I switched to Meta Quest 3S from Quest 2 and it is a VR upgrade in every way (except one)

During my busy fall in tech, I challenged myself to use Meta Quest 3S for at least one hour every day. Even if it’s a way to relieve my stress The thrill of battle or sitting front row at NBA games — albeit with replays from last season — in preparation for opening night, Meta’s newest VR headset has been a highlight all month.

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At $300, the Meta Quest 3S might be one of the easiest gaming consoles – let alone VR headsets – I can recommend. It costs the same as its four-year-old predecessor, the Quest 2, but offers significant improvements in performance, capabilities and user experience. In many ways, it is identical to its more advanced sibling, Task 3. But with a price lower than $200, you’ll also have to deal with the drawbacks, most of which I’ve built up a tolerance for with each passing day.

The design of Quest 3S is very similar to a combination of Quest 2 and Quest 3; It’s sculpted from sturdy plastic and fabric, weighs the same 514 grams, and comes with a flexible Y-shaped head strap that’s just big enough for more expressive movements. It’s a form factor…that works — and opens up a number of ways for you to further customize the fit and finish.

Since the default fit is too heavy for me, I’ve included one Kiwi comfort headbandThis created physical experiences such as Supernatural And Eleven ping pong tables much less burden. The fact that my forehead wasn’t red at the end of the VR session is the big deal here.

I’m also part of the group of VR users who wear glasses, so the glasses spacer included in the box was essential to my Quest 3S experience. On the other hand, the degree of vision adjustment starts and ends at three IPD (interpupillary distance) presets: 58mm, 63mm and 68mm.

Perhaps the most notable design aspect of the Quest 3S is its display, which is fresnel lenses with a resolution of 1832 x 1920 per eye. It’s a downgrade from the Quest 3’s 4K pancake lens, but it’s more forgivable when you realize that it’s the same profile 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 Quest 3 512GB deal is one of the best VR deals around

It helps that new sensors scattered across the front and sides of the Quest 3S allow for full color pass-through, a feature promoted by the Quest 3 and completely absent from the Quest 2. Turn on the headset and press Action Button, this will help you. Switching between virtual reality and mixed reality (MR), I was surprised to be able to recognize incoming text messages on my phone screen.

The bigger advantage here is spatial awareness, always knowing where you are in your real-world environment and thus reducing the risk of bumping into things.

The Quest 3S audio experience is another area where costs are cut. Specifically, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack for wired listening, although the USB-C port does support audio output. With today’s technology, eliminating such a popular method for lossless playback — crucial for rhythm and action-based games — is a step backwards for Quest 3S.

Also: Meta Quest 3 Review: Best VR Headset of 2024

On the plus side, you’ve overcome most of my concerns about the Quest 3S! Because — for $300 — everything else about the headset is a positive, from the Touch Plus controllers that fit my hand precisely to the graphics power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2. tested (the same chipset that powers the $500 Quest 3) down to battery life.

While testing the Quest 3S, I switched between different VR and MR experiences, most of which loaded significantly faster than in the Quest 2. I also ran some graphics-intensive titles like Asgard’s Wrath and was pleasantly surprised to see the frame rate stay mostly steady at 60fps, if not higher.

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Sure, the headphones got much warmer after 10 minutes of play, but never to the point of being uncomfortable. Do I miss the sharpness and vividness of the Quest 3’s pancake lens? Absolute. But for $200 less, I can’t complain about the Quest 3S’s performance.

All in all, I averaged two hours and 20 minutes of use before needing to recharge the Quest 3S, which is what I’d expect from a 16.7 watt-hour battery.

ZDNET Buying Tips

If you’ve used any Quest headset before, that’s for the most part Meta Quest 3S The experience will be very familiar. However, its best features, such as mixed reality capabilities, top-notch performance, and highly intuitive controls, will have users upgrading from the Quest 2 or purchasing a VR headset for the first time. highly appreciated.

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

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