Meta Quest 3S Pre-Order Guide: Price, Release Date, and Availability

Meta is launching a new entry-level version of its flagship virtual reality headset in time for the holidays, with pre-sales starting today (September 25).

Unveiled Wednesday at the company’s Connect developer conference, the upcoming Meta Quest 3S is nearly identical to the Meta Quest 3 save for a few small improvements — and a $200 lower price tag.

• The Quest 3S has a display with a resolution of 1832 x 1920, 773 pixels per inch (ppi) and 20 pixels per degree (ppd), while the Quest 3 has a display with a resolution of 2064 x 2208, 1218 ppi and 25 ppd.

• The Quest 3S uses Fresnel lenses instead of pancake lenses.

• The Quest 3S has a smaller field of view (FOV) of 96 degrees horizontal / 90 degrees vertical instead of 110 degrees horizontal / 96 degrees vertical.

The Quest 3S is available for pre-order on Meta’s website ahead of its official launch on Tuesday, October 15. Pricing starts at $299.99 for 128GB of storage — upgradable to 256GB for $399.99 — and the device comes with two extras: a three-month trial of Meta Quest+ and a copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow.

“The Quest 3S is the ultimate headset for those new to mixed reality and immersive experiences, or for those waiting for an affordable upgrade from the Quest and Quest 2,” Meta said in a press release.

Meta also announced a price adjustment for the standard Quest 3 as part of its presentation. The 512GB model is now priced at $499.99, down $150 from its original launch price. (The base 128GB configuration was no longer available on Meta’s site at the time of writing.)

As TechCrunch reports, the launch of the Quest 3S also marks the end of production of Meta’s Quest 2 in 2020 and the Quest Pro in 2022.

This story is developing.