Mark Zuckerberg has declared that the company’s mixed and virtual reality headset, the Meta Quest Pro, which is intended for business users, will receive a significant price reduction, going from $1,499.99 to $999.99. Similarly, the Quest 2’s 256GB version will cost $429.99 instead of $499.99.
Meta says its goal is to “create hardware that’s affordable for as many people as possible” and that it’s lowering the Pro’s price to make its tech “available to even more businesses and professionals around the world.”
As indicated by the organization’s equipment guide, which was published by earlier this week, it doesn’t seem like the very good quality VR headset is getting a development for basically a couple of years. If the business is trying to get rid of its existing inventory, a price drop of this magnitude makes the most sense in that context.
The Quest Pro’s price drop will begin on March 5 in the United States and Canada and on March 15 in all other countries where it is sold. On May 5, the Quest 2 will become more affordable in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Despite technically impressive features like face tracking and color passthrough, a solid set of controllers, and more powerful hardware than the Quest 2, the Quest Pro has been difficult to sell since it was announced in October. Even though it cost as much as a laptop, it didn’t meet Zuckerberg’s goal of replacing the PC. It also had worse software and a poor battery life. By January, Meta had already conducted sales on the headset, bringing its cost to approximately $1,100.
The Quest Pro does not appear to have been well-received four months after it was released. That’s not exactly encouraging news for Meta, a company that has spent billions of dollars trying to create its metaverse.
The situation is a little bit more complicated for the 256GB Quest 2, which has been pretty popular ever since it was released in 2020. First, Meta raised its price by $100 in August of last year, but the 128GB model is still available at the same price of $399.99. The reason Meta is not lowering the price of that version is not really explained.) It is difficult to imagine a large number of individuals choosing the lower-tier option if it only costs $30 more to double the storage. Additionally, Meta’s adjustment almost brings the now $429 256GB model back to where it was before the increase, which occurred less than a year ago.
Additionally, my colleague Alex Heath claims that the Quest 2’s replacement will retail for “slightly more than the $400 Quest 2” this year. The Quest 3 should be a significant improvement, according to what we’ve heard, with a design that is significantly thinner and “at least twice as powerful.” Meta may be attempting to establish a pricing strategy that makes sense if it intends to continue selling the Quest 2 or if it is attempting to move units prior to replacing the headset in its product line.
Additionally, the company intends to offer a second headset at “the most attractive price point” in 2024.