Meta Quest 3S: 5 features of the new (and cheaper!) VR headset revealed

If you’ve been curious to give virtual reality a go, but been put off by the price tag of the various headsets out there, you’re going to love this — Meta has just revealed the latest entry into its Meta Quest headset family, and it’s at a price point low enough to tempt even the penny pinchers.

The Meta Quest 3S, revealed at this week’s Meta Connect conference, is like the little brother of the top-tier Meta Quest 3. But it doesn’t skimp on the immersive experience that virtual and augmented reality devices offer, building on three generations of mobile VR hardware knowledge that the team at Meta has cultivated. Pop it over your head and the virtual and real worlds meld together in hundreds of apps, from big screen cinema experiences to games that put you literally into the heart of the action. It’s looking set to be a great entry point for anyone that’s looking for a virtual getaway, at a great price.

Here’s five key Meta Quest 3S features to help you decide if it’s the headset for you.

1. Quest 3 performance at a fraction of the price

The Meta Quest 3S starts at £289.99 for 128GB storage, going up to £379.99 for 256GB of storage. That’s significantly cheaper than the Meta Quest 3, which now ships with 512GB as standard.

But that’s not to say you’re getting a dramatically lesser experience for the price. Meta Quest 3S may have a lower resolution (1832 x 1920) compared to the Meta Quest 3 (2064 x 2208), but it crucially does have the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 chip that powers the top-tier model. That means 2x the graphics performance capability against the last-gen Meta Quest 2, delivering silky smooth AAA game play and mixed reality features.

2. A new camera array

The Meta Quest 3S makes use of a revised camera array on its frontispiece that, in our books, makes it a better-looking device than the Meta Quest 3. Whereas the Quest 3 has three vertical configurations of cameras and sensors on its front, the Quest 3S groups 6 circular camera sensors across its front. They almost look like alien eyes, giving the device a cool sci-fi feel.

What they can do, rather than how they look, is the really important thing though. In each grouping you’ll find two RGB sensors that create the colour stereoscopic passthrough view that lets you see your surroundings in real time through the headset, four VGA sensors for tracking movements in 3D space (plus the position of your hands and controllers), and two Flood LEDs that allow for consistent tracking no matter the lighting and environment you’re using the headset in. The only downgrade from the Quest 3 is a lack of a depth sensor, which may affect tracking in experiences where very fine interactions are required.

3. A very handy Action button

Here’s something that even the Quest 3 doesn’t have — the Quest 3S has a physical button that’s dedicated to switching between full, immersive VR environments and a passthrough mixed-reality view of your surroundings, on the fly. Though the Quest 3 can swap between these views with a software toggle, this hardware button is a very convenient, speedy way to jump between the two views. That’ll be great for quickly answering a doorbell or grabbing your phone if you’re otherwise immersed in a virtual world.

4. Advanced hand-tracking

Meta Quest 3S comes with the same ace Touch Plus controllers as the Meta Quest 3, with excellent tracking and haptic feedback for interacting with virtual environments and applications. But if you’re not comfortable with pads… you can just use your pinkies instead.

Like the Meta Quest 3, the Quest 3S can be easily controlled with intuitive hand-tracking controls, completely free from the accompanying hardware controllers. Pinch, grab and swipe your way through the interfaces, and the Quest 3S can easily interpret your intentions. Though many games still require controllers to play, a growing number of titles will happily let you play completely hands-free, too.

5. Better battery life

Here’s another spec where the Quest 3S surprisingly has the Quest 3 beat. You’ll get around two and a half hours of playtime per charge out of the Quest 3S’s battery, while the Quest 3 gets just over three hours on average. We’re guessing that’s down to the processing needs of the higher resolution Quest 3 displays and depth sensor — but anything that lets you stay immersed in a digital world without reaching for a charger quite so often is a win in our books. That’s also roughly an hour more than you’d get with the last-gen Quest 2, too.

• Want to know more about the top-tier model? Read our full Meta Quest 3 review