There’s strong evidence that Meta is preparing to release a cheaper alternative to Quest 3 to replace Quest 2 in its lineup.
Here’s why we’re almost certain this is happening, and everything we’ve heard so far about the upcoming headset, rumored to be called Quest 3 Lite or Quest 3S.
Quest 2 Is On The Way Out, And Meta Needs A Direct Replacement
Quest 2 launched at $100 lower than the original Oculus Quest, so Meta discontinued it immediately. Meta In April it even cut Quest 2 official accessory prices by more than 50% compared to their original prices.
In February, the higher storage 256GB model of Quest 2 just $200 and was delisted from all retailers, suggesting that production of at least that model has ended.
In recent weeks we’ve also seen the announcement of the first major VR games coming to Quest 3 but not Quest 2, including went out of stock completely from Survios and
Quest 2 Is Now Just $200
Quest 2’s official price has been cut again, now to just $200. And when bought from Walmart, it includes $50 Quest Store credit.
from Meta-owned studio Camouflaj.Alien: Rogue IncursionMeta’s continued cuts to Quest 2’s headset and accessory pricing, the disappearance of the 256GB model, and the announcement of a flagship first-party game not supporting it strongly suggest the headset is nearing the end of its time on the market.Batman: Arkham ShadowBut as it stands, if Quest 2 was off the market the entry price for the Meta Quest platform would become $500, the 128GB model of Quest 3. Thus to keep growing the VR market as fast as possible, Meta needs to ship a cheaper headset that can run the same content as Quest 3.
A Meta Roadmap Leak Confirmed A Cheaper Headset Coming This Year
Batman: Arkham Shadow Is The Biggest Quest 3 Exclusive Yet
Batman: Arkham Shadow is a brand new entry in the Arkham series, coming exclusively to Quest 3.
Back in March 2023, around ten months before Quest 3 shipped, an internal Meta VR and AR hardware roadmap meeting was leaked to The Verge.
As well as accurately describing
about Quest 3, which had not yet been announced at the time, and
, the leaked meeting revealed Meta also planned to ship a more “accessible” headset in 2024.detailsHere’s how Meta’s VP of VR Mark Rabkin described the headset in that leaked meeting:Quest Pro 2“The goal for this headset is very simple: pack the biggest punch we can at the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market.”
Meta Reportedly Plans Cheaper Headset For 2024
Quest 3 Lite? Quest Go? Meta plans a cheap “accessible” headset for 2024, according to a Meta roadmap leaked to The Verge.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman Described Its Appearance & Price
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has a strong track record of reliably reporting Meta and Apple’s hardware and software moves in advance. Mark The Note, however, that in recent months Mark Zuckerberg has praised Touch Plus controllers as a key reason
Quest 3 is superior to Apple Vision Pro.
A Chinese Analyst Claimed It Uses Fresnel Lenses With XR2 Gen 2
A week after Gurman’s report, a Chinese analyst who accurately reported details of Meta and Pico headsets in the past released reported about the headset.
The analyst was the first to report it will use the new he thinks chipset from Quest 3 but paired with the old fresnel lenses from Quest 2 to achieve a lower price.
He claimed the product may be named “Quest 3 Lite” and launch at somewhere between $200 and $300.
The Wall Street Journal his own claimsCorroborate
‘Quest 3 Lite’ Could Hit $200-300 Using Fresnel Lenses
Chinese analyst claims ‘Quest 3 Lite’ could launch in the first half of 2024 at $200. Read the claimed specs here:
d These SpecsSnapdragon XR2 Gen 2In November, The Wall Street Journal
that Meta plans to bring a cheaper version of Quest 3 to China via a deal with Tencent.
The deal with Tencent had previously by Chinese news outlet 36Kr and The Wall Street Journal itself, though in those previous reports the headset was reported to be Quest 2.The Wall Street Journal’s November report described this cheaper version of Quest 3 as using cheaper lenses than Quest 3 but a more powerful GPU than Quest 2, seemingly agreeing with the claims of the Chinese analyst.
Will It Support Color Mixed Reality?reportedGiven the reports so far, it seems clear that this cheaper headset will use the same
chipset as Quest 3 paired with the fresnel lenses. But what’s less clear is whether or not it will have Quest 3 style color passthrough.been reportedBy including the XR2 Gen 2 chipset, Meta will enable the cheaper Quest 3 to run the same VR content at the same quality level as the main Quest 3. There But if the cheaper Quest 3 didn’t have similar mixed reality capabilities, developers would have to treat it very differently if integrating mixed reality capabilities.
XR2 Gen 2: Quest 3’s New GPU More Than Twice As Powerful
Quest 3 is the first headset to feature Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset, with up to 2.5x more GPU performance and 8x AI performance. More details here:
Supporting the idea that the cheaper Quest 3 must include mixed reality, in January
at all future Quest headsets supporting mixed reality. Director of Engineering for XR Tech Paul Furgale said “after Quest 3, I’m convinced that Passthrough and MR will be a standard feature on all future headsets.”
While the dual 4-megapixel color cameras on Quest 3 may have some special properties such as a global shutter, it’s unlikely they are any significant expense. Sam Samulia previously discovered many of XR2 Gen 2 a year before it launched, as well as Quest 3’s
and
Best Mixed Reality Games & Apps On Quest 3 – Top MR Experiences To Try Right Now
Wondering which mixed reality games and apps are worth trying on Quest 3. Check out our list:
capabilities.a Meta engineering director seemed to directly hintFeature found in the Quest firmware by dataminer Samulia.
The reference to Panther was in a debug feature for “simulating” it on Quest 3 (which was codenamed Eureka). According Meta It In It Though it would likely be less accurate than Quest 3 and require you to get closer to each wall by walking near it, Meta may see these tradeoffs as acceptable for a markedly lower-cost device.
Summary (TL;DR)Quest Pro’s specsPutting the evidence all together, it’s likely Quest 2 production has ended and Meta is currently clearing out stock to prepare for the launch of a similarly priced direct replacement.resolutionThis replacement – whether called Quest 3 Lite, Quest 3S, or something else entirely – will seemingly feature the same 3D room meshing chipset as Quest 3 so it can run the same content at the same graphical fidelity, but use the old fresnel lenses from Quest 2 to achieve a price somewhere around $300.
Quest 3 Lite/S
Quest 3
Chipsetarea of rapid improvementSnapdragon
XR2
(7nm)
SnapdragonSnapdragon XR2 Gen 2XR2 Gen 2
| (4nm) | Snapdragon | XR2 Gen 2 | |
| (4nm) | Lenses Fresnel Fresnel |
Pancake Passthrough Very Low Res |
Black & White Decent Res? Color? |
| Decent Res | Color | Entry Price | Launch: $300 |
| Current: $200 | ~$300? $500 |
It may also support color mixed reality, but potentially with a slower and less accurate room setup process. In effect, this headset will be a cheaper Quest 3 with a bulkier design and inferior lens clarity. This This |