My Meta Quest 3S review is here, and this VR headset is positioned as a more affordable alternative to the Meta Quest 3. Though it's cheaper, it packs many of the same great features if you're comparin the Quest 3 vs. Quest 3S — including giving you full access to all the best Quest games and apps available for the virtual reality headset. At $299, it could be a smash hit, and a big winner for holiday gifts. But is it smarter to just get the Quest 3? The question is, should you buy or skip the Meta Quest 3S?
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00:00Should you buy or skip the meta quest 3s you're actually getting a really great VR experience
00:05Especially if you're coming off
00:07Something older like the quest 2 or god forbid the quest 1 if you've had your eye on a quest 3 for a while
00:14But didn't want to spend
00:16$499 you can now buy the 3s and basically the same experience except for a few things which we'll get into and save yourself
00:22$200 you can spend towards extra games or apps
00:25The meta quest 3 starts at $299 for the 128 gig model if you need more room for your games and apps you could opt for
00:33The $399 model with 256 gigs of storage for comparison the meta quest 3 now starts at $499 and features
00:41512 gigs so with the quest 3s you're saving up to $200 and a minimum of
00:46$100 for $299 the quest 3s is perfect for folks who are curious to try VR or are
00:51Intimidated by the high cost of other headsets so even though this is a budget headset
00:55You're not getting a budget experience
00:57This headset is also great if you have kids and want to gift them an excellent VR AR headset the quest 3s delivers the same
01:04Great AR experience as the quest 3 albeit slightly less sharp as far as the actual experience of playing games and going through apps
01:11You're not getting a compromise experience at all like yes, the resolution isn't as high, but it's not like bad
01:18Menus hover over your environment allowing you to work or navigate through apps without completely blocking out the real world around you
01:25It's easy to move the menu and windows either with the controller or with pinching and holding
01:31AR is particularly useful for productivity and desktop apps like immerse which Paul has demonstrated before
01:37So even though you have a boundary that you set up like if I step out of the area
01:42Then like the real world kind of comes in which is good like if somebody kind of steps through
01:46Somebody needs to get my attention
01:48Yeah, like that again AR is a great way to work and play while keeping you aware of your surroundings
01:54It's one of this headsets best and most useful features when I press this button like a like a mandible comes out
02:00That's kind of cool. Oh thrusters. Let's try that
02:04Games like red matter do an excellent job of demonstrating a quest 3s graphical and performance capabilities like right now
02:10I really feel like I'm on this alien planet
02:13And everything's coming in nice and clear that the colors are popping and also moves a lot smoother than I remember VR used to move
02:21It used to be a little bit clunkier before you truly feel like you're in an alien world
02:25What's the name of the game?
02:26I was about to read my hold on a second then there's Fruit Ninja and synth writers which demonstrate the responsiveness of the controls
02:34Hold on can't hear you
02:38How do I pause this thing? Oh, I'm stuck in it until I'm done
02:42Okay
02:44It's a too loud. Yeah, okay
02:47I can't cuz I'm my hands are tied up even as someone who prefers gaming in front of a TV instead of a headset
02:53I'm impressed by the unique gaming experiences on quest 3s if you kind of miss the wee days
02:59There's actually a good way to revisit that because you know the whole
03:03Stereotype is I know gamers just sit around all day not being healthy
03:07But there's a good way of burning off some calories and have fun doing it
03:11Even though you will get PS like experiences in terms of graphics performance is generally excellent
03:16No matter what game or app I use everything ran buttery smooth. Thanks to the variable refresh rate
03:21I'm also glad the quest 3s uses the same snapdragon chip as the quest 3 while this is a budget headset
03:28You won't get a budget experience the games that come a long way
03:31Not that they look terrible before but this is a lot better
03:35Especially with like how smooth everything moves the the frame rate and all that like this is pretty cool
03:41One other big advantage is you can play high-end PC games wirelessly or wired through Steam VR for instance with a subscription
03:48You can stream from Xbox game pass and play games like NBA 2k on a massive virtual screen
03:55While the quest 3s is a relatively compact headset. It's not the most comfortable to wear for long stretches
04:00It's heavier than quest 3 which means you won't forget you're wearing a headset
04:03only thing that really stands out as being not premium is
04:08the feel of the headset I've used the the regular meta quest 3 and that feels a lot more comfortable to wear because of the
04:15Pancake lenses. I also find that it presses on your face a little bit more while loosening the straps helps alleviate this issue
04:21It can begin sagging because of its weight
04:23This might not be a problem depending on the shape of your face and head but it's worth noting
04:28That said you won't be able to keep the headset on for long anyway, because the battery life is generally around two hours
04:34However, those two hours might not be the most comfortable
04:37The quest 3s has a lower resolution than a quest 3 because of that images aren't as sharp or defined as in the previous model
04:44That's not to say that games are absolutely blurry far from it
04:47But if you're used to the quest 3s higher resolution the quest 3s lower resolution won't be pleasing to your eyes
04:53This isn't a problem
04:54I have but many people get dizzy when using VR headsets if you're such a person the quest 3 might not be for you since
05:00It doesn't offer a radically different viewing experience from other VR headsets on the market
05:05Even if the $299 price is enticing you'll want to skip this device if VR tends to make you dizzy or nauseous
05:13The meta quest 3s is a fantastic entry-level headset that delivers a relatively premium level experience at an affordable price
05:20Though it's not as comfortable to wear as the quest 3s and has a lower resolution
05:24It delivers the same fantastic AR experience and can run every meta quest game because of that
05:29It's ideal for those who want to see what VR is all about
05:32To learn more make sure you go to Tom's guide.com to read my full review and for everything else Tom's guide
05:37Make sure you follow us all over social. Once again, I was Tony Polanco, and I'll see you next time later