New & Now: Meta Quest 3S VR Headset

This week, the tech giant Meta (the company behind Facebook, Instagram and breakthrough VR consoles) announced that they're dropping a new Meta Quest VR console: the Meta Quest 3S. Instead of a sequel to their existing console, this model is meant to be an entry-level version. It's a "welcome to virtual reality" for those that have never tried it. And it comes at an incredibly reasonable price: just $299.99 at the time of publishing.

We understand the need for something like the Meta Quest 3S. The original 512GB Meta Quest 3 cost as much as $649.99 when it launched. For those who had never tried VR before, it's quite the investment to make for a product that you're not sure you'll love. With the Quest 3S, that price is reduced by more than half. That makes VR gaming, fitness and fun a lot more accessible. But with a cost reduction like that, what can the Meta Quest 3S do...and what had to be taken away to reach a price point under $300?

If you're familiar with the Meta Quest 3, you'll know that its performance is incredible. It replaced the beloved Meta Quest 2 back in October of 2023 with a powered-up performance. Both the 3 and 3S share that power with the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip. You use the same controllers, can play all the same games and will feel completely immersed in both mixed reality (or augmented reality, AR) and true VR. And with a choice between 128GB and 256GB of storage, you'll have plenty of room for games, apps and so much more (though the full-priced top-tier 3 also wins out in storage with 512GB of space).

The obvious place that the Meta Quest 3S made cuts to quality? The display, which is key when it comes to a VR headset. The Meta Quest 3S is designed with triple Fresnel lenses over each eye, while the original 3 uses pancake lenses. The pancake lenses on the Meta Quest 3 provide a better visual experience with a 2064 x 2208-pixel resolution. Meanwhile, the new 3S drops that resolution down to 1,832 x 1,920-pixel resolution. It's a noticeable difference, and the pancake lenses bring better image quality and lower visual distortion to every play session. And with a narrower field of view, the display on the 3S is one of the areas where the newest VR headset falls behind.

Notably, both the 3 and the 3S have the same peak refresh rate at 120Hz, but the Meta Quest 3 allows you to choose four different refresh rates: 72Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz, while the 3S only allows you to choose between two: 90Hz and 120Hz.

Shop the Meta Quest 3S and the Meta Quest 3 at Abt

We already discussed the price slash to the Meta Quest 3S above. But we didn't mention that the Meta Quest 3 now has a reduced price as well. And while the 3S now starts at $299.99, the 3 now begins at $429.99. But the Meta Quest 3S also beats its competitor when it comes to battery life. The 3 features a full 2.5 hours of battery life, while the 3 only lasts for 2.2 hours. Is it the largest difference? No, but it's one worth highlighting. That extra bit of battery life may have been going to the display. By cutting back on the display's performance, perhaps this VR console is saving battery.

The Meta Quest 3S was announced during Meta Connect 2024. Here, CEO Mark Zuckerburg showed off the new headset, as well as a prototype for Orion, the brand's small form glasses. They're not ready to hit the market yet, but the developers are working on new ways to make Meta Quest more usable in day-to-day life as well. And that begins with a shift towards spatial computing.

The Meta Quest has always been built on the gaming experience, and with a new update to the consoles, using the spatial computing capabilities should be a much smoother process. You'll be able to access the internet, use 2D apps in a mixed-reality setting, and work with multiple virtual "screens" for an immersive workflow that can go anywhere with you. The idea? Ditch the limits of the laptop and make the world around you your "screen". This pits the Meta Quest directly against Apple's own VR tech, the Apple Vision Pro, and its spatial computing experience.

That depends on what you want to use your VR headset for. If you're a big gamer and love watching movies in the crispest, highest definition possible, you should absolutely go for the Meta Quest 3. But if you're new to the world of VR and are interested in dipping your toes in the water, the Meta Quest 3S is an excellent choice. It's got the same processor as the 3, and the only thing you're losing is some of the display quality. And it should be arriving in time for the holidays: the Meta Quest 3S will be available beginning on October 15, and you can pre-order it now on Abt.com. If you have questions about the headset, our team can help: give us a call at 800-860-3577