Meta’s $300 Quest 3S Headset Significantly Lowers VR’s Buy-In Price Leave a comment

The Quest 3S, Meta’s latest blended actuality headset, can be out on the planet quickly. In the event you’re aware of the options at the moment provided by Meta’s VR headsets, then the one stunning factor in regards to the new {hardware} would be the worth. Nevertheless it’s reverse sticker shock: The brand new Meta Quest 3S is a $300 headset that has almost all of the capabilities of the $500 Meta Quest 3. This rather more modestly priced entry into the metaverse is out there for preorder at present; Meta says it will likely be out on October 15.

The Meta Quest 3S was introduced at present at Meta Join, the corporate’s huge annual developer fete the place it sometimes additionally broadcasts new merchandise. Within the keynote handle, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out his imaginative and prescient for the corporate’s newest AR and VR units and the various, many updates to the AI options being constructed into its platforms.

Just like the Quest 3, the Quest 3S is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform. It has full coloration passthrough imaginative and prescient, so you may pipe in a view of your speedy atmosphere (and navigate round your espresso desk) with out taking the goggles off. There’s even a brand new devoted button on the underside of the headset for this; press it everytime you wish to see your real-life environment. The headset is suitable with most Quest 3 equipment, however not all of them. The Quest 3S additionally options Meta’s Horizon OS, which permits for a desktop-like expertise the place you may cycle via 2D apps and browser tabs after which seamlessly swap to watching a film or taking part in a sport. And sure, you may play Wordle in it.

The bottom configuration of the Quest 3S comes with 128 GB of storage, and for an additional $100 you may add as much as 256 GB (bringing the value to $400). The one model of the older Quest 3 you’ll purchase is the 512 GB model, and the value on that mannequin is dropping from $650 right down to $450. Meta will wind down manufacturing of its different headsets, too; the corporate says it would quickly cease promoting the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Professional.

These cheaper costs, together with a diminished emphasis on the premium fashions, are supposed to entice a broader swath of the VR curious. Meta is prone to announce Quest headsets with beefier specs sooner or later, although for now that larger class of system faces an unsure destiny. Meta is clearly taking steerage from the underwhelming reception of Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional headset, and selecting to concentrate on units which are cheaper and extra accessible.

The day earlier than the announcement, Meta provided a 40-minute demo of the Meta Quest 3S at its headquarters in Silicon Valley. I performed a demo of the VR sport Batman: Arkham Shadow, which comes put in on the Quest 3S should you purchase it earlier than April 2025. (In the event you’ve ever wished to really feel what it’s prefer to crouch round in a sewer whereas dressed as Batman, this can be a sport for you.)

However finally, the Meta blended actuality expertise felt like most different immersive headset experiences. Sprawling, formidable, blurry, and sometimes disorienting. The headset is mild and simple to put on, however nonetheless makes you sweat should you maintain it in your head too lengthy. The apps it provides are enjoyable, however could be skilled extra comfortably on extra conventional units. (I’ll play Wordle on my telephone, thanks.) Horizon Worlds, Meta’s digital assembly and hangout area, might be a neat place to stream a live performance, however all of the completely different realms nonetheless really feel disconnected and surprisingly thrown collectively, like should you may shove your head immediately right into a random subreddit.

That stated, the weirdness additionally makes for a few of the extra fascinating moments. At one level throughout my Quest 3S demo, I navigated, to the chagrin of my Meta press handlers, to a user-created realm in Horizon Worlds known as MetDonalds. This turned out to be a VR rendering of a McDonalds restaurant that was solely operated by youngsters. Practically each particular person there was on mic, and each one in all them appeared like a toddler. I attempted to order a digital Completely happy Meal, and was instantly known as out. They requested me how outdated I used to be, and after I instructed them my age there was an amazing refrain of laughter.

“You are 34?” Certainly one of them shouted, her tone a mixture of teasing and astonishment. “What are you even doing right here?”

Good query, child. Good query.

In the end, the Meta Quest 3S is right here to serve up the identical sorts of VR options that its VR headsets have provided for some time. The metaverse isn’t totally right here but, and Horizon Worlds nonetheless feels janky and disorienting. However hey, if these untamed experiences are your factor, then no less than the Quest 3S will decrease the price of entry. The toddlers working the VR McDonalds in Horizon Worlds are having a blast, so perhaps that is simply their world now.