Meta is starting to drop prices on its VR headsets. Starting March 5, the premium Quest Pro will retail for $1,000, up from his previous $1,500. The significant price cut was announced by Mark Zuckerberg himself on his Instagram channel. He says the move is meant to help “more people get into VR.”
The high-end 256GB Meta Quest 2 will be cheaper as well, slated to sell for $429 instead of the previous $500 price tag. All the while, his 128GB Quest 2 at the base remains priced at $400. This means that if he doubles the storage upgrade, he will only get back $30. This is just part of the “price popcorn” strategy.
This price cut for the 256GB Quest 2 is welcome, but it’s worth pointing out that it’s still not enough to reach the original Quest 2’s price. You may remember the price increase. At the time, Meta explained unusual price increases due to rising manufacturing and shipping costs. It also promised that the additional revenue would be used to increase its investment in VR research and development.
We don’t know if that promise has been delivered, but we do know that Meta is pouring a whopping 20% of its total spending into its Reality Labs division in 2023. Zuckerberg is definitely investing heavily in VR. In fact, if rumors are to be believed, the new generation of Quest headsets are set to launch later this year. This could be part of the reason Meta is looking to move existing inventory of current-generation products ahead of launch.
Either way, if you’re looking to get into VR on a budget with the excellent and hugely popular Quest 2, or want to drop a little more money on the Quest Pro, now seems like a good time to do so.
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