Meta Quest 3S: Evaluation, The place to Purchase

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Meta’s most funds pleasant mixed-reality headset lives as much as the hype. Final month, Meta launched the Quest 3S headset — a smaller, lighter and extra inexpensive model of the Meta Quest 3 with a number of, inside and exterior upgrades.

For starters, Meta Quest 3S retails for $299 — $200 cheaper than its predecessor. It’s additionally lighter and extra snug than Meta Quest 3, and up to date with new options resembling dynamic spatial audio and elevated decision for Passthrough (which helps you to combine your actuality with VR).

Meta Quest 3S permits customers to stream films and extra on a cinema-sized, VR display, plus entry video games resembling Beat Saber, Alo Strikes XR, Simply Dance VR, Wordle and Metro Awakenings together with streaming apps like Prime Video, Peacock, Netflix, Amazon Music, Twitch, YouTube, Xbox Cloud Gaming (accessible in BETA).

The holidays are across the nook, and Meta’s newest VR headset is definitely giftworthy. With Meta Quest 3S customers can discover Horizon Worlds’ Music Valley the place music followers get a front-row seat to VR performances from Sabrina Carpenter, BLACKPINK, Doja Cat and different recording stars.

One among my principal gripes with Meta Quest 3? The headset. It’s heavy and uncomfortable, however the Quest 3S provides a slight enchancment on the burden challenge together with different, notable upgrades resembling adjustable Frensel lenses, a spacer for customers who put on glasses and a rebuilt Meta Horizon OS interface with added assist for social media apps resembling Fb, Instagram and YouTube.

Quest 3S is extremely person pleasant, particularly when you’re already conversant in the Meta portal. Even when you’re unfamiliar, the machine will stroll you thru steps to set issues up.

The brand new 3S options Journey Mode, so you should use it on an airplane (Meta plans to develop it for use on trains and different modes of journey) and hand monitoring, which lets you use your palms as a substitute of the controllers.

The usual Quest 3S options 128GB of storage, however you possibly can improve to the 256GB machine for $399.99. Meta Quest 3S is offered at main retailers resembling Amazon, Goal, Walmart, Greatest Purchase and Meta.com.

Get a complimentary copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow and three months of Meta Quest+ with the acquisition of an all-new Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S via April 2025.