The first hint of that is the headset’s Fresnel lenses, which iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari writes in a blog post are “100% compatible” with those used by the Quest 2. The headset has the older headset’s IPD adjustment mechanism, as well; and it shares the same single LCD panel, rather than using one panel per eye, like the Meta Quest 3.

The Quest 3S was expected by many to simply be a budget version of the Quest 3, but it appears what Meta has done instead is co-opt in a bunch of (perfectly decent) components from the Meta Quest 2—in combination with a dash of the improvements from the Quest 3—to make a VR headset that sits somewhere between the two.

FixIt's Shahram Mokhtari took a peek inside the Meta Quest 3S, the cheaper (but not very) alternative to the Meta Quest 3.

Significant visual and comfort compromises make last year's Quest 3 a better VR investment. It's been just over two years now since soon-to-depart CTO John Carmack told a Meta Connect audience about his vision for a super low-end VR headset that came in at $250 and 250 grams.

Meta's Quest 3S blends Quest 2 hardware with Quest 3 performance, offering an affordable yet powerful VR experience.

As part of our initial Quest 3S testing, we checked how long the Quest 3S will last. Thankfully, it appears Meta was honest when it gave its battery life estimate.