The Meta Quest Pro would struggle to sell. Mark Zuckerberg has just announced that the price of his new VR headset will drop drastically, from $1,499 to $999 in the United States. As a reminder, the device (invoiced 1 799 € in France) was presented last October and did not really appeal to critics.
In a press release, Meta explains that it wants ” create affordable equipment for the greatest number “. This price drop would aim to make its technology “ accessible to even more companies and professionals around the world “. The promotion will take effect on March 5 in the United States, and will be applied in other countries from March 15. France is affected by the reduction according to The Vergeeven if we do not know the new rate in euros.
It must be said that the helmet is aimed at a niche audience: Mark Zuckerberg explained during his presentation to target companies and professionals. According to feedback from the press, the device would certainly be a step forward but would retain many faults, such as a mediocre battery or an image quality that is still too low to work properly. Presumably the gear wasn’t selling particularly well, with Meta having applied occasional discounts in the US while the Quest Pro has been on the market for less than 5 months.
More surprisingly, the Quest 2 helmet will also see its price revised downwards when it had risen by 100 € last summer. Only the 256 GB version will go from $500 to $429, the 128 GB version remaining at $399. We are therefore almost back to the 2020 launch price. We will have to wait until March 15 to find out what the prices are in France.
Despite this discount, it’s hard to recommend the Quest 2 in 2023. Meta is expected to announce the third version of its headset in the fall, which should feature a design twice as thin for double the power. The price should be slightly increased, but this model should hold up much better over time.