We’re in a bit of a gulf now that Quest 2 is sold out and Meta is likely preparing to drop a new, cheaper device pretty soon to fill its shoes. To keep the headset sales chugging though, Meta announced it’s offering 0% financing on Quest 3.
Meta says eligible people in the US can finance a Quest 3 starting today at 0% APR through Affirm, which lets you pay $25 per month for a 128 GB headset, or $35 per month for the 512 GB model—both of which is paid over the course of 24 months.
Granted, that comes out to $100 more than if you bought the 128 GB variant outright, and $190 more for the 512 GB variant, however Meta is offsetting this by offering an included 24-month subscription to its Meta Quest+ game service and Meta Warranty Plus coverage.
Meta Quest+ features two curated monthly games and access to a pool of titles, which normally costs $60 annually, and Meta Warranty Plus coverage costs $40 for two years of coverage on the 128 GB variant, and $50 for the 512 GB variant. Essentially (if you’re approved), you’ll spend less than you would if you purchased everything separately.
But should you really buy a Quest 3 on credit, which will necessarily lock you into two years of ownership? We can’t answer that question, because it depends on your financial situation, however the company is likely making some pretty big moves fairly soon which could change your mind one way or the other.
Earlier this summer a leak seemingly confirmed that Meta is launching a new, cheaper Quest headset in 2024, reportedly called Meta Quest 3S, which is likely set to replace Quest 2 as the low-end device.
Meta still hasn’t let the cat of the bag on Quest 3S, which we’re hoping to learn more about at Connect 2024 in September, however the company has confirmed it’s going to release its XR operating system to third-party OEMs for the first time, which is set to include Quest-like mixed reality headsets from ASUS, Lenovo, and Xbox.
Whatever the case, Quest 3 is an extremely competent XR headset, which you can read more about in our full review from when it launched in October 2023.