Video ID: KswK75_Bu88
YouTube URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KswK75_Bu88
Added At: 13-06-25 21:17:20
Processed: No
Sentiment: Neutral
Categories: Tech
Tags: VR, Meta Quest, Headset Comparison
Summary
The video compares the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3s headsets, discussing their similarities and differences. The Quest 3 is more expensive but has better visual quality with a larger field of view and reduced aliasing. The Quest 3s has improved low-light tracking performance. The video concludes that the Quest 3 is the better buy despite its higher price.
Transcript
two headsets oh but you've only got one face H this is the quest 3 met his Flagship Masterpiece launched in October 2023 it set a new bar for Standalone VR it's sharper smarter for a year it stood unchallenged as the king of consumer VR then came the quest 3s released in October 2024 as meta's budget friendly Gateway to VR a quest 3 simplified stripped down and priced to lure as many users as possible into the metaverse let's pit them head-to-head so you can decide which deserves a spot on yours and I'll show you why I think the quest 3 is the better buy even if the price seems Out Of Reach while they look different at their core the quest 3 and the quest 3s are basically twin both are powered by the Snapdragon xr2 Gen 2 chipset paired with 8 GB of RAM Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5 they operate on the same software have access to the same apps in games receive the same updates and support all the standout features of meta's ecosystem like hand tracking upper body tracking room scale mapping virtual windows and more even their camera arrays are identical they use the same touch plus controllers have the same stems and speakers for spatial audio and offer roughly the same 2 and 1 half hour battery life put simply the core experience is the same and the quest 3s is capable of nearly everything that the quest 3 can do yet the quest 3 is 6 67% more expensive the quest 3s starts at just 299 USD for the 128 GB model while the quest 3 clocks in at 499 USD that's a $200 difference a large gap for two headsets that on paper seem nearly identical and admittedly at only $299 the quest 3s is an unbelievably good value it's an amazing piece of tech and at this price point it sets a new Benchmark for what entry level can deliver liver making Cutting Edge VR more accessible than ever but saving a few bucks here might cost you more than you realize visual quality for one is where the quest 3 and the quest 3s part ways dramatically and is the primary reason for their price disparity the quest 3s recycles the optical stack from The Quest 2 you can literally transplant the lenses in screen from one into the other while this level of compatibility keeps the cost down it also means that the quest 3s inherits all the same visual short shortcomings that plagued the previous generation the quest 3s uses frenel lenses which are notorious for their frustratingly narrow sweet spot a tiny area in the center where the image looks sharp your pupil needs to stay aligned with it at all times stray even slightly outside this Zone and you're met with blurry text and smeared pixels it becomes a chore to constantly readjust the headset to maintain a clear image the quest 3's pancake lenses solve this frustration by providing a more expansive sweet spot that delivers consistent sharpness across the a larger area it's a much more forgiving visual experience that requires less fiddling another standout Improvement for the quest 3 is the enhanced edget to Edge Clarity the image remains crisp no matter where your eyes wander you can glance around to read heads up displays or UI elements at the edges of your view without having to move your head and distant objects in your periphery always remain sharp this is practically non-existent on the quest 3s as your gaze moves away from the center of the display image Clarity deteriorates rapidly turning into a blurry smudged mess this forces you to swivel your entire head to focus on anything off center effectively turning you into a human owl now this isn't to suggest that the quest 3's pancake lenses are flawless they do have some vignetting where the image gets dark as your eyes get closer towards the edges and there's still some fall off where things get blurry and that last like 1 to 2 mm the quest 3s is also plagued by excessive glare and visual artifacts bright light sources scatter inside the Fel lenses creating glowing Halos that ruin the image single points of light can create God rays that streak across the lenses like high beams on a foggy morning the quri's pancake lenses drastically reduce these distortions and provide a much cleaner image light streaks and God rays are virtually eliminated and while glare still exists it's greatly reduced and is only truly bothersome in high contrast scenes like white text on a black background one downside unique to the quest 3 is another artifact called the mura which manifest as faint blotches almost as if there's dirt on the back of the lenses that makes parts of the image slightly darker while it's subtle and imperceptible during typical use because your ey's focal point is far beyond it it becomes obvious in bright evenly lit scenes the quest 3s features a single LCD panel shared between both eyes with a resolution of 1832 by1 1920 per eye the quest 3 is upgraded with dual LCD panels with each eye getting its own display at a resolution of 2064 by 2208 that's a 30% increase in pixel density over the quest 3s which feels even greater thanks to the pancake lenses both headsets displays support a 120 HZ refresh rate but the quest 3 screens are angled within the stack to provide a slightly larger field of view at 110° horizontal and 96° vertical while the difference here is subtle the larger field of view does contribute to a more immersive experience by allowing you to see more in your periphery the quest 3's angled screens however do have a major trade-off for that increased field of view and that's in the form of aliasing straight lines and edges like those that make up virtual windows can appear Jagged because they're being rendered diagonally across your field of view in games you'll notice it on the edges of buildings and horizontal fences but it's most problematic when trying to read text for an extended period of time and I find that it causes a lot of eye strain the quest 3s renders straight lines and edges much cleaner like you would expect to see them because these screen pixels are perpendicular to your perspective both headsets exhibit screen door effect a result of seeing gaps between the rows of pixels on the display that makes it seem like you're peering through a mesh screen screen door effect is still slightly worse on the quest 3s but in either case your brain quickly fills in the gaps forell lenses were an important stepping stone for VR and there's no denying that meta built an entire platform on them but it's difficult to recommend a headset built around aged technology with this many flaws the quest 3's Optical stack sets a new standard for visual Clarity in the sub $1,000 category delivering a more detailed Sharper Image the quest 3s simply can't match there's a reason pancake lenses are becoming a gold standard in the industry they're featured in Flagship devices like the Apple Vision Pro and are headlining nearly every nextg headset on the horizon the quest 3 and 3s share the same core camera array for tracking two forward- facing IR cameras and one on each side of the headset which work together to track the headset's position the controllers and your hands and two 4 megapixel RGB cameras for mixed reality pass through where the newer 3s finally pulls ahead with an upgrade is the addition of two flood IR illuminators positioned beside the forward- facing cameras these emitters flood your surround ings with infrared light in significantly improve head and hand tracking performance and low light condition including in complete darkness trying to get handsy in the dark with the quest 3 will result in a complete loss of tracking accompanied by a disruptive warning message that minimizes your video I mean game to tell you that your surroundings are too dark to function this is a clear Advantage for the quest 3s and it's good to see Meta building it into the headsets but the quest 3 isn't out of the running because this functionality is easily matched with existing information red attachments controller tracking is effectively the same on both headsets because the controllers use built-in IR LEDs for positional tracking but the 3s should still have the slight upper hand in low light when a controller's tracking ring is excluded from the cameras both headsets fall back to hand tracking to a proximate the controller's position the quest 3s also introduces a flicker sensor to detect and match the frequency of your home's lighting potentially reducing display flickering by syncing pass through cameras and Screen refresh rates on the flip side the 3s loses the quest depth sensor or more accurately depth projector which projects IR lines onto objects for the cameras to create a 3D map of your environment during room scale boundary and spatial setup scanning the 3s instead relies entirely on software-based depth mapping the quest 3 is definitely more accurate when detecting depth like wallmounted objects for example and with a higher mesh resolution but that doesn't seem to translate to any major practical advantage in mixed reality the quest 3s also lacks a proximity sensor on the inside of the headset which the quest 3 uses to detect when it's being worn to automatically turn off the screens for power saving and Longevity again the quest 3s relies on a software based timer that activates when the gyroscope detects inactivity which does a fine job and I believe the quest 3 has the same software-based timeout in the event the proximity sensor is disabled ultimately the quest 3s comes out ahead here with the most significant Improvement being its lowlight tracking performance which offers tangible benefits for users who frequently use hand tracking in dark environments likely the most offending on this list of differences is the loss of a headphone jack on the quest 3s it's like the Samsung and Apple Fiasco all over again and I don't know how many more times my heart can endure a breaking Bluetooth audio in quest headsets suffer from immersion breaking levels of audio delay and while latency can be adjusted in some Media Player apps it's not a universal feature and most experiences are tainted with audio desync meta promises improvements are coming at an undisclosed time in 2025 when they update to Android 14 but we don't yet know how meaningful that will be and until until then your choices aren't ideal you either endure the delay which is not good for gaming or immersive experiences use USBC headphones which means sacrificing the ability to charge while playing or you dish out more money for third party accessory I'm totally biased on this one as I prefer using wired IMS and virtual experiences and the lack of a headphone jack just feels like a goofy emission that reduces a user's options the quest 3s gains a practical feature that I wish the quest 3 had and that's the action button which is located on the bottom edge of the headset and allows you to easily toggle between virtual and mixed reality views the quest 3 is limited to an awkward double tap gesture where you tap on the headset twice to toggle in and out it was a neat futuristic idea but it's prone to misfires as adjusting the headset or making sudden movements often triggers it unintentionally or when you want it to work it just doesn't the quest 3s retains this double tap feature for those that enjoy it and actually seems to improve it and my testing it seems more responsive and reliable than the quest 3s both heads headsets allow you to toggle pass through through a virtual button in the software the physical button on the quest 3 is just super practical the quest 3s uses the old three-step focal point system with fixed presets at 58 mm 63 mm and 68 mm but if your ipd Falls outside these ranges or outside the min max then you're likely to experience image Distortion eye strain headaches and so on the quest 3 features a precision adjustment wheel on the bottom edge of the headset which allows for submillimeter fine-tuning the quest 3 has three microphones two for voice hidden inside each side of the nose bridge and a noise cancelling mic on the face of the headset the 3s has two microphones placed visibly on the bottom of the headset diagonal from one another and seem to be linked in tandem for noise cancelling both are perfectly adequate for socializing I've never had anyone complain that I sound bad and the meta AI assistant can hear your commands equally well both headsets charge via USBC on the left stem but the quest three includes additional contact pads on the bottom Edge for use with charging docks while this may be a quality of life feature for some it feels unnecessary especially due to all the third party accessories available the quest 3s does not have these pads but it doesn't feel like a loss because most people never use them storage capacity might not be the sexiest aspect of a device but take it for me it can quickly become the most frustrating if you make the wrong choice the quest 3 comes with 512 GB of storage four times more than the 128 GB Quest 3s when I first got this 128 GB Quest 3 which is now discontinued I thought oh I'll just uninstall games when I'm done playing and technically you can but it's far more frustrating in practice than I expected for a recent example both headsets at the time of this video come bundled with the Batman Arkham Shadow game which requires 20 GB of space between just two AAA games which range from 20 to 40 GB a handful of smaller games and utility apps which range from 2 to 10 GB a piece a single movie and some screen recordings I was maxed out even after clearing out all the stuff I don't use regularly I still didn't have enough room and I had to delete a game that I was actively testing for an upcoming battery strap comparison video be sure to subscribe below if you're interested in seeing that video when it drops the operating system and default apps alone takes up 20 gbt leaving you with just over 100 GB of usable space on the 3s meta clearly recognizes this limitation and they're leveraging it by nudging you up the ladder towards the higher storage models it's why there wasn't a 256 GB Quest 3 at launch and why the 256 GB Quest 3s exists now at 399 USD you're spending $100 more for a worse cost per gigabyte value but for just $100 more you can get the $52 GB Quest 3 which offers significantly more storage and all of the additional upgrades that I'm covering in this video making the 256 GB Quest 3s the worst purchase you can make of the three the quest 3s houses a smaller battery at 4324 milliamp hours or 17 wat hours compared to the quest 3's 4879 milliamp hours or 19 wat hours yet both headsets are rated for roughly the same 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours of use this parity is due to the 3s is lower resolution screen which consumes less power the weight difference between the two is negligible 462 G for the quest 3 without its headstrap versus 456 g for the 3s the quest 3's 11 mm Slimmer profile from the center face plate to the lenses creates a more grounded head field and its contoured facial interface reduces pressure points and evenly distributes weight across your face over the 3s is boxier design which tends to feel heavier and less stable kind of like it's pulling forward the 3s is facial interface also lets in significantly more light around the nose Bridge about three times as much as the quest 3 I typically don't mind a nose Gap as it allows me to quickly peek at the ground to reorient myself IRL without having to swap to the pass through cameras but the 3s lets in enough light to both light up the inside of the headset and create glare and Reflections on the lenses the quest 3's facial interface has a four-stage depth adjustment to fit different sizes of glasses and ensures your eyes are always as close as possible to the lenses the quest 3 doesn't seem to accompany glasses in the default configuration and includes a one-size spacer attachment that can fit smaller pairs like the Quest 2 both headset ship with the same wide design fabric headstrap which relies on tension to secure the headset against your face many users actively curse this thing like it murdered their family admittedly it can get uncomfortable during play sessions over an hour fortunately thirdparty headstraps are widely available and compatible with with both headsets thanks to their identical stem and loop designs I'll drop links to all the accessories I use in the description below if you're interested these are accessories I've personally chosen purchased and tested AKA not sponsored so here's what we've got in Philly D style met his Precision the quest 3s is the headset for everyone priced at$ 299 USD to onboard as many people into the ecosystem as they can the quest re is being pushed as the Enthusiast level headset for those that want the premium experience at $200 more and despite the price Gap the majority of the internals are the same and the ecosystem is shares so someone with the 3s can have all the same core experiences as someone with the quest 3 yet I still don't think it's worth buying a quest 3s the quest 3 pulls too far ahead where it matters visual Clarity sharpness and overall quality versus the 3s which feels like looking through the bottom of a glass bottle I literally will not go back to Fel lenses it's a dying stack and there's a reason all new headsets on the horizon are foregoing them and if you think you can't afford a quest 3 you're probably wrong on eBay brand new 128 GB units are going for $350 USD only $50 more than the 28 GB 3s and 512 GB Quest 3s are selling for only $399 the equivalent of a 256 GB Quest 3s used headsets in local marketplaces are even lower even officially refurbished 128 GB models have been on sale for months at Amazon and meta for 379 USD that's just $80 more than a brand new Quest 3s for over five times the visual Clarity it's a no-brainer in any one of those scenarios the only scenario in which I'd recommend a 3s is if you literally do not have another option meaning if it boils down to a brand new Quest 3s versus no VR headset at all say if it's a gift for someone or you're not comfortable buying used then get the 3s it's price for the package as a whole provides so much value per dollar that the lenses are still good enough to enjoy VR especially if you haven't looked through the upgraded lenses I don't recommend falling back to the Quest 2 unless you just want to see what VR is all about for the lowest B possible while you can find one for only like a 100 bucks now newer games have already gone exclusive to the quest 3 Series because the Quest 2 Hardware can't run them without dropping to sub 30 frames per second I hope that helps hit the like button below if it did otherwise let me know how much you hate me in the comments below because you already purchased a 3s