If the Meta Quest 3s is as affordable as we're expecting, it's going to be tough for Apple to compete. Even with a vastly cheaper Vision Pro, Meta's lead in the mixed reality market is a sizeable one.

Also notably changing from second to third-generation Quest headsets are each temple’s built-in speakers. The Quest 2 has one speaker per temple, whereas the Quest 3 has two — each positioned to deliver immersive 3D audio at 40% louder volume.

Meta’s developer conference may bring a dash of new Quest VR hardware, mixed reality experiences, and a truckload of AI software news — here’s how to watch it.

Meta Connect will air Sept. 25 and 26 from the stage at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Meta will (hopefully) reveal exact timing for the event by next week. You can watch it via Facebook or, if you’re all-in on Meta’s vision, through the Horizon Worlds app on a Meta Quest headset.

Meta’s clearly tired of the Quest 2 being its budget-tier headset, and the tech needs to fall more in line with the 3 for a consistent experience across the board. And in that vein, the Meta Quest 3S (with a $300 to $400 price range) has been pretty heavily leaked ahead of a Connect announcement.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will take the stage on September 25 to deliver a keynote address about all things AR and VR, chatbots, headsets, smart glasses, and generative AI. Here’s a preview.

Check out Meta's leak of an official image of the Quest 3S, which gives confirmation of a budget version of the popular Quest 3 mixed reality headset.

The Meta Quest 3 is the company's current VR headset, and while certainly not as expensive as Apple's Vision Pro, it still costs $499 minimum. According to the rumor mill, Meta is working on a less expensive version of the Quest 3,