I tested the $300 Meta Quest 3S, and it's almost too good of a VR headset deal to ignore | ZDNET

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Throughout what has been a busy fall season in tech, I've been challenging myself to use the Meta Quest 3S for at least an hour every day. Whether it's punching my stress away in The Thrill of the Fight or sitting front-row of NBA games -- albeit, replays from last season -- in preparation for opening night, the latest VR headset from Meta has been a bright spot all month long.

Also: Meta's new $299 Quest 3S is the VR headset most people should buy this holiday season

At $300, the Meta Quest 3S may be one of the easiest gaming consoles -- let alone VR headsets -- for me to recommend. It's priced the same as its now four-year-old predecessor, the Quest 2, yet offers significant improvements to performance, capabilities, and user experience. In many ways, it's identical to its more advanced sibling, the Quest 3. But for $200 less, you'll also have to settle with the drawbacks, most of which I've built a tolerance for with each passing day.

The company's latest headset supports mixed-reality experiences, comes with up to 256GB of storage, and features updated Touch Plus controllers.

The Quest 3S's design is very much a hybrid of the Quest 2 and Quest 3; it's sculpted with hard plastic and fabric, weighs similarly at 514 grams, and comes with a flexible, Y-shaped head strap that hangs on just enough for more expressive movements. It's a form factor that just...works -- and opens up several ways for you to further customize the fit and finish.

Since the default fit is too front-heavy for me, I've attached a Kiwi Comfort Head Strap, which has made physical experiences like Supernatural and Eleven Table Tennis much less burdening. The lack of redness on my forehead at the end of my VR sessions is the big teller here.

I'm also in the camp of VR users who wear glasses, so the glasses spacer that's included in the box is quintessential to my Quest 3S experience. Otherwise, the extent of vision adjustment begins and ends at the three IPD (interpupillary distance) presets: 58mm, 63mm, and 68mm.

Perhaps the most notable design aspect of the Quest 3S is its displays, which are fresnel lenses that project at 1832 x 1920 per eye. That's a downgrade from the Quest 3's 4K pancake lenses, but more forgivable when you realize it's the same configuration as the Quest 2. You won't see every pore or landscape texture when using the Quest 3S, but for most games and experiences, the output is satisfactory.

Also: Meta's new 512GB Quest 3 deal is one of the best VR deals right now

It helps that the new sensors scattered throughout the front and sides of the Quest 3S enable full-color passthrough, a feature championed by the Quest 3 and completely absent on the Quest 2. With the headset on and a press of the Action Button, which switches between virtual and mixed reality (MR), I was surprised to be able to make out incoming text messages on my phone screen.

The larger upside here is spatial awareness, always knowing where you are within your real-world environment, and therefore reducing the chances of knocking into things.

The Quest 3S' audio experience is another area where costs were cut. Specifically, there's no 3.5mm headphone jack for wired listening, though the USB-C port does support audio output. As dated as the technology is, removing such a popular method for lossless playback -- which is critical for rhythm and action-based games -- is a step back for the Quest 3S.

Also: Meta Quest 3 review: The best VR headset in 2024

On the bright side, you've made it through most of my qualms with the Quest 3S! Because for $300, just about everything else with the headset leans positively, from the precise Touch Plus controllers that conform to my hands to the graphics power of the tried-and-tested Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 (the same chipset that powers the $500 Quest 3) to the battery life.

The Meta Quest 3 (left) and the Quest 3S (right).

While testing the Quest 3S, I cycled between various VR and MR experiences, most of which loaded noticeably faster than they did on my Quest 2. I also ran some more graphics-intensive titles like Asgard's Wrath and was pleasantly surprised to see frame rates mostly stabilize at 60 frames per second, if not higher.

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Sure, the headset got much warmer 10 minutes into the play session, but never to the point of discomfort. Did I miss the crispness and vibrancy of the Quest 3's pancake lenses? Absolutely. But for $200 less, I can't complain about the Quest 3S' performance.

All things considered, I've been averaging two hours and 20 minutes of usage before needing to recharge the Quest 3S, which is about what I expected from the 16.7-watt-hour battery.

If you've used any Quest headset in the past, the bulk of the Meta Quest 3S experience will be very familiar. However, its best features, such as the mixed reality capabilities, flagship-tier performance, and highly intuitive controllers, will be greatly appreciated by users upgrading from the Quest 2 or buying a VR headset for the first time.

At $300 for the 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage variant and a free copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow ($50 value) included with the purchase, there's no better VR headset deal on the market right now.

If you're looking for something with even higher visual fidelity and graphical performance, consider the $500 Quest 3. Now that it's been a year since the flagship headset launched, Meta has cut the price of the 512GB variant down to just $499 ($150 off).