It’s been a while since I last slipped on a virtual—excuse me, mixed reality headset. I’ve got a Quest 2 gathering dust at home, mostly because I’ve shifted my computing needs to a foldable Android device. But during my hands-on with the Meta Quest 3S at Meta Connect, I found myself reevaluating whether this kind of tech might have a meaningful spot in my routine. But, oh boy, do I wish it didn’t make me feel queasy.
Meta recently unveiled the Quest 3S headset, priced at a starting point of $300. It’s a tad friendlier on the wallet compared to the regular Quest 3, operating on the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform. However, the trade-off is a reduction in resolution as it offers a narrower field of view. That said, it’s still an upgrade from the Quest and Quest 2. Meta seems to be targeting those of us who haven’t donned our headsets in ages, encouraging us to consider an upgrade. It boasts a full-color mixed reality passthrough, which allowed me to move around effortlessly during my demo, just by switching to that mode.
As I kicked off my session with the Meta Quest 3S, nostalgia hit strong—I initially thought I missed this experience. Yet, by the session’s end, I was reminded why these gadgets often stay shelved. They tend to make me feel nauseous. I couldn’t pinpoint whether it was the lack of snacks or the oppressive heat, but about 32 minutes in, I politely asked to remove the headset and catch my breath in the real world.
The tipping point was the Horizon World’s Music Valley Experience. It features Sabrina Carpenter, who, to me, is still the young star from the Disney Channel, singing in the distance. As you draw closer to her “stage,” the scene gets more absorbing, almost as if you’re stepping into someone’s personal space. It felt a tad too intimate with Sabrina for my liking.
At one juncture, another avatar showed up and started dancing alongside me. This virtual companion was quite gracious in guiding me through the digital playground. We wandered over to a hovering alien spaceship filled with musical notes. I struggled to grab them using the joystick controls, and during this activity, the queasiness really kicked in.
There were other parts of the Quest 3S that I found successful. I tuned into the beginning of the Celine Dion special on Amazon Prime, and she sounded fantastic. I found myself in a meadow full of daisies in an 8K, 3D YouTube video, which was soothing. I rearranged some windows and haphazardly stacked them just for fun. I attempted to play an Xbox game, but the demo controller was malfunctioning. I did manage to join in on Just Dance, but at that point, I was nearing the limit of my tolerance.
The most intense sickness hit during Horizon Worlds, largely due to a lack of stable footing—a steady horizon you can fixate on, kind of like when trying to steady yourself on a moving boat. What surprised me was experiencing this sensation while simply seated. So, next round with a headset, I’ll stick to sitting down. Meta has managed to bring the Quest’s price down, but they’ve still got a task ahead—convincing those of us with sensitive stomachs to embrace virtual and mixed reality.
The new Meta Quest 3S is priced from $300 for 128GB and goes up to $400 for the 256GB version. It’s available for preorder now, with official sales kicking off on October 15.
