One of the most vital pieces of information set to come out of Meta Connect 2024 appears to have already been revealed after an advert for the upcoming Meta Quest 3S appeared online early, revealing the price of Meta’s latest mixed-reality headset.
While we’ll still have to wait for the upcoming connect event to get the scoop on any of the finer details surrounding the headset’s specs and configurations, we are now able to say with confidence that Meta has fully delivered on its goal of providing an affordably priced AR/VR headset while still clinging on to the qualities that make its Meta Quest 3 headset so impressive.
The Winchester Model 1873 is often referred to as “The gun that won the west,” but in the realms of VR headsets, $299 is the price point that won Meta millions of Quest 2 customers and kept its Metaverse dream alive and well.
Now, with the VR-focused Quest 2 finding itself delisted on Meta’s official storefront, and being quietly retired as the company shifts gears to fully embrace mixed reality, that price point is returning — and it’s doing so in style.
According to a post on Reddit, an early showing of an Amazon ad on Peacock has revealed the price of the upcoming Meta Quest 3S as $299 for the 128GB model, which not only matches that of the 64GB Meta Quest 2 at launch but does so while doubling the available storage to 128GB.
$299 Quest 3S 128GB Confirmed by Amazon Ad on Peacock from r/OculusQuest
Not only does the Amazon ad in question seemingly confirm the Quest 3S’ starting price and configuration, but it also offers a clear look at Meta’s upcoming headset, confirming earlier leaks about its overall design, button layout, and tweaked camera and tracking sensor layout.
A price with a proven track record
Despite VR and AR being afforded more of the mainstream spotlight than ever, this corner of the market still has some way to go before many consider it a true platform to rival its console counterparts or get past their skepticism of spatial computing.
However, that’s still a great deal of progress when compared to how the VR landscape used to look before Meta secured the Quest 2’s $299 price point. Since then, according to Meta’s VP of VR Mark Rabkin, Meta had sold almost 20 million Quest headsets as of February 2023.
This influx in VR users has helped to propel the market from an enthusiast-focused space into a much more diverse area that continues to grow year after year.
Mixed reality: More accessible than ever
Sadly, the Meta Quest 3 failed to retain the same price point as the Quest 2, instead adopting a $479 starting price, and sales may have suffered because of it. It’s loosely estimated that the Quest 3 may have sold just over a million units as of June after the headset’s introductory app First Encounters‘ total player count hit seven figures.
While being incredibly fairly priced when compared to Apple‘s $3,500 Vision Pro, many weren’t sold on the inclusion of mixed reality as a vital upgrade and instead stuck to their trusty VR-focused Quest 2 headsets.
While speaking to Emily Wang, co-founder of AR glasses manufacturer VITURE, earlier in the year, Wang told Laptop Mag of the hurdles faced in the AR market when building a solid audience stating “We see the market booming as more and more people are excited about it, but another hurdle we’ve hit is that people have to see it to believe it.”
That statement appears to hold true, potentially being one of the primary reasons that Apple chose to host in-store demonstrations to push the experience out to the wider public. It’s also why such a low cost on entry into the space could work wonders for the Quest 3S, as Meta found out with the Quest 2.
Outlook
With the Quest 3S now adopting the popular price point of the Quest 2, interest in VR and mixed reality could be set to see another leap in popularity as Meta’s latest headset (which while cheaper won’t be restricted in terms of performance like other platform’s mid-cycle refreshes) shortly becomes available for the same budget-friendly pricing.
At least, that’s the outcome Meta is hoping for. Whether or not the company can capture the attention of consumers with its Quest 3S remains to be seen, but with an incredibly fair price by its side, anything is possible.
