The VR experience you've been waiting for? What you need to know about Meta's Quest 3S headphones

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Meta's most budget-friendly mixed reality headset lives up to the hype. Last month, Meta was introduced the Quest 3S headphones — a smaller, lighter and more affordable version of the Meta Quest 3 with a few internal and external upgrades.

For starters, the Meta Quest 3S retails for $299 — $200 cheaper than its predecessor. It's also lighter and more comfortable than Meta Quest 3, and updated with new features like dynamic spatial audio and increased resolution for Passthrough (which lets you blend your reality with VR).

The Meta Quest 3S allows users to stream movies and more on a cinema-sized VR screen, as well as access games such as Beat Saber, Hello Moves XR, Just Dance VR, Wordle and Subway awakenings along with streaming apps like Prime Video, PeacockNetflix, Amazon Music, Twitch, YouTube, Xbox Cloud Gaming (available in BETA).

The holidays are just around the corner, and Meta's latest VR set is sure to be a gift. With Meta Quest 3S users can explore Horizon Worlds' Music Valley, where music fans have a front row seat to virtual reality performances by Sabrina Carpenter, BLACKPINK, Doja Cat and other recording stars.

One of my main issues with Meta Quest 3? The headset. It's heavy and uncomfortable, but the Quest 3S offers a slight improvement on the weight issue along with other, notable upgrades like adjustable Frensel lenses, a divider for users who wear glasses, and a reworked Meta Horizon OS interface with added support for social media apps like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The Quest 3S is incredibly user-friendly, especially if you're already familiar with the Meta portal. Even if you're not familiar, the device will walk you through the steps to set things up.

The new 3S has a Travel Mode so you can use it on a plane (Meta plans to expand it to use on trains and other modes of travel) and hand tracking, which lets you use your hands instead of the controls.

The standard Quest 3S comes with 128GB of storage, but you can upgrade to the 256GB device for $399.99. The Meta Quest 3S is available at major retailers such as Amazon, Target, Walmart, Better Market and Meta.com.

Get a free copy of it Batman: Arkham Shadow and three months from Meta Quest+ with the purchase of a brand new Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S by April 2025.