CNET reviews: Best virtual reality headsets

With all the VR headsets there are available now, there's a little something different offered by each. The terms “VR” and “AR” are being folded together into mixed reality thanks to a wave of VR headsets that also have pass-through cameras to blend the virtual and real. There's one clear winner: the Meta Quest 3, which offers mixed reality and improved display resolution and optics 9 and is $3,000 less expensive than the Apple Vision Pro). However, the new Meta Quest 3S, a lower-cost version of the Quest 3, is an even better buy for entry-level VR adopters.

Here's a look at what all three have to offer.

WHAT Meta Quest 3

THE COST $499.99

AVAILABLE FROM meta.com

Meta's upgraded VR sequel to the Quest 2 feels like a notable revamp, with improvements across the board: a slightly smaller design, better, clearer lenses, a higher-res display, smaller controllers with better haptics and higher-res color cameras that can mix the real world and the virtual together. This "mixed reality" is similar in spirit to what Apple's Vision Pro will do but in a lower-res form for a lot less money. Although the Quest 3 has great upgrades, it doesn't really change the equation much on the general way the headset and software function.

WHAT Meta Quest 3S

THE COST $299.99

AVAILABLE FROM meta.com

The Meta Quest 3S is super-affordable and comes with updated graphics and color pass-through cameras that give the 3S the same gaming and mixed reality powers as the Quest 3. It's a fantastic budget buy, but Meta cut corners on the display and lens quality with the 3S, choosing to use the same fresnel lenses and LCD display as the Quest 2. It's perfectly fine for general VR and gaming, but the more expensive Quest 3's notably clearer lenses and crisper resolution are better for all-day use and for reading text. The Quest 3S comes with a free game, Batman: Arkham Shadow, adding to its value.

WHAT Apple Vision Pro

THE COST $3,499

AVAILABLE FROM apple.com

Apple stands alone in the category of "stand-alone mixed reality computer headset" because, really, nothing else out there does exactly what the Vision Pro does. Most VR headsets to date have focused on games and individual immersive creative and work apps to explore ideas in mixed reality. Apple’s Vision Pro takes a very different path by folding in almost all of iOS. Having familiar Apple services and thousands of iOS apps floating in virtual workspaces feels like a future where our existing devices and VR/AR finally dovetail. The Vision Pro also has a phenomenal micro-OLED display that plays movies incredibly well.