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Meta’s latest virtual reality headset offers almost everything that makes its top model the best on the market, but at a much more acceptable price as an entry into virtual reality.
The Quest 3S costs £290 (€330 / $300 / A$500), around 40% less than the £470 Quest 3 and cheaper than the 2020 Quest 2 it directly replaces.
The new device is a middle ground between the Quest 2 and Quest 3. It takes the same superior Qualcomm VR chip from the Quest 3 that dramatically improves performance and puts it in a body similar in design and operation to the Quest 2 to maintain the cost. below.
An easy-adjust strap fits the back and top of your head, while rotating arms and a foam faceplate make the Quest 3S one of the most comfortable headsets to wear for long periods. Meta sells several additional straps and faceplates for those who want a different fit.
The speakers in the arms are good enough to provide spatial audio appropriate for any experience you may have, although you can connect Bluetooth headphones or use a USB-C headphone adapter for wired listening.
The screen and lenses are the same as the Quest 2 and deliver a relatively sharp image to each eye at up to 120 frames per second, keeping the action fluid and helping to keep disorientation and motion sickness at bay. But this is where Meta has taken shortcuts to keep the price down; he fresnel lenses They only have three distance settings and they look blurry if you look around the edges.
It comes with two hand controllers that are among the best in the business: light, comfortable, precise and intuitive with capacitive buttons that can detect when your fingers are on them but without pressing them to perform hand gestures. Each of them requires a single standard AA battery, so I recommend purchasing rechargeable ones to save your wallet and the planet.
A spacer for glasses is included and prescription lenses are available for £50.
Budget
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Screen: 120Hz LCD (1832 x 1920 per eye)
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Processor: QualcommSnadragon XR2 Gen 2
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RAM: 8GB
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Storage: 128GB or 256GB
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Operating system: Horizon operating system (Android)
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Connectivity: Wifi 6E, Bluetooth, USB-C with Oculus Link, stereo speakers, microphone
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Headphone dimensions: 191.5 x 102 x 142.5mm
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Headphone weight: 514g
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Controller Weight: 103g (without battery)
Faster, smoother performance
The Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip is about twice as fast as the previous version of the Quest 2, making everything a little smoother, more detailed, and sharper. Apps load faster and the system is more responsive. The battery lasts about the same two hours of intensive gaming as the Quest 2 and 3, which is more than enough for most.
It can also be used connected to a USB-C charger, while additional battery packs are available for those who want to play for longer, but after two hours I was ready for a break. A full charge takes about 110 minutes.
The new color cameras on the front of the headset allow for much clearer passing vision, better day and night than the Quest 2. It’s not as good as the Quest 3, but it’s more than enough to see what’s around you. and use it as part of mixed reality experiences. In a pinch, I can go up and down stairs and read my phone with headphones on.
Sustainability
Meta says the battery should last at least 500 full charge cycles, but it doesn’t offer battery replacement or repair services. Offers out-of-warranty replacements, reconditioning and resale of returned devices.
The company sells several spare parts and accessories including straps, face pads, goggle spacers, and individual controllers, but does not publish product environmental impact reports.
Solid software with a large game library.
Meta’s Horizon OS software has advanced in leaps and bounds in recent years. It supports multitasking for up to three floating windows and more in one dock, instant switching between immersive and pass-through views, and excellent detection of your surroundings, with virtual boundaries to prevent you from hitting objects.
You need a Meta account registered to an email address to use Quest, but a Facebook, Instagram, or other social media Meta account is not required. Meta offers several Parental control and supervision tools. and will provide security updates until at least October 2029.
He app store for quest is big, with games ranging in price from a few pounds to around £45, with plenty of quality to play across a wide range of genres, including fitness and training apps. Some of the biggest gaming brands have titles on Quest, including assassin’s creed, Medal of Honor and resident Evilplus a solid set of cross-platform games, such as Super hot VR, Red matter 2 and Arizona Sun 2.
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Many of the best come from Meta’s own publishing studios, including the extremely popular Beat saber critically acclaimed rhythm game The Wrath of Asgard 2 role playing game and the new Batman: Arkham Shadowthe latter of which comes included with the Quest 3S if purchased before April 30, 2025.
But things are less rosy outside of games. There are only a few streaming apps available for the headphones, including YouTube and Amazon Prime Video. The rest depends on the browser, which has a new cinema mode that puts a big screen in your view; It’s fine for streaming at home, but not good for offline viewing while traveling. Unlike when gaming, this is where you can see the screen’s weakness compared to the Quest 3 and its premium rivals.
The virtual screen just doesn’t look as good as that on a TV or tablet, and I’m not convinced people will want to spend hours with headphones watching a movie unless it provides a better experience than other devices. It’s a similar story for browsing and using the few productivity apps available. Text isn’t as sharp, especially when you look to the sides of the screen.
Having apps like WhatsApp on the headphones is useful for replying to messages while you do something else, but typing with your fingers on the floating keyboard or controllers is slow. Dictation and voice commands are available, but only in English in the United States.
Meta’s attempt to create a social experience, called horizon worldsIt’s not very convincing either. You can wander through cartoonish worlds, play simple games, watch events, and hang out with friends in a virtual space. But Ready Player One is not, and it would take a lot of work to convince my friends to join me with a headset instead of playing a multiplayer game or meeting up in real life.
The Quest 3S can also be used when connected to a PC for games and apps, either wirelessly or wired, including with Steam VR, opening up a wider world of virtual reality gaming for PC. But for those interested in going that far, the Quest 3 is probably better.
Price
The Meta Quest 3S costs from €289.99 (€329.99/$299.99/AU$499.99) with 128 GB of storage.
For comparison, the Meta Quest 3 costs €469.99he Peak 4 costs £349, the Vive XR Elite costs £799 and the Apple Vision Pro costs £3,499.
Verdict
The Quest 3s offers the best value for money in virtual reality headsets. It’s not Meta’s best brand, but it combines Qualcomm’s best VR chip, access to a huge library of games, and some of the best controllers available in a comfortable all-in-one design.
The color pass-through camera offers good mixed reality experiences, even if it’s just finding the controllers in your real-life room. The battery lasts two hours straight, which is about how long you’ll probably want to play before taking a break.
Pairing the headset with the new Batman VR game means you have something engaging to play out of the box and much more in the Horizon store. PC VR support also opens up a much larger library if you have a gaming PC available.
The previous generation’s lenses and screen don’t make much of a difference compared to the high-end Quest 3 and its gaming rivals. But they do do so for the less attractive uses of productivity and media consumption.
That makes the Quest 3S the headset to buy if you want to dip your toe into the waters of VR gaming or as a gift. Just don’t break it, as repairing it could be complicated.
Advantages: Cheaper, good screen, top standalone VR chip, great game library, great controllers and haptics, good color transfer, solid speakers and microphones, standalone or PC VR, console-like simplicity.
Cons: difficult to repair, screen and lenses not as good as Quest 3, not great for productive use, difficult to use manager passwords, no 3.5mm headphone jack, battery life could be higher.