Meta Quest 2 vs Meta Quest 3S

Meta’s Quest 2 page now says the headset is no longer available and points shoppers to Quest 3S instead. The two are four years apart: Quest 2 arrived in 2020, and Quest 3S followed in 2024 as the entry model beside Quest 3. On paper, though, the screens didn’t change, which makes this a different upgrade from the move to Quest 3.

The differences at a glance

Spec	Meta Quest 2	Meta Quest 3S
Introduced	2020	2024
Sold new by Meta	No	Yes
Resolution per eye	1832 × 1920, Fast-Switch LCD	1832 × 1920
Chip	Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1	Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2
Memory	6 GB	8 GB
Passthrough	Grayscale, low resolution	Full color; 4MP, 18 pixels per degree
Depth sensor	No	Not published
Lenses	Not published	Fresnel
Horizontal field of view	Not published	96°
Storage	128 GB or 256 GB	128 GB or 256 GB
Refresh rates	60, 72, 80, 90, 120 Hz (Meta’s lists differ)	72, 80, 90, 96, 100, 120 Hz
Above 120 Hz	No	No
Audio	Positional audio; 3.5 mm headphone jack	Not published
Glasses	Glasses compatible	Not published
PC connection	Optional Link cable	Optional Link cable or wireless streaming
Eye tracking	No	Not listed
Weight, battery life, IPD range	Not published	Not published

Same resolution, so don’t upgrade for sharpness

Meta lists 1832 × 1920 pixels per eye for Quest 2’s Fast-Switch LCD and the same count for Quest 3S. If you’re hoping a new headset will look sharper than your Quest 2, a 3S won’t do it. With Meta’s render scale at its default of 1.0, a 3S app renders 1680 × 1760 per eye, the same default Meta gives Quest 3; that’s the image an app produces, not a bigger panel.

From grayscale to color

This is the upgrade you’ll see. Quest 2 only sees the room in grayscale, at low resolution, and has no depth sensor. Quest 3S shows your room in full color, and Meta gives it the same 4-megapixel, 18-pixels-per-degree figures as Quest 3. Meta doesn’t say whether 3S has a depth sensor, which Quest 3 does.

Hand tracking came to Quest 2 in later software updates; on 3S it depends on the Horizon OS version.

XR2 Gen 2 and 8 GB

Quest 2 has Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 and 6 GB of memory; Quest 3S steps up to XR2 Gen 2 and 8 GB, the chip generation Meta also uses in Quest 3. Storage doesn’t grow: Quest 2 came with 128 GB or 256 GB, and Meta’s October 2024 announcement lists the same two sizes for 3S.

Refresh rates

Quest 2’s refresh rates depend on which Meta list you read. The consumer specs include 60 Hz along with 72, 80, 90 and 120 Hz, the developer table starts at 72, and a refresh chart adds 96 and 100 Hz. Quest 3S lists 72, 80, 90, 96, 100 and 120 Hz, without 60. Both stop at 120 Hz; rates beyond that, up to 240 Hz, are a Quest 3 exclusive from Horizon OS v2.7.

Lenses, field of view and glasses

Meta describes the 3S lenses as Fresnel and gives it a 96° horizontal field of view. It names no lens type and no field of view for Quest 2, so Meta’s figures can’t tell you whether 3S looks wider. Quest 2 is listed as glasses compatible; for 3S, Meta doesn’t say.

Sound, strap and setup

Quest 2 has positional audio built in, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a soft adjustable strap and Touch controllers with a thumb rest, and it needs Meta’s smartphone app. Meta lists none of those details for 3S.

Both are standalone headsets with inside-out tracking, and each signs in with a Meta account. For PC VR, Quest 2 uses a Link cable for Rift games, while 3S can use Link or wireless streaming. If your games are on a PS5, Meta Quest 3 vs PlayStation VR2 covers Sony’s headset.

Meta gives no weight, battery life or IPD range for either headset. It doesn’t state a minimum age either, so if the headset is for a child, Meta’s safety guidance is the place to start.

If you want a sharper picture, that’s Quest 3

Leaving Quest 2 for more detail means looking at Quest 3 instead: Meta lists 2064 × 2208 pixels per eye, pancake lenses, a 110° horizontal view, a depth sensor, up to 512 GB of storage and refresh up to 240 Hz. Meta’s “about 2.5 times Quest 2” graphics figure is for Quest 3 as well; it gives none for 3S. Meta Quest 3 vs Meta Quest 3S weighs those two.

Keep, buy used or buy 3S

With Quest 2 gone from Meta’s store, the choice is keeping yours, buying a used one, or buying a 3S. A used Quest 2 has the same screen resolution as a 3S, so it comes down to price, whether you’ll miss color passthrough, and how much longer Meta will update a 2020 headset. Meta’s update policy answers that last one, and its store has today’s 3S price; check both before you buy.