Heads up: Loads of Black Friday 2023 deals are still active today on Cyber Monday. The VR fans among us might be wondering whether Meta Quest 3 is on sale. Unfortunately, it's not. The only Quest 3 deal is Newegg offering a free $15 Meta gift card with purchase. That's not bad, but it's not great, either. That said, the Meta Quest 2 is on sale for $50 off everywhere, and retailers are throwing in extras -- a $50 Amazon gift card when you enter code "META50" at checkout, for instance. Let's have a look.
Meta Quest 3
- Get it at Amazon
- Get it at Best Buy
- Get it at GameStop
- Get it at Newegg (includes free $15 Meta gift card)
- Get it at Walmart
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 2064x2209 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. Walmart also has dozens of deals still available this weekend.
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.
