Next week's Meta Connect 2024 will see a host of announcements from the big Zuck, and we're expecting to see a lite version of the Meta Quest 3, already one of the best VR headsets.
With Meta's big event right around the corner, that doesn't mean the leaks stop, as new photos spotted by UploadVR give us the clearest look yet at the new headset. The images were found in the Virtual Reality channel of Arcalive, a South Korean version of Reddit.
The photos seem to confirm a few things about the Quest 3S, like the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack, but we can see at least one USB-C port on one side of the device. If there is only one port, it could preclude you from charging the headset if you want to connect wired audio.
It's an annoying fact of life with devices today; the Apple Vision Pro, for example, also does not feature a 3.5mm jack, and low latency audio is only really available using the Apple AirPods Pro 2 and potentially the just released AirPods 4.
In one of the images uploaded to the channel, we can see a regulatory label that reveals a 4324 mAh battery, which places it between the Quest 2 and Quest 3.
Because the Quest 3S is supposed to be the guts of a Quest 3 inside the body of a Quest 2, it's hard to tell if that means the lower capacity battery will mean battery life is equal to the Quest 3 or better than the older Quest 2.
The lenses look to be two clusters of three in the front of the device, more reminiscent of the Quest 2 versus the pill-shaped cutouts on the Quest 3. Allegedly, the cameras are fresnel lenses, supposedly more efficient than the pancake design on the Quest 2.
The straps appear to be the same Y-shape as the Quest 3.
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.
However, Meta has been adding more gesture controls to the headset recently, so the controllers might not be as necessary as they once were.
Previous rumors have suggested that Meta will sell the Quest 3S for around $300. The current Meta Quest 3 costs $499 for the 128GB model.
