At Meta Connect 2024, Meta unveiled the new Meta Quest 3S, offering an exciting $299 mid-range option that could make mixed reality more accessible to a wider audience.
Built for a wider audience compared to the standard Meta Quest 3, this new headset hits a sweet spot in price by making some compromises. However, for the average person just looking to jump into VR, it’s a solid new entry.
The Meta Quest 3S, slated to hit store shelves on Oct. 15, sports a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 chip, which, while not the latest and greatest, still delivers solid performance for most VR applications. The headset features a resolution of 1832 x 1920 pixels per eye, ensuring crisp visuals that won’t strain your eyes. With its 90 Hz refresh rate, it aims to help ease the motion sickness that sensitive users may experience while using the headset.
The Quest 3S also features passthrough technology, allowing users to see their real-world surroundings without removing the headset. This feature opens up a world of possibilities for mixed reality applications, from productivity tools to immersive gaming experiences that blend virtual elements with your living room.
Based on details from Meta Connect, it seems the company has also put thought into the Meta Quest 3S’s design, offering a more comfortable fit that distributes weight more evenly across the head. The controllers have also received an upgrade, with improved haptics for a more tactile experience in VR.
While it remains to be seen if the Meta Quest 3S will have the horsepower to run the most demanding VR titles, it still has access to Meta’s extensive library of VR content. From fitness apps to social experiences and games, there’s plenty to keep users entertained and engaged.
With a release date of Oct. 15, we won’t have long to wait to see what the more affordable Meta Quest 3S has to offer. While there are still plenty of questions up in the air, we look forward to diving deeper into this new headset closer to launch to better assess whether this is the device that will finally bring VR and AR to the masses.
