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The Quest 3S, Meta’s newest mixed reality headset, will be out in the world soon. If you’re familiar with the features currently offered by Meta’s VR headsets, then the only surprising thing about the new hardware will be the price. But it’s reverse sticker shock: The new Meta Quest 3S is a $300 headset that has nearly all the capabilities of the $500 Meta Quest 3. This much more modestly priced entry into the metaverse is available for preorder today; Meta says it will be out on October 15.
The Meta Quest 3S was announced today at Meta Connect, the company’s big annual developer fete where it typically also announces new products. In the keynote address, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out his vision for the company’s latest AR and VR devices and the many, many updates to the AI features being built into its platforms.
Like the Quest 3, the Quest 3S is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform. It has full color passthrough vision, so you can pipe in a view of your immediate environment (and navigate around your coffee table) without taking the goggles off. There’s even a new dedicated button on the bottom of the headset for this; press it whenever you want to see your real-life surroundings. The headset is compatible with most Quest 3 accessories, but not all of them. The Quest 3S also features Meta’s Horizon OS, which allows for a desktop-like experience where you can cycle through 2D apps and browser tabs and then seamlessly switch to watching a movie or playing a game. And yes, you can play Wordle in it.
The base configuration of the Quest 3S comes with 128 GB of storage, and for an extra $100 you can add up to 256 GB (bringing the price to $400). The only version of the older Quest 3 you'll be able to buy is the 512 GB version, and the price on that model is dropping from $650 down to $500. Meta will wind down production of its other headsets, too; the company says it will soon stop selling the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro.
These cheaper prices, along with a diminished emphasis on the premium models, are meant to entice a broader swath of the VR curious. Meta is likely to announce Quest headsets with beefier specs in the future, though for now that higher class of device faces an uncertain fate. Meta is clearly taking guidance from the underwhelming reception of Apple’s Vision Pro headset, and choosing to focus on devices that are cheaper and more accessible.
The day before the announcement, Meta offered a 40-minute demo of the Meta Quest 3S at its headquarters in Silicon Valley. I played a demo of the VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow, which comes installed on the both the Quest 3 and Quest 3S if you buy one before April 2025. (If you’ve ever wanted to feel what it’s like to crouch around in a sewer while dressed as Batman, this is a game for you.)
But ultimately, the Meta mixed reality experience felt like most other immersive headset experiences. Sprawling, ambitious, blurry, and occasionally disorienting. The headset is light and easy to wear, but still makes you sweat if you keep it on your head too long. The apps it offers are fun, but can be experienced more comfortably on more traditional devices. (I will play Wordle on my phone, thank you.) Horizon Worlds, Meta’s virtual meeting and hangout space, could be a neat place to stream a concert, but all the different realms still feel disconnected and strangely thrown together, like if you could shove your head directly into a random subreddit.
That said, the weirdness also makes for some of the more interesting moments. At one point during my Quest 3S demo, I navigated, to the chagrin of my Meta press handlers, to a user-created realm in Horizon Worlds called MetDonalds. This turned out to be a VR rendering of a McDonalds restaurant that was exclusively operated by children. Nearly every person there was on mic, and every one of them sounded like a child. I tried to order a digital Happy Meal, and was immediately called out. They asked me how old I was, and when I told them my age there was a great chorus of laughter.
“You're 34?” One of them shouted, her tone a combination of teasing and astonishment. “What are you even doing here?”
Good question, kid. Good question.
Ultimately, the Meta Quest 3S is here to serve up the same kinds of VR features that its VR headsets have offered for a while. The metaverse isn’t fully here yet, and Horizon Worlds still feels janky and disorienting. But hey, if these untamed experiences are your thing, then at least the Quest 3S will lower the cost of entry. The toddlers running the VR McDonalds in Horizon Worlds are having a blast, so maybe this is just their world now.
Correction, September 25, 2024 at 12:36pm: Meta is lowering the price of the 512 GB headset to $500, not $450 as was previously stated. Also clarified that Batman: Arkham Shadow will come with both the Quest 3 and Quest 3S if purchased by April 2025.
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