The Meta Quest 2 has been a faithful VR companion to many, but here's why it's time to make the jump to mixed reality with the Quest 3S.

The first hint of that is the headset’s Fresnel lenses, which iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari writes in a blog post are “100% compatible” with those used by the Quest 2. The headset has the older headset’s IPD adjustment mechanism, as well; and it shares the same single LCD panel, rather than using one panel per eye, like the Meta Quest 3.

Meta's Quest 3S blends Quest 2 hardware with Quest 3 performance, offering an affordable yet powerful VR experience.

It’s fair to say, then, that thanks to the newly-released Meta Quest 3S – coming in hot with the same amount of storage space wrapped neatly in a baseline $299.99 price – mixed-reality gaming is finally approachable to everyone who might have been in the market to upgrade from the Quest 2.

Meta 's latest virtual reality headset, the Quest 3S, has been revealed to be a more powerful version of the previous model, the Quest 2. This was discovered by iFixit in its latest teardown video. The first indication of this similarity is the use of Fresnel lenses in the new model, which are "100% compatible" with those used by its predecessor.

IFixit has taken apart Meta's new VR goggles and comes to the conclusion: The Quest 3S is an updated Quest 2, but that's not a big disadvantage.

It's by far the best value in VR. But the question is, should you upgrade to it or go with Meta's even better model?

If you crave peace and limited distractions, consider investing in the Meta Quest 3S to achieve fitness goals in the privacy of your home.

As part of our initial Quest 3S testing, we checked how long the Quest 3S will last. Thankfully, it appears Meta was honest when it gave its battery life estimate.