Rumor: Meta Quest 3 Lite Has Some Disappointing Specs and Design Choices

Highlights

• Meta Quest 3 Lite features may disappoint VR fans expecting significant upgrades over Quest 3.
• Leak reveals Meta Quest 3 Lite shares more similarities with Quest 2 than Quest 3 in design.
• New VR headset may serve as a middle ground between Quest 2 and 3, not offering the best of both.

VR fans who have been looking forward to the rumored release of the Meta Quest 3 Lite may end up being disappointed by some of its design choices. New information has leaked regarding the upcoming headset from Meta/Facebook, which has revealed how the headset will stand out among the Meta Quest 2 and 3.

Meta is largely leading the pack of virtual reality devices right now. Fans of devices like the Valve Index have been disappointed at the lack of follow-up to some of the older VR devices, while Meta has stormed ahead with multiple new headset designs, including all three standard Meta Quest headsets and the Meta Quest Pro. While Meta has struggled to turn a profit on its endeavors, the standalone VR headsets have become popular enough to rise to the top of Steam’s VR headset of choice among its users.

Now, technical specifics regarding the Meta Quest 3 Lite have leaked courtesy of Lunayian, and fans of the series of devices may be disappointed. Many were expecting that the Meta Quest 3 Lite would cut some of the features that made the Meta Quest 3 stand out, but many of the leaked design choices make the Meta Quest 3 Lite, aka the Meta Quest 3s, seem more like a new iteration of the Meta Quest 2, instead.

To start, the Meta Quest 3s and original Meta Quest 3 will have the same processor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2. The refresh rate looks to be about the same between the two headsets, with the new device coming in at 90Hz/120Hz, full color passthrough cameras, and the new device will utilize the same Touch Plus controllers as the Meta Quest 3. However, the remainder of the specifics are much closer to that of the Meta Quest 2.

The leak alleges that the resolution on the Meta Quest 3s’s lenses will drop from the original Meta Quest 3, from 2064×2208 to 1832×1920. The pancake lenses of the Meta Quest 3 will be swapped out for fresnel lenses, and the IPD adjustment will be locked at three different settings, rather than the fully adjustable version on the Meta Quest 3. While the Meta Quest 3 features a method of manually adjusting the distance of the device to make space for users with eyeglasses, the new version will return to using a spacer, like with the Meta Quest 2.

At the moment, there’s still no known price for this launch, though speculation has ranged from $199 to $299 based on the prior releases in the series. VR enthusiasts should keep in mind that these specifications have yet to be confirmed by Meta. However, it’s sounding as though the Meta Quest 3s will serve as a middle point between the 2 and 3, rather than copying the best elements of the Meta Quest 3.