Also notably changing from second to third-generation Quest headsets are each temple’s built-in speakers. The Quest 2 has one speaker per temple, whereas the Quest 3 has two — each positioned to deliver immersive 3D audio at 40% louder volume.

A new leak indicates that a new Meta Quest virtual reality headset is about to release, and at a considerably lower price than the Meta Quest 3.

The headset boasted a sleeker, more comfortable design, as well as new AR capabilities, that made it more appealing than its predecessor. Once again, for Meta Connect 2024, the social media giant is expected to drop a new VR headset, but it's not necessarily an upgrade over the Quest 3.

Meta is widely expected to reveal the Quest 3S headset next week during the Meta Connect event. The company aims to introduce a new headset with mixed reality capabilities similar to Quest 3, but at a cheaper price.

Meta’s developer conference may bring a dash of new Quest VR hardware, mixed reality experiences, and a truckload of AI software news — here’s how to watch it.

We see a controller that looks to be the same Touch Plus controller that is available with the Quest 3. It has been suggested that Meta might not ship the headset with the controllers to get to a lower price at retail, but based on this leak, it may come with the Touch Plus controller.

The Meta Quest 3 is currently Meta's best VR headset and it's clearest strength is its software support via Horizon OS. That's not to say the hardware is anything to sniff at mind with good full-color passthrough, and a Snapdragon XR 2 Gen 2 chipset that can handle the XR challenges you throw at it. It's also the cheaper of the two headsets.

Official channels have remained silent, but Meta’s next VR headset is still expected by 2026, possibly in more than one flavor