It might seem early, but Black Friday 2023 is essentially happening now. Which might leave the VR afficianados among us wondering whether Meta Quest 3 is on sale. Unfortunately not — at least not right now. The only deal going on Quest 3 is that Newegg is offering a free $15 Meta gift card with purchase. It’s possible a rogue retailer will drop the price at some point closer to Black Friday, but nothing has been announced to that effect. So for now, the Meta Quest 3 is still available for the starting MSRP of $499.99 everywhere it’s available.
That said, the Meta Quest 2 is on sale for $50 off everywhere, and retailers are throwing in extras — a $50 Amazon gift card, for instance. Let’s have a look.
Meta Quest 3
As usual, the 128GB model sells for $499.99. It includes with a free download of Asgard’s Wrath 2, but the game doesn’t release until December, so you’ll have to wait a couple weeks to play it.
The 512GB model costs $649.99 and also includes a free copy of Asgard’s Wrath 2. The one other bonus you get with this model is a six-month Meta Quest+ trial subscription. Meta Quest+ members get two hand-picked games per month that you can play until you cancel your subscription.
Meta Quest 3 Accessories Are Also Available
If you do choose to go with the Quest 3, you may want to stock up on some of these useful accessories.
Differences Between Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3
So the Quest 2 is way cheaper than the Quest 3, especially when you factor in the Black Friday discount. But what’s the difference between the two generations of hardware?
The Quest 3 has a more powerful chip in it, and the resolution has been improved, for crisper visuals. But the main focus of Meta’s improvements is in pass-through. With the Quest 3, you get full-color pass-through, which means you can see the real, actual world around you with better clarity when enabling the mode. This allows for much improvement in augmented reality games and apps — though honestly there aren’t a ton of must-have ones available just yet. And it still falls well below the level promised by Apple’s (admittedly much more expensive at $3,500) Vision Pro.
Here’s a more detailed rundown of the differences:
The Quest 3 comes in at 515 grams, just 12 grams heavier than its predecessor. Six advanced camera sensors introduce mixed reality features, allowing users to play, for instance, a virtual piano while seated at their kitchen table. There’s also a very cool app called PianoVision that turns your real-life piano into basically Guitar Hero, with notes streaming down in your vision toward the keys.
The Quest 3 sports LCDs with a resolution of 2064×2209 per eye, which is a decent step up compared to the previous model. It also has increased RAM of 8GB, up from Quest 2’s 6GB. And it boasts a second-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset, leaving the way open for it to play more demanding games. The Quest 3 is backwards compatible with all Quest 2 games, by the way.
The Touch Plus Controllers have undergone a significant redesign, ditching the familiar ring shape for a more ergonomic and haptic-enhanced design. The headset’s battery life remains consistent with its predecessor, providing 2.4 hours of gaming on a full charge. A 2-hour charge time from 0 to 100 percent is promised with the included 18W power adapter.
The Quest 3 also supports Wi-Fi 6E, offering a faster and more stable connection. With 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rate support, you can expect smoother visuals as well. The Quest 3 also supports PC VR games with compatibility for both Link and Air Link, expanding the gaming possibilities beyond the standalone experience. You can find a lot more info about the experience of actually using the device in our Meta Quest 3 review.
You can find more deals in our Amazon Black Friday deals roundup as well as our Best Buy Black Friday article. And while Walmart has a handful of early deals live now, the real sale kicks in on November 22. Check back here for details about what’s available then.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Threads and Twitter.
