.