I spent 30 minutes in an intense boxing workout. My heart rate hit 150, and I could feel it. It was great. Coach Doc is serious. I followed through and did a cool-down exercise — and all of this happened inside the Meta Quest 3. Then I wiped down the headset and then got back to work… inside the Apple Vision Pro.

That describes my life in mixed-reality headsets lately. Meta’s $500 Quest 3 and Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro feel very different but also very much the same; it just depends on how you look at them.

I’ve had VR and AR devices in my life for years, but for many people, the decision to put an immersive device on your face is still pretty new. Apple is the latest company entering a space where Meta, aka Facebook, has been for nearly a decade. The Meta Quest 2 was my favorite VR headset ever made, and it was affordable. But the Quest 3 and Vision Pro, both introduce ideas that will influence the landscape for years.

The Vision Pro, which feels like an iOS device in mixed-reality headset form, seems like the beginning of an entirely new proposition. Its displays are fantastic, as is the way it multitasks apps. Its eye and hand tracking, while handling FaceTimes and more with virtual Persona avatars, can feel like a revelation.

But if you want something affordable you can use to play with mixed reality and games and fitness right now (with a few work-related benefits, too), the choice should be the Quest 3 for nearly everyone. Here’s why.

Mixed reality: Virtual blends with the real, to different degrees

The Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro are both standalone VR headsets with mixed-reality passthrough capabilities. These goggle-like headsets, which tighten over your face, have arrays of cameras on the outside that capture the real world and show it to you on displays inside. Virtual displays, games and even 3D objects can be layered over the real world. Each headset uses depth sensors to accurately mesh your real-world space with these virtual objects.

The Quest 3’s color camera quality is much better than the Quest 2’s black-and-white cameras, but the view is still fuzzy and somewhat distorted. The 3D video feed is good enough to see things around you, and to check messages on a phone or watch — but you may have to squint a bit. I found it hard to see my laptop screen, though.

The Vision Pro’s cameras are much sharper and are good enough to briefly use your phone through the headset. They’re still not as good as your own vision, though, and Apple’s micro-OLED displays have a bit of motion blur.

Meta and Apple allow apps to float over the real world, but the Quest 3 can only run one app at a time, unless you’re using the browser and a 2D app. The Vision Pro can multitask with many apps simultaneously, making it feel more like a real office tool.

But Apple’s headset doesn’t use the dimensions of your real-world much for immersive mixed reality experiences yet, even though it’s constantly pinging your space. It mostly floats 2D windows, although apps like Jigspace, DJay and 3D board games, show where things could go next. The Quest 3 has some mixed-reality games, fitness apps and creative tools that turn walls and floors into portals and playgrounds, but not a huge amount. Apple’s hardware is better, but no headset is making the most of mixed reality. Passthrough is mostly useful for helping you see the space around you without feeling as closed in.

Work: Both can do it, but Apple is better

Apple’s fancier Vision Pro has the edge when it comes to feeling like a crisp monitor on your face. Those bright micro-OLED displays make a projected MacBook screen, any 2D app or photos or videos look stellar. But the Vision Pro limits you to one virtual Mac monitor at a time — no matter how powerful your Mac is. The Quest 3, surprisingly, can do multiple monitors from a Mac (or Windows PC) with apps like Immersed, and Meta’s Horizons Workrooms can meet those needs, too. Both headsets support connecting Bluetooth keyboards and trackpads as well.

That’s just using your headset as a display for your computer, though. Where the Vision Pro has a longer-term edge is its access to thousands of iOS apps. These can be opened and multitasked all around you. Then there’s Siri and Apple’s other services, which run mostly like they do on iPads or iPhones. FaceTime call? Zoom? Slack? Microsoft Office? Apple Music? Yes to all of them.

Meta also has a collection of 2D apps, including Microsoft Office apps, but the Quest’s OS isn’t part of Google’s ecosystem. You need to sign into apps one by one or find Facebook apps to hook in with. The process isn’t nearly as seamless. But Apple’s headset has tons of first-gen bugs, too.

The multitasking capabilities of the Vision Pro are a huge advantage. Apps can be opened simultaneously all over, making the OS feel much more flexible than Quest’s.

Games: Quest is a VR game console, Vision Pro is not yet

My kids use the Quest 2 for Gorilla Tag, Beat Saber and lots of other games. It’s a game console. Meta has invested in developing hundreds of games, and plenty of great ones exist. The Quest headsets can also connect to a Windows PC and play Steam VR games like Half-Life Alyx, too. The Quest 3 is better designed for this than its predecessor, with its improved displays and wireless connections. The Quest headsets are priced like game consoles, running $250 to $500 (with additional cost for more onboard storage).

The Vision Pro has a handful of games so far, but none I’d call amazing. Some, like the active game Synth Riders (also on Quest) and the clever puzzle game BlackBox, show what games could be on the Vision Pro. But the headset only has eye and hand tracking as inputs. These work well for browsing and OS interaction, but less so for immersive games at the moment. Meta’s Quest 3 has both hand tracking and included controllers, which helps a ton when gaming. The controllers are excellent for high-speed action like Beat Saber, and have helpful vibration feedback. Hand tracking is the flip side of Vision Pro: It’s not great for browsing, but better in 3D games that use the inputs.

The Vision Pro and Quest 3 can play 2D games on virtual big screens with paired controllers: the Quest 3 has Steam Link and Xbox cloud gaming, but Vision Pro is limited to Apple Arcade, iOS and whatever you might run from a MacBook.

Don’t get a Vision Pro for games. Get a Quest 3.

Fitness: My favorite VR activity is mostly Quest-only

I’ve become a big VR fitness fan lately. Supernatural, a subscription-based dance and boxing program that uses holograms of real trainers and pairs with an Apple Watch for heart-rate readings, is a part of my daily routine. Many people use the Quest is a fitness device, mainly because these active exercise apps are widespread. The Quest can do some basic activity tracking, which hooks into iOS and Android.

The Quest 3 has almost entirely become a fitness device for me. That’s a role the Vision Pro can’t fill right now because the apps and the fitness ecosystem support simply aren’t there.

There are a few active apps for the Vision Pro: Synth Riders, for instance, is a dance and music game, but it’s also available on the Quest. Using only my hands means there’s no vibrating haptic feedback, which I get with Meta’s controllers and is key for letting me know when I hit targets. The Vision Pro’s weight and battery pack also make it feel less fitness-ready. There are a few meditation apps in the Vision Pro’s app store, so mindfulness is an area for growth. Still, the Quest 3 is much more fitness-forward.