The Meta Quest 3S failed to boost holiday demand for VR in 2024, Omdia report said analyzing multiple data points on struggling market and consumer disinterest.
Sensor Tower data revealed a 27 percent drop in downloads of the Meta Quest mobile companion app on Christmas Day compared to 2023, despite the October launch of the Quest 3S. Total app downloads for 2024 reached 7.8 million, slightly above the previous year but still far below 2022’s record of 10.3 million.
December downloads were particularly weak, falling 21 percent year-on-year. While the Meta Quest app serves as a strong indicator of headset sales — requiring a download during initial setup — the flat figures reflect Meta’s inability to expand its audience beyond existing users.
Second-hand sales, headset sharing, and other factors further muddle the data, but the overall trend underscores a plateau in VR hardware adoption.
Sales data from Amazon product pages also indicated underperformance during the critical Black Friday month, with Quest headset sales across eight countries declining 16 percent year-on-year to 160,000 units.
The Quest 3S, which accounted for 66 percent of sales, faced criticism for its incremental improvements over the Quest 2, retaining bulkiness due to Fresnel lenses and offering limited comfort compared to the Quest 3. Additionally, its limited library of AR content and compatibility with most Quest Store games available on the Quest 2 diminished its appeal as an upgrade.
Meta’s holiday promotions, including discounts on the Quest 3 and 3S, failed to generate significant demand. The US remained the dominant market, contributing 73 percent of sales, but other key regions, such as Germany and France, showed minimal engagement.
App rankings during the holiday season reflected this disparity, with the Meta Quest app breaking into the top 10 in the US, Canada, and the UK but struggling to gain traction elsewhere.
The VR market challenges were evident in Omdia’s Consumer VR Headset and Content Revenue Forecast, which reported a 10 percent decline in headset sales to 6.9 million units and an 8 percent drop in active usage to 21.9 million. These declines are tied to limited compelling new content, inconsistent engagement throughout the year, and developers questioning the return on investment for VR projects.
Despite efforts to market the Quest 3S with features like improved passthrough mixed reality and bundling popular content such as Batman: Arkham Shadow, these enhancements did not resonate strongly with consumers.
Meta Platform’s shift in focus toward smart glasses hints at a broader strategic move, acknowledging that VR headsets in their current form may not achieve mass-market appeal.
Priced from $300, the Quest 3S is a follow-up to the highly successful Quest 2. There was a palpable hope within the industry that it would reinvigorate VR hardware sales thanks to its attractive price (starting from $300), bundling the new Batman: Arkham Shadow game, and its enhanced passthrough mixed reality features, said Omdia analyst George Jijiashvili.
While seasonal spikes in concurrent VR game users during the holiday seasons suggest pockets of interest, the VR ecosystem continues to struggle with sustainability, leaving technology companies like Meta grappling with significant barriers to growth.
Baburajan Kizhakedath