- Kyle Chua
Meta Announces Price Hike for Quest 2 Two Years After Launch
We’ve perhaps long been conditioned to expect the prices of consumer tech products to only go down after launch, given the typical generational release cycle that most manufacturers follow. Meta, however, seems to be the unusual outlier to that notion.
The tech giant announced it’s hiking the price of the Quest 2 two years after launch. Starting this August, the virtual reality (VR) headset’s price will go up from US$299 to US$399 for the base 128GB and from US$399 to US$499 for the 256GB model, marking a US$100 bump in price for the product as a whole. Accessories for the headset are also expected to become more expensive.
The Quest 2, as of writing, is still available for its original retail price at most outlets, though you might have to hurry if you plan to get one as it's expected to sell out once more consumers get wind of the news.
Meta blamed higher manufacturing and shipping costs, likely due to inflation, for the price hike. The company explained that the revenue from the hike grows its investment in research and development of VR technology – a technology that will power its vision for the metaverse.
This is a very unusual move from Meta. Typically, when tech companies release more expensive versions of older products, they would at least incorporate some hardware updates or add a few new features that attempt to justify the price hike. But here, you’re essentially getting the same Quest 2 that came out in August 2020.
The price hike becomes even weirder when you consider how the Quest 2 has always been marketed as an affordable headset. The fact that it works as a standalone device that doesn’t need to be tethered to a PC makes it an accessible, entry-level purchase for anyone who wants to get into the technology. More often than not, only high-end and premium devices might get a price hike – even then it’s quite rare. The Verge, for instance, points out that Sonos similarly raised the price of its Arc soundbar last year by US$100. But it's not fair to compare it to the Quest 2 because the Arc was already expensive when it launched.
According to the research company Counterpoint, Meta shipped an estimated 10 million Quest 2 headsets last year, beating its competitors in the VR space like Sony and HTC. The data notes that the product's relatively cheap price made it more attractive to consumers. As to how the US$100 price hike will affect the headset's sales moving forward is, of course, yet to be seen. Meta did say that despite the change, the Quest 2 remains the most affordable VR headset in the market.
Meta teased that it still plans to release Project Cambria, the next-generation mixed-reality headset that supposedly blurs the lines between the digital and the real world, later this year. More Quest headsets are said to be also in the cards.
Meta announced it’s hiking the price of the two-year-old Quest 2 by US$100 starting this August.
The Quest 2, as of writing, is still available for its original retail price in most outlets, though you might have to hurry if you plan to get one as it's expected to sell out once more consumers get wind of the news.
Meta blamed higher manufacturing and shipping costs, likely due to inflation, for the price hike.