About two weeks ago, Meta released an all-new mixed reality headset, the Meta Quest 3S. This is the cheapest mixed reality headset to date, starting at $299, compared to the Meta Quest 3’s starting price of $499. But don’t get confused. The S in 3S doesn’t mean it’s better. .
This is something that would be extremely valuable for mixed reality, but something that Apple would never make.
hardware quality
There’s one reason, and one reason only, that I say Apple will never make it. That means the quality is too low.
The Quest 3S is made of cheap plastic, has a low resolution display, and has poor quality lenses. Plastic isn’t necessarily a drawback, as it allows the headset to be lighter, but it definitely doesn’t feel premium.
As for the lens, it’s good enough for gaming. When playing games, it’s often stuck in the center of the display and you won’t notice any loss in quality. However, on your home screen or other apps where you often look around, you may notice that the edges aren’t completely sharp. The same goes for display resolution.
For games that don’t always require the highest resolution and perfect clarity, a 1080p class display is sufficient. However, it’s definitely a concern for video streaming apps. This is also noticeable in apps that display large amounts of text, such as web browsers and remote desktop apps. I won’t be using the Quest 3S as a display for my Mac, but I’d happily use it with Apple Vision Pro.
On a more positive note, it’s very comfortable. Unlike the Apple Vision Pro, I don’t feel much weight on my head.
Input method
Unlike the Apple Vision Pro, the Quest 3S ships with a traditional VR controller, which is the primary way you interact with the device. The Quest 3S also supports hand tracking, but it doesn’t have the magical feel of eye tracking like the Vision Pro.
Obviously, the Vision Pro is more than 10 times more expensive than the Quest 3S, so it’s not that serious of a deal. I can forgive the lack of eye tracking.
However, the hand tracking on the Quest 3S is a bit mediocre. It’s not perfect, but I’d say it works well 70% of the time. However, you can’t rely on it because 30% of the time it doesn’t work, it’s just annoying. So I usually rely on a controller that works very well.
Meta introduced a high-end controller with the Quest 3S (carried over from the Quest 3), removing the giant rings required for tracking from the Quest 2-era controllers.
game
The Quest 3S clearly excels at VR gaming. I played Beat Saber for quick training and enjoyed games like Fruit Ninja. I recently bought Just Dance VR, which is also kind of fun.
Meta offers a Quest+ subscription for $7.99 per month that includes a huge catalog of games, but I haven’t looked into it in detail yet.
That’s one advantage of the meta over Vision Pro, and it’s definitely an advantage they should run with. Apple has historically not been very good at gaming, and the Apple Vision Pro doesn’t support traditional VR controllers, so it will be a while before Apple can offer anything significant in this regard. It may take some time.
Additionally, Meta owns a number of large game studios that develop games for Quest, including the company that developed Beat Saber. Even if Apple Vision Pro supports VR controllers, certain large games may not support the platform.
summary
Overall, I really like the Meta Quest 3S. This is a great gaming device, and the $299 price tag is perfect in that regard. The Quest 3S is essentially the Quest 2, with a faster chipset, mixed reality support, and a better controller. Meta has made an already popular headset even better while maintaining the same price point.
However, the Quest 3S is not a spatial computer. I don’t recommend this or the higher resolution Quest 3 for anything other than gaming. That’s not enough.
You may be wondering why we would compare a $299 headset to one that costs more than 10 times as much. Well, that’s because the meta is like that. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg frequently claims that Quest is a better product than Apple Vision Pro, which is simply not true. It’s the perfect product for gaming and nothing else.
Sure, it’s an inexpensive product for experiencing mixed reality, but as something truly practical it misses the point.
And unfortunately, Meta has canceled its Quest Pro headset lineup, so it’s unlikely we’ll see a true competitor to the Vision Pro from Meta any time soon. I think that’s unfortunate.
Quest 3S is available for $299 for 128GB and $399 for 256GB from the following stores:
Follow Michael: X/Twitter, Threads, Instagram
FTC: We use automated affiliate links that generate income. more.
