It’s been a long time since I last donned a mixed reality headset. While I have the Quest 2 at home, its use has dwindled since most of my tech activities now revolve around a foldable Android device. However, getting a hands-on experience with the Meta Quest 3S at Meta Connect made me think twice about this tech’s place in my everyday life. But then, there’s that pesky queasiness.
Meta recently unveiled the Quest 3S, starting at the slightly more pocket-friendly price of $300. It’s more budget-conscious than the standard Quest 3, running the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform. As expected, the lower price comes with compromises, like a reduced field of view. Nevertheless, it’s still more expansive than what the Quest 2 offered. With this release, Meta seems to be targeting users like me who haven’t picked up their headsets in a while but might be tempted by an upgrade. The full-color mixed reality passthrough was quite engaging, and I was able to switch modes seamlessly during my demo.
Initially, the Meta Quest 3S experience had me feeling nostalgic, but eventually, it reminded me why I’ve been hesitant with these devices. The sensation of nausea returned. Whether it was hunger or the stifling heat of the demo area compounding things, about 32 minutes in, I had to gracefully exit the virtual space to catch my breath in reality.
What really pushed me over was the Horizon World’s Music Valley Experience. Featuring Sabrina Carpenter—an artist I remember from her Disney Channel days—the experience was immersive, feeling almost like an invasion of space as you drew closer to her virtual stage. It felt uncomfortably intimate.
During my exploration, another avatar joined and danced with me. This person kindly showed me around this digital playground, taking us to a floating alien spaceship that dispersed music notes. Attempting to catch these with the joystick controllers highlighted my growing discomfort.
Not everything was a challenge, though. I enjoyed parts of the Quest 3S’s features, like watching the beginning of a Celine Dion special on Amazon Prime—her voice was fantastic. An 8K, 3D YouTube video had me chilling in a field of daisies, and I had a little fun moving and stacking virtual windows. Attempts to play an Xbox game hit a snag due to a malfunctioning controller, yet I managed to jump into Just Dance. But, by then, my endurance was waning.
Horizon Worlds hit me hardest, lacking the stable horizons that help balance out motion sickness in the real world, like staring at the horizon on a boat. This unsettling feeling caught me off guard, especially while seated, which has convinced me that next time I strap on a headset, I’ll be staying firmly in my chair. While Meta has figured out how to lower the Quest’s pricing, tackling the queasy stomachs like mine in the realm of virtual and mixed reality still needs attention.
The new Meta Quest 3S starts at $300 for the 128GB version and goes up to $400 for 256GB. You can preorder now, with official sales starting October 15.
