Verdict
A stellar headset that benefits from all of the reward of Meta ’s top - shelf Quest 3 across operation and software excerpt , but for importantly less money . So long as you read the limitations of the Quest 3S ' optic hatful , almost all of its other shortcoming will belike be addressed by software system updates . There really is n’t anything else this good at this Mary Leontyne Price point mighty now .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Meta Quest 3 has cement itself as the go - to standalone VR and MR headset for consumer – so how can the Quest 3S heap up as an alternative ?
The Quest 3 was n’t precisely drown in competition , but a high asking price of £ 469.99 / $ 499.99 made it a punishing sell for some . mistreat forward the Meta Quest 3S.
A year on from the release of theQuest 3 , Meta ’s raw headset is n’t a direct heir , or else hop to lure those concerned in the company ’s better and brilliant XR system but unwilling to shell out for it , whilst also give Quest andQuest 2owners something to upgrade to , without go against the bank .
The TLDR pitch of the Meta Quest 3S is Quest 2 optics , running on Quest 3 computer hardware and software , for about 40 % less than its more dear sib . Although a compelling proposition on paper , it ’s now meter to find out whether the value offered by the Meta Quest 3S is ( virtual ) reality or insanity .
Design
I like the look of the Meta Quest 3S. Proportionally , it ’s almost identical to the Quest 2 ( 20 % slimmer , allot to Meta ) , but sports sharper business , with two distinct sensing element clusters on the front that are a piffling more graceful and press cutting - edge than the 3 of pill - forge elements constitute on the beefy Quest 3 .
The 3S is provide in loose - Charles Grey plastic – in keeping for the series – while the in - corner fabric head shoulder strap seem almost superposable to the one used by Quest 3 . I say “ almost ” as there ’s no cut - out for a 3.5 mm physical phone jack on the right side of the strap .
For whatever grounds , one of the cuts Meta made to hit the Quest 3S ’ price point was to nix the audio port that ’s otherwise available on Meta ’s most recent headsets ( the Quest 2 , Pro and 3 all have one ) . That said , USB - C to 3.5 mm transcriber and USB - atomic number 6 wire headphones ( if you do n’t need to institutionalize the headset at the same meter ) are still bear , along with Bluetooth connectivity for snarl - barren audio , using any of thebest wireless earbuds .
If you ’d rather go headphone - detached , the Quest 3S ’ native down - discharge stereo speakers offer up an impressive amount of depth for their size , both in their dynamic range and positional artistry . The effect is particularly obtrusive when catch media in a floating windowpane ( like YouTube , orDisney Plus , via the native internet browser app ) and toggle full - silver screen mode on and off , but they ’re well - suited to gambling and immersive video too .
While the included caput shoulder strap is well-to-do , easygoing to tighten and remain secure , the 3S ’ front - cloggy design means I found myself adjust the system on my cheek middling frequently ; more so than my Quest 3 ( which weighs about the same but whose centre tidy sum sits closer to your face ) . part due to the optics ( more on that in a moment ) but partly because the free weight felt like it was pushing down on my cheek and opening my lower palpebra a little full than they ’d naturally sit , which was uncomfortable .
The pre - fitted framework facial port is soft and otherwise unobtrusive , but if you ’re looking for a VR organization to work out out in , it wo n’t wreak well with sweat . Luckily , Meta does also sell breathable first - party and silicone polymer third - party facial interfaces that are much better suit to heavy physical activity , but you ’ll have to pay excess for those .
While we ’re talking accessories , it ’s also deserving mentioning that the 3S can also be paired with the same Elite Strap and Elite Strap with Battery as the Quest 3 . The latter offer a more secure burst and helps counterbalance the headset ; more in line with Quest 3 contender , thePico 4 Ultra ; provided you may swing over the additional £ 129.99 / $ 129.99 .
The most pregnant difference between the Quest 3S and the Quest 3 ( and the driving force behind their cost disparity ) is the option of optical stack .
The new 3S lifts its optics pretty much sweeping from 2020 ’s Quest 2 , meaning the same fresnel lenses , with the same individual 120Hz LCD panel , delivering the same resolution of 1832×1920 per eye , the same 97 ° horizontal and 93 ° vertical FoV ( field of view ) , and 20ppd ( pixels per academic degree ) , along with a familiar three - point ill-treat manual IPD ( inter - pupillary distance ) allowance , between 58 mm and 68 mm .
For circumstance , the extra cash demanded by the Quest 3 instead buys you pancake lens , a 120Hz LCD per center , each help up a sharper resolution of 2064 x 2208 , mate to a large 110 ° horizontal and 96 ° vertical FoV , with 25ppd , and manually adjustable IPD anywhere between a broader 58 mm and 71 mm .
All that suppose , the viewing experience on the Quest 3S for sure is n’t unusable , far from it . While the fresnel lenses at gambling suffer from boundary distortion and optical aberration , and the fresh spot is modest than that of the Quest 3 ’s , there ’s still a perfectly serviceable amount of clearness for everything from play to web browsing , streaming video and even remote screen background approach . I even try a short picture redaction via the Quest 3S.
One trick the Quest 3S ’ design lords over Quest 3 is the addition of an Action button . The deep eubstance of the headset plays innkeeper to a Modern computer hardware control that let you instantly switch to pass - through mode , so you’re able to instantly check your milieu . This feature is also accessible – across both the Quest 3 and 3S – with a double - rap to the side of the headset , but as many Quest 3 owners can manifest , this method is n’t nearly as reliable or convenient as the 3S ’ Action release .
Controllers
It ’s not just the chipset that the Quest 3S share with its pricier sibling , Meta also includes the same Touch Plus controllers in - boxwood too . They ’re a darn sight more compact and unobtrusive compare to the Quest 2 ’s Touch controllers , not least because the engineers were able to ditch the tracking ring of sure-enough , making this late multiplication much lighter and prosperous to exert .
You get the familiar assortment of grip and trigger button A , B ( right ) or X , Y ( left ) buttons , a clickable thumbstick and a carte push button on the left restrainer , which stand in for the correct comptroller ’s Meta push ( replacing the Quest 2 ’s eye button ) .
They attach to each wrist with an included lanyard for extra peace of psyche , and by dump the ring , you ’re less likely to mosh them into anything around you or each other , when flailing around in Beat Saber .
Even with the undivided AA stamp battery inwardly ( which is easily replaceable , thanks to a slick , hidden fountain - loaded battery door ) , each controller clocks in at about 20 g lighter than their predecessors . I remember the ergonomics and impressive ‘ TruTouch ’ haptics ; something the accountant from rival Pico descend down on .
While criticism could be levelled at Meta for not going further with the Touch Plus controllers , by tot up more exact and immersive mitt and finger trailing – consanguine to Valve ’s Index accountant – for a pistol grip - fashion mean value of interaction , they ’re easy to apply , and wonderfully reactive and precise .
Of of course , control are n’t always the veracious tool for the caper , and thankfully the Quest 3S extend over the same peachy paw - tracking experience as on the Quest 3 . You might have to look a few moment for the headset to realise you ’ve shoot down the controllers and are now taste to perform actions with your hands , but once it get on ( you ’ll see a virtual overlayer of hands tracked atop your real form mitt when it does ) , interaction is generally very visceral .
Just as with the Quest 3 , the action mechanism of double - tap the controllers together to toggle between controller and hand tracking refused to work for me , but the organization otherwise functions as you ’d trust .
You only need to learn a exclusive special motion ( pinching your indicant finger and pollex together , with your palm plough towards the headset ) to pull off action like pausing a VR experience to get to your home fare and re - centring your opinion , but beyond , interaction is exchangeable to many other hand - tracking experiences .
If a floating windowpane is within your clasp , you’re able to physically touch out and pinch at its edge to move it around , or its corner to resize . you could even swipe and pink at any constituent in XR and it ’ll behave as if it were a giant floating touchscreen . If you ’re further back from virtual elements , like a media player , however , your hand ’s movement instead master a floating cursor ; with a taking into custody gesture emulating a tap and swipe - and - hold behaving much the same .
The Quest 3S ’ four environmental cameras , pair of IR emitter ( in lieu of the Quest 3 ’s ToF sensor ) and mixed algorithms do an impressive job of mesh practical elements in your physical space , whilst simultaneously keeping a lock on where your controllers or hand are , proportional to it all . The one matter the experience lacks is full - consistency tracking , with Meta instead opting for leg post estimate .
Luckily , you ’re unlikely to run into many titles where its absence is an issue , but if you want your practical foot to line up with your meat substructure in experience like VR confabulation , you might alternatively want to consider the aforementioned Pico 4 Ultra , which launch alongside a couple of additional mortise joint trackers for this exact purpose .
Specs and Features
Another upgrade Quest 2 owners ( or older ) will appreciate is the improvement to sink - through . Moving to a duet of 4MP RGB photographic camera give operative stereoscopic imagination , which paired with the headset ’s first-class tracking clear mixed - reality experiences entirely possible .
I chiefly relish carrying out chores – like lay away the washing up – while being able to move around a floating 120 - inch Disney Plus windowpane , but the included First Contact biz does a great job of showcasing the 3S ’s abilities as a able MR play headset too .
I describe the pass - through as “ operational ” , only because the sensing element still miss uncloudedness and dynamic range in bright conditions , and receive obvious noise when in low light . If you think opting for the pricier Quest 3 or the Pico 4 Ultra – with its 32MP whirl - through cameras – might solve this defect , however , do n’t bother .
The top Quest ’s pass - through looks about the same and clearness is n’t all that much different on the Pico , despite what the megapixel numeration might have you think . EvenApple ’s Vision Pro(which costs almost as much as 12 Quest 3Ss ) suffers from some of these same malady . A generational upgrade to pass - through sensor is what ’s postulate , which likely wo n’t materialise for at least another year .
While optic create the bragging timbre watershed between the experiences offer up by the Quest 3S and Quest 3 , execution lend back space-reflection symmetry . In the standalone headset market , Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 is presently the silicon of selection for the best proportion of performance against stamp battery life . It ’s what power both the Quest 3 and Pico 4 Ultra , and it lies at the heart of the Quest 3S too .
Like the Quest 3 , that chip comes paired with 8 GB of RAM on the Quest 3S and in its implementation , I could n’t promptly find fault . take off - up and come alive from eternal rest take mere seconds , as do app incumbrance times , while even large games load up in about 30 mo at the most .
Horizon OS ’ ( the operating system on Meta ’s headset ) chief user interface is intentionally structured to die hard three windowed apps at the same time , but the Quest 3S did n’t plain when I strain that to multiple tabs and browser app window – including some with video recording playback – across a amount of six panel . In fact , performance dip , were rare , even when the headset ’s battery was about to be given out .
Of of course , while the XR2 Gen 2 may be the braggy fish in the pool that is standalone XR , in term of the fidelity of PC VR games , there ’s clearly way for improvement . PC VR does n’t suffer from the same power consumption or physical purpose constraints as standalone system , which has let for more demanding , high-pitched fidelity experiences .
With standalone , it ’s a typeface of eking out as much public presentation as potential , without crippling assault and battery living ; a tricky needle to thread but one that cheeseparing collaboration between the ilk of Meta and Qualcomm could pull off , total the next multiplication of devices .
As for storage , the arrival of the Quest 3S resulted in a restructure of capacities across Meta ’s current headsets . The Quest 3S can be had with either 128 gigabyte or 256 GB of place , while the Quest 3 is now only useable in a single top - specification 512 GB build ( it was previously available with 128 GB of storage too ) .
Meta say that 128 GB is enough to admit up to 30 standalone games , and in testing , the 20 or so apps and biz install on my review unit of measurement occupied around 100 GB , which suggests Meta ’s claim depend fairly precise , erring on challenging .
Software
There ’s no escaping the fact that Meta ’s majority market plowshare and fiscal might have permit it to essentially define the content landscape painting for standalone XR .
On the one hand , this apparent monopoly has disconfirming implications for rivals trying to make of average go of creating worthwhile challenger , on the other , it mean those currently within Meta ’s ingroup – such as Quest 3 and 3S owners – have access to what is undoubtedly the dear XR depicted object program library available today .
Meta has put a lot of time and money into developing its own game , apps and experiences , either internally or by acquiring established VR and MR developer . What ’s more , it ’s been able to partner with events organisers to deliver exclusive transcription of high - profile concert , like Sabrina Carpenters ’ post - Coachella debut and Doja Cat ’s carrying into action during the Detroit peg of her Scarlet Tour .
In the standalone space , Meta has made its headset the only spot to come up big - name secret plan like Beat Saber , not to cite some high - profile , mellow - timbre chopine - exclusives that even PC VR players ca n’t get their work force on , such as Assassin ’s Creed Nexus and , most late , Batman : Arkham Shadow ; which at the time of authorship comes included with the purchase of a new Meta Quest 3 or Quest 3S.
All told , the Meta Horizon Store today feature around 600 game and almost 3000 apps in total , and best of all , the Meta Quest 3S has the execution to plump for the spate . Add to that access to PC VR through a pumped connectedness , Meta ’s Air Link and native financial support for Valve ’s Steam Link , and as far as content goes , it and the Quest 3 have access to what must be the largest depicted object depository library of any headset on the market , flow .
Whilst there ’s a lot to love about Meta ’s content offer , such a Brobdingnagian depository of experience is only as good as the way of filtering and finding things you might actually want to access , and that is an area that could expend some work .
Whether within the Quest 3S or using the companion Meta Horizon smartphone app , you only have cosmopolitan keyword lookup at your disposal . You ca n’t filter by content type or publisher , you ca n’t arrange termination by price or designate whether you ’re looking for mixed reality - only experiences , or those that prioritise hand trailing , for example . Individual listings on the store contain such information , but for some rationality , Meta is n’t yield exploiter the tools to leverage this indexing .
This intend Meta curates the content you ’re most likely going to see and weigh accessing , and there ’s very little smaller developers can do to feature on the store ’s front Sir Frederick Handley Page . They ’re at the mercifulness of Meta ’s tastes and druthers , or otherwise have to focus on a dispersion method like App Lab .
There ’s also more Horizon OS could , should and will do . While aboriginal Meta apps for Facebook , WhatsApp and Instagram are all welcome integrations , it ’d be groovy to see support for received Android app APKs ( Horizon O is based on AOSP , the Android Open Source Project ) without side - load or SideQuest .
Access to multimodal Meta AI using voice ( as on theRay - Ban Meta smartglasses ) , would be great in more region ( as it ’s currently single to US and Canada in English ) , while coming additions like a native calendar app with Meta Horizon Worlds ca n’t arrive shortly enough .
Battery Life
Despite a battery with a capacity that ’s 11 % small than that of the Quest 3 ’s ( 4324mAh versus 4879mAh ) , Meta cites a foresightful run - time of 2.5 hours of ‘ intermediate economic consumption ’ on a single charge for the Quest 3S , compared to 2.2 on the Quest 3 . As the fundamental chipset is the same across both system , the promise of better longevity is likely a result of the less demanding and modest - resolving optical quite a little used by Meta ’s latest headset .
In praxis , however , the performing field felt a lot more level . Whether using the Quest 3S for a combination of VR gambling and MR productivity , or alone run around Gotham as the Dark Knight from 100 % charge to zero , the Quest 3S doled out about two hour of use on a cathexis , every meter .
That ’s a win for eubstance but well below Meta ’s cite figures . The number I kept getting across multiple charge and mixed usage on both the Meta Quest 3S and Meta Quest 3 was 2 hour and 5 minutes , so use that as your bench mark .
While wholly usable , this is one area where Pico ’s latest headset ( the aforementioned 4 Ultra ) fare much better , with its more capacious 5700mAh battery delivering between three and four hours of use on a charge , which feel like a more usable amount in a exclusive least sandpiper ; especially if you ’re appear for a headset that can attend as a productivity tool .
As for charge , like the Quest 3 , Meta includes an 18W power arranger in - box , which consistently replenish the Quest 3S in under two hours ( 1 hr 55 versus the Quest 3 ’s precise two - hour recharge time ) .
One small note for Quest 2 upgraders or those also considering the Quest 3 is that there ’s no proximity sensor on the Quest 3S , meaning no habiliment detection . So , be certain to tap the great power release to slumber the headset when you take it off , otherwise , you ’ll needlessly be burning precious king with the displays stay on when not in enjoyment .
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Should you buy it?
By giving the Meta Quest 3S the same internals and software funding as the pricier Quest 3 , there ’s short comprise in term of performance and the experience available to 3S users .
The 3S ’ fresnel lenses intend a narrower optical odorous spot , more bloom and more edge straining , compared to pricier hotcake lens , like you ’ll find inside the Meta Quest 3 .
Final Thoughts
Such little contest means it ’s tough not to recommend the Meta Quest 3S , whether as a first headset for those look to put down into the world of XR , existing Quest 2 users who require a more responsive and capable drug user experience but do n’t have Quest 3 money to spare , or those who see themselves as casual gamers or VR drug user , look for a fun fresh gimmick to sink their teeth into .
Thankfully , despite Meta ’s dominance , the company did n’t phone it in when developing the Quest 3S. It feel like a very well - fill out headset and sacrifice opthalmic quality in favor of good performance and software supporting feels like the ripe call , from a quality - of - life perspective .
The app and plot choice is excellent and the platform exclusives all seem to be of a systematically high calibre . So long as you realise the limitations of the 3S optical stack and the subsequent repercussions on comfort and free weight distribution , there ’s little intellect to choose any other headset even close to this price point .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every VR headset we survey thoroughly . We use manufacture - standard tests to compare lineament in good order and we use the phone as our main equipment over the review period . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , take money to go over a product .
encounter out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
No .
No . Within Meta ’s Quest ambit , only the Quest Pro corroborate eye trailing .
No , only upper - body tracking with leg perspective estimation in standalone mode . Only when used with third - party accessories for PC VR use can full - body tracking be achieved .
Yes . Meta even includes a glasses spacer in - boxwood .
