3 highlights and most important drawbacks

If you’re a fan of VR, you’ll be rooting for Meta Quest 3S to be a hit.

This is not to expect stable profits from the meta. Importantly, Meta Quest 2 proves that it is not a one-off and that millions of ordinary people still like and are interested in virtual reality.

The Quest 3S is a truer successor to the Quest 2 than the Quest 3. It’s not too expensive, and it’s approachable and suitable for people just getting into VR.

Should I buy it? If you’re a Quest 2 owner and don’t want to be left out of future experiences, the Quest 3S lets you continue your hobby in style. However, it’s missing one important feature. It’s such a shame that Meta couldn’t squeeze in the budget for the Quest 3S.

Here are the pros and cons of the Quest 3S.

Pros: Ready for the future of VR and AR

Meta Quest 3S’s job is to gradually make Quest 2 obsolete. This is a cheaper alternative that has all the core features of the Quest 3.

There’s no obvious reason why the Quest 3S won’t run, and you’ll be able to experience all the features coming to the Quest 3 in the future. They are powered by the same processor and use comparable color pass-through cameras, allowing you to see the world around you properly.

In fact, the Quest 3S may even be able to perform slightly better than the Quest 3 in some titles. It has the same processor and graphics chipset, but also a lower resolution display.

Spending more money on the Quest 3 won’t buy you a headset that will last as long as spending more money on a PC.

Pros: Comes with one of the better (and most expensive) VR games

Mehta is no stranger to good sweeteners. Quest 3S includes Batman: Arkham Shadow and can be received until the end of April 2025.

The game feels like a VR adaptation of one of the classic Rocksteady Batman: Arkham games, and is worth $50 according to retail price.

That’s one-sixth the cost of the base Quest 3S. And certainly, this probably means that very few people will actually pay the full retail price for Batman: Arkham Shadows. But it’s an impressive project, and a better pack-in title than what you’d get in the lowest console bundle.

Pros: Runs even on the lowest storage model

More storage is always better on a device like the Quest 3S, but even entry-level versions are doable. Capacity starts at 128GB, which is uncomfortably low for a laptop.

Enough for Quest 3S. Sure, you’ll need to juggle the installation before too long, but not right away. For example, Batman: Arkham Shadows consumes 25GB and Asgard’s Wrath 2 consumes approximately 21.5GB. These are some of the largest games available on Quest, and most games take up much less space.

Cons: Lens is the weak point

If there’s a big difference between the Quest 3 and Quest 3S, it’s not the difference in resolution or field of view. It’s a lens.

The Quest 3S, like the Quest 2, has a Fresnel lens. These are efficient, but not as sharp as the Quest 3’s pancake lens.

In this respect, the first time I put on the Quest 3S was very similar to when I used the Quest 2. The fairly narrow range of sharpness means your peripheral vision doesn’t look as sharp, and if the headset hangs a bit on your head, the image can become soft.

With the Quest 3, you can actually look to the side by moving your eyes instead of your head, but with the Quest 3S, that’s not a realistic option. As such, the 3S is generally a less immersive headset.

For my money, this is the biggest reason to spend more on the Quest 3. Is it enough to justify an upgrade? It all depends on how much you’re likely to use the headset.

Is MetaQuest 3S worth it?

The Quest 3S is the opposite of the Apple Vision Pro in some important ways. This is a headset designed to be relatively affordable in order to reach as large a mass market audience as possible.

This is smart and part of why the Quest 2 was so successful. But that means the Quest 3S can only be so ambitious and may disappoint some tech fans.

Although it has a significant power upgrade, there are no significant optical advantages over the Quest 2, making it clear that the Quest 3 is the more desirable headset for serious VR fans.