Meta is officially retiring the Quest 2 and Quest Pro. These VR headsets occupied the bottom and top ends of Meta’s product catalog. Now that they’re discontinued, Meta can focus squarely on the mid-range headset market.
This news doesn’t come as much of a surprise. The highly-anticipated and endlessly-leaked Quest 3S is now assuming the role of Meta’s “entry-level” headset, leaving no room for the cheaper, older Quest 2 (which has been sold out since July). And, despite its impressive hardware, the Quest Pro never broke through with consumers. Its impending retirement was an open secret, and its role as an Apple Vision Pro competitor was supplanted by the mid-range Quest 3 in 2023.
Still, the Quest 2’s $200 price tag will be missed. It was a fine budget headset, even in 2024. The Quest Pro also had its merits—a beautiful display, excellent passthrough video, face and eye tracking, tongue tracking (for some reason), and more. Zuckerberg’s obsession with the so-called “Metaverse” didn’t pan out, but the Quest Pro’s Metaverse-friendly features made it one of the best headsets for for VRChat and other similar experiences.
The death of Quest Pro also raises some interesting questions about the VR industry as a whole. This product, which was supposed to shake up the PC industry, revolutionize remote work, and dramatically alter social interactions, was a failure. Very few people were willing to spend $1,000 on the Quest Pro, and those who sprung for the headset mainly use it for VR poker or other unimpressive purposes. Knowing this, how should we assess the Apple Vision Pro, which costs $3,500 and pursues the same goals that Meta outlined two years ago? And if consumers are unwilling to spend $1,000 on a standalone headset, how will a PC VR headset like the HTC VIVE Focus Vision fare in the mid-2020s?
On a lighter note, I should also point out that Meta is also discontinuing the 128GB version of the Quest 3 headset. It’s on sale for $430 while supplies last, though Best Buy and other retailers have not implemented this discount at the time of publication. The 128GB storage capacity should be more than enough for most people, though you might have to delete unused games, apps, and offline media every once in a while. If you plan on mostly playing PC VR, then the storage capacity doesn’t matter at all.
If you still want to buy a Quest 2, Quest Pro, or 128GB Quest 3, you’ll have to shop secondhand or hunt for a retailer who still has the discontinued headsets in stock. Just know that the Quest 2 probably won’t receive a ton of software support from Meta—it’s a four-year-old headset, it’s nearing obsolescence.
Source: Meta
