Meta’s latest mixed reality headset, the Quest 3S, is about to launch. If you’re familiar with what Meta’s VR headsets currently offer, the only surprise about the new hardware will be the price. But it’s the other way around: the new Meta Quest 3S is a $300 headset that has nearly all the features of the $500 Meta Quest 3. This much more affordable entry into the metaverse is available for pre-order starting today. Meta says it will be available on October 15th.
The Meta Quest 3S was announced today at Meta Connect, the company’s big annual developer event where new products are usually also announced. During his keynote address, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out his vision for the company’s latest AR and VR devices, as well as a slew of updates to the AI capabilities built into its platform.
The new Quest 3S.
Provided by Meta
Hand controller.
Provided by Meta
Like the Quest 3, the Quest 3S is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform. It has full-color pass-through vision, so you can see your surroundings without taking off your goggles (even move around a coffee table). There’s also a new dedicated button for this on the bottom of the headset. Press this button whenever you want to see your actual surroundings. The headset is compatible with most Quest 3 accessories, but not all. The Quest 3S also comes with Meta’s Horizon OS, which delivers a desktop-like experience, letting you switch between 2D apps and browser tabs, then seamlessly switch to watching a movie or playing a game. And of course, you can play Wordle.
The base configuration of the Quest 3S comes with 128GB of storage, and you can add up to 256GB for an additional $100 (bringing the price up to $400). The only version of the older Quest 3 you can buy is the 512GB version, which will drop in price from $650 to $500. Meta will also be discontinuing production of its other headsets; the company has announced that it will soon stop selling the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro.
This lower price and reduced focus on premium models is intended to attract a wider audience of those interested in VR. Meta will likely release a Quest headset with stronger specs in the future, but for now the fate of this premium class device is unclear. Meta is clearly taking inspiration from the disappointing reception of Apple’s Vision Pro headset by choosing to focus on cheaper, more accessible devices.
Provided by Meta
Provided by Meta
The day before the announcement, Meta held a 40-minute demo of the Meta Quest 3S at its Silicon Valley headquarters. I played a demo of the VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow, which will be installed on both the Quest 3 and Quest 3S if you purchase one by April 2025. (If you’ve ever wanted to experience what it’s like to crouch in a sewer dressed as Batman, this is the game for you.)
But ultimately, Meta’s mixed-reality experience felt like most other immersive headset experiences: expansive, ambitious, blurry, and occasionally disorienting. The headset is light and easy to wear, but it does make you sweat if you have it on your head for long periods of time. The provided apps are fun, but the experience is better on a more traditional device. (I play Wordle on my phone, thank you very much.) Meta’s virtual meeting and hangout space, Horizon Worlds, is a nice place to stream concerts, but all the different areas still feel separate and weirdly thrown together, like you’ve poked your head directly into a random subreddit.
Provided by Meta
Provided by Meta
But sometimes weirdness can make for some funny moments. During my Quest 3S demo, I was transported to MetDonalds, a user-created area of Horizon Worlds that was a VR rendering of a McDonald’s restaurant run exclusively by kids. Nearly everyone there was mic’d up, and they all sounded like kids. When I tried to order a digital Happy Meal, I was quickly called away; they asked my age, and when I said it, a chorus of cheers erupted.
“You’re 34?” one of them exclaimed in a tone of mingled mockery and surprise. “What on earth are you doing here?”
Good question, boy. Good question.
After all, the Meta Quest 3S is here to offer the same kind of VR capabilities that the company’s VR headsets have offered thus far. The metaverse isn’t fully realized yet, and Horizon Worlds still feels unsettling and disorienting, but if you like these wild experiences, at least the Quest 3S will lower the cost of entry. The toddlers running the VR McDonald’s in Horizon Worlds are having a blast, so maybe this is their world now.
Correction, September 25, 2024 at 12:36 PM: Meta is dropping the price of the 512GB headset to $500 instead of the previously announced $450, and has also clarified that Batman: Arkham Shadow will come with both the Quest 3 and Quest 3S if purchased by April 2025.
