Meta has expanded its range to include cheaper VR glasses. The Meta Quest 3S has everything like its bigger brother, but has to compromise on image quality.

Last year, Meta launched the Quest 3 mixed reality glasses during this period. You get a lot for your money, but at €549 you can hardly call it dirt cheap. If you are looking for a cheaper solution, you can now choose the Meta Quest 3S with a recommended retail price of 329 euros.

Despite the significant price difference, both mixed reality glasses are very similar. Both have the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip on board and cameras to enable color mixed reality.

What’s the big difference between the two? The most important thing is the image quality. While the Meta Quest 3 still had a high resolution of 2,064 x 2,208 pixels per eye, the Meta Quest 3S has 1,832 x 1,920 pixels. It’s no coincidence that this is the same resolution as Meta Quest 2, its predecessor without mixed reality.

The Meta Quest 3S also has slightly inferior lenses compared to the high-quality ones pancakeLenses in the Quest 3. The latter offer a larger sweet place and offer a wider field of vision.

You can pre-order now. The Meta Quest 3S is available from 329 euros with 128 GB of storage. The variant with 256 GB of storage costs 439 euros. Both prices include VAT. It is currently unclear whether the Quest 3S will also be included in a business program with extra support, as is the case with the Quest 3 today.

Orion prototype of AR glasses

In addition to the Meta Quest 3S, the Facebook owner is also announcing its “Orion” data glasses. These AR glasses show a very wide image in the real world using projectors in the frame. Where the Meta Quest mixed reality glasses show the world on a screen thanks to cameras, here you see the world through traditional glass glasses.

The result, which you can view in detail here, looks impressive from a technological perspective. The only downside: Meta has no plans to release it commercially today. According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, today’s price would be far too high. Meta made about a thousand copies for himself to further refine and demonstrate the technology.

It is no coincidence that Meta has extended its collaboration with Ray-Ban. The AR glasses fit perfectly into this plan. It is unclear when the further development of “Orion” will be commercially available. We assume that Meta will need a few more years to prepare everything.