Beyond 2 vs Quest 3 vs 3S: Here’s What You Should Know

The Meta Quest 3 is the go-to headset for most people. But what if you traded all that convenience for something incredibly light, ultra sharp and custom fit? That’s the Bigscreen Beyond 2, and it might be the most futuristic PC VR headset ever made. I tested the original Beyond, which blew me away with its custom fit and tiny size, so here are my first impressions of Beyond 2 vs Quest 3 and the Quest 3S. A full review comes later, after more time with it.

Bigscreen loaned me this headset for testing, and I’m sending it back after the full review. A part of the video was sponsored by Dark Arts, the studio behind the VR dance game Trip the Light.

Two very different paths

VR headsets get better every year, but they’re splitting in two directions. On one side are all-in-one headsets like the Quest 3 and 3S: affordable, wireless and packed with mixed reality features. On the other is the Beyond 2, going all in on visual clarity, low weight and custom-fit comfort, but completely dependent on a PC and base stations.

Bigscreen is also releasing the Beyond 2e with built-in eye tracking. Its tiny tracking system adds just over a gram, and it’s aimed at things like social VR and modding. I haven’t tried it yet.

When we made this video, the Beyond 2 started at $999 and the 2e at $1,299. That’s before base stations and controllers, so it’s a premium setup next to the Quest headsets.

The sponsored part: Trip the Light

Trip the Light is a VR dance game for Quest 2, 3 and 3S where you don’t just copy moves. You dance with AI partners, time your steps and hit combos, and the partner dancing feels responsive in a way I haven’t seen in VR before. We tried it already, and Chary had a blast, because it was more realistic and more fun than we expected. You pick up real dance skills too.

• Partner mode with in-game dancers based on real pros
• Mirror mode to learn popular solo choreography at your own pace
• Styles including salsa, swing, hip-hop and line dancing
• Passthrough or full VR, with a new boundary system to keep you safe while you move

At the time, the Kickstarter had hit its goal and late pledges were open for a limited time, with the game cheaper than its planned Quest Store price. More from Dark Arts.

Comfort and design

Part of what you pay for with the Beyond is comfort, and you feel it immediately. With the original Beyond you ordered by doing an iPhone face scan, and Bigscreen 3D printed a cushion just for your face. It felt like it melted onto me. I’m not saying it hugged me better than some people in my life, but I’m not not saying that either. That custom cushion works on the Beyond 2 as well.

New is the Halo mount, a universal-fit system inspired by tactical night vision goggles, which looks very cool. It lets you fine-tune tilt and eye relief without a custom cushion, so you no longer need an iPhone face scan, and you can share the headset. Others won’t get the full wow of the custom fit, but they can try it. It works with the soft light seal in the box, your old custom cushion or no cushion at all. It wasn’t out yet and was due to ship later in the year.

At 107 grams, the Beyond 2 is shockingly light, more than 400 grams lighter than the Quest 3 and 3S. It feels like ski goggles next to a motorcycle helmet. The Quests are heavier and front heavy, which is why most people upgrade the strap and make them heavier still. But they’re far more convenient: no base stations, no setup, power on and play. On weight and wearability the Beyond 2 wins, but it’s not plug and play.

Setup is the biggest trade-off

The Quest 3 or 3S is simple: turn it on and you’re basically ready. No PC, no external sensors, and you can use it almost anywhere.

The Beyond 2 commits you to full PC VR. That means SteamVR base stations, a compatible graphics card and enough room to make it work. There are no cameras and no built-in tracking. Setup isn’t hard if you’ve used a Valve Index or another SteamVR headset, but it’s not casual, and buying base stations and controllers separately adds to the cost fast. The hardware is excellent, but it lives in the classic PC VR world: powerful, not frictionless.

Display and visuals: Beyond 2 vs Quest 3

The Beyond 2 has two 1-inch micro-OLED displays at 2560 x 2560 per eye, with new pancake lenses. The image is incredibly sharp, with deep blacks and huge contrast, and you feel that OLED pop coming from the Quest’s LCDs. Next to the Quest 3, the difference in black levels is obvious right away. Scenes look more cinematic, dark environments look richer, and clarity holds up from edge to edge. Brightness and glare are improved over the original Beyond, though I need more time to judge longer sessions.

The Quest 3 still looks great for a standalone. Its resolution is lower and it uses LCD, but Meta’s pancake lenses keep the image crisp. The Quest 3S uses a single LCD panel and Fresnel lenses, so you get more glare, less clarity and a smaller sweet spot.

Bigscreen claims about 116° diagonal field of view, against the Quest 3’s listed 110°. Those are manufacturer numbers, and I’ll measure it myself for the full review. I notice the extra width sometimes, but it hasn’t felt like a huge leap so far.

The Beyond 2 also adds manual IPD adjustment, so you can set the lens position for each eye instead of living with a fixed size like on the original. It’s a one-time setup, it’s essential for clarity and eye comfort, and it’s what makes sharing possible. The Quest 3 has a manual IPD slider, and the 3S only has three fixed positions.

For pure visual quality, the Beyond 2 wins by far, as long as your PC can keep up.

Playing games and performance

It’s still incredibly comfortable, even in longer sessions. It’s so light and well balanced that you almost forget you’re wearing hardware, which most headsets still struggle with. In games, motion feels snappy and I haven’t noticed latency issues. The clarity helps with reading UI and spotting details in the distance.

It all depends on your PC, though. The Beyond 2 needs DisplayPort 1.4 with Display Stream Compression and a powerful GPU for full resolution. At 90Hz the signal is compressed and upscaled, which can soften fine details slightly. At 75Hz you get native resolution. If your PC isn’t up to it, you won’t get the most from the headset, and that adds to the cost.

The Quest 3 and 3S run everything themselves, so performance is consistent, optimized and plug and play. They’re great for all kinds of games, even intense ones, and Meta is investing heavily in content, so the Quest library is still the biggest.

For tracking, the Beyond 2 uses SteamVR base stations. Set up properly, they’re still more accurate and reliable than inside-out tracking like the Quest’s. So far it’s exactly what I expected from a good SteamVR setup.

The specs side by side

The key differences I showed in the video:

• Display: Quest 3S single LCD, Quest 3 dual LCD, Beyond 2 dual micro-OLED
• Lenses: Fresnel on the 3S, pancake on the Quest 3 and Beyond 2
• Tracking: inside-out on both Quests, external SteamVR base stations on the Beyond 2
• IPD: three fixed settings on the 3S, a manual slider on the Quest 3, per-eye adjustment on the Beyond 2
• Standalone and mixed reality: yes on both Quests, no on the Beyond 2 (PC VR only)
• Controllers: included with the Quests, not included with the Beyond 2

The Quest 3S is the budget option. It has the same chip as the Quest 3 but steps down in resolution, lenses and build. The Quest 3 is the most balanced: standalone, with sharper displays, better passthrough and more features. The Beyond 2 isn’t standalone, isn’t wireless and isn’t for everyone, but for display, comfort, weight and optics it’s in a league of its own.

Who each headset is for

• Quest 3S: you want to jump into VR games and mixed reality without thinking about setup or system requirements. It’s budget friendly and has the same chip as the Quest 3, even if visuals and lenses are a step down.
• Quest 3: the all-rounder and the best choice for most people right now. Standalone, full of features and one of the most polished headsets for gaming and mixed reality.
• Beyond 2: for the deep-end VR lovers. Sim racers, flight simmers, hardcore PC VR people with base stations mounted with laser precision and a spreadsheet of field of view stats. Kind of like me. You want the ultimate comfort and you’re not afraid to go full PC VR wizard to get it.

That’s where I am after my first few days. I’m not ready to call the Beyond 2 the ultimate PC VR headset yet, but it’s off to a really exciting start. For the full review I’ll dig into tracking reliability, how stable it sits, comfort over time and any quirks that show up with longer use. You can find the headset on Bigscreen’s store.