Meta Quest 2 Advanced All-In-One Virtual Reality Headset 128GB plus Elite Strap $249.99

Amazon and B&H both offer a $50 gift card included for the $250. So this is not a good deal at all

The Amazon and B&H deals are $249 + $50 gift card.

This Best Buy deal is $249 + elite headstrap (not included by amazon and B&H)

The headstrap regular price is $60, so in theory this is a better deal. But Amazon has the elite head strap on sale for $30 right now, so I don't know why you'd do this deal over the amazon deal

Good price for the bundle!

Sharing some feedback -- purchased Quest2, Quest 3, PSVR and PSVR2 all at launch:

* Quest 2 is still a great, modern experience today. Huge library of games (many are 40-70% off right on, so buy them this week!), high performance (they recently unlocked more power that was previously un-used, so games perform better), and the tracking is very good (much improved over something like the PSVR1). 128GB will be more than enough for most people, assuming you don't add movie content to the headset itself. I have about 30 games and still 75+GB free on mine. There are some high-space games, but unless you're loading 5 of them at once you shouldn't run out of space.
The Elite Headstrap is OK. It's much better than the included strap, but many prefer alternatives like the "Bobo" strap.. I've had 3 Elite Strap's and 2 of them broke in the same exact spot. They've quickly replaced them with a free one and supposedly the newer ones are better, but YMMV.
I would recommend getting a VRCover or similar facial interface.. makes for a much more enjoyable and relaxed experience compared to the included one.
I would also recommend buying the $10 "Quest Games Optimizer" which you can sideload to your Quest 2 or 3 and use custom profiles for higher resolution, better framerate, etc.. these are great for older games that were never optimized past launch. Makes a big difference!
Quest has a great referral program. If you use someones referral, you each get a $30 credit. For games, you can use someones referral and get 25% off any game. I only found out about this games referral recently, but it saved a bunch of cash on buying games. The reviews on the quest store are typically filled with these links which makes them a bit questionable as far as a review goes.
One nice thing about Quest is that they also have a 2-week/2-hour return policy like steam. If you buy a game and hate it, as long as its within 14 days and less than 2 hours played, you can get an instant refund.

Having a wireless/untethered experience is huge. Compared to PSVR/2 and being connected to a console, it's so much nicer to be able to play anywhere (like your kitchen, or an empty room) without needing to be tethered to a console.


Wireless gaming via PCVR also works great. These games will run on your PC (Steam) and stream wirelessly to your Quest 2/3. Games like Half Life Alyx which is PC-Exclusive, can still be played on the Quest when streaming from a PC. The PC will need to be able to RUN the game, but you can still play it wirelessly on the headset without any noticeable lag or issues. Did this on both Quest 2 and 3. Quest 3 had the better experience, but Quest 2 did fine with it.

* Compared to quest 3: Quest 2 is still very good and I'd still recommend it today (at these sale prices). Quest 3 is obviously more powerful, it has better lenses and it has color passthrough (and mixed reality) which has been awesome. Quest 2 uses a very grainy black and white passthrough.
Quest 2 has such a large userbase that I don't see them abandoning it for Quest 3 anytime soon. Some games may require Quest 3, but overall there is plenty left for the Quest 2 out there.
At over 2x the price ($500 for the base model), it's a tough one to justify unless you want and can afford the latest and greatest. I would say that if you can afford the $500+ that I would recommend going for the Quest 3 over the Quest 2, just because it's a new product and will provide the best experience with a longer lifespan than the Quest 2.. the Quest 2 is still very solid. In comparison, I feel the PSVR(1) is very outdated and could not recommend it once the PSVR(2) came out.

Thank you for the great explanation.

I bought the Quest 3, but I'm questioning my decision at $500 (haven't opened it). Considering just returning it and hoping it will go down in price by next year since the price is almost 2x the Quest 2.

I can't really grasp the difference between 2 and 3 since I haven't used either so hard to decide.

I had the original PSVR and that was cool, bit the quality of the visuals always felt underwhelming.

How does the Q2 compare to PSVR 1 in your opinion?

There is supposedly a "Quest 3 Lite" coming. I expect this to actually replace the Quest 2 in the $300-350 range and give some of the benefits of the Quest 3 (like color passthrough, faster processor, new controllers) without the fancy lenses or other niceties.

If you don't mind waiting, that might be the best in-between option. But for now, the Quest 2 is honestly pretty good. I love my Quest 3 but it's hard to say it's good enough to justify a 2x jump.

Quest3Lite would be a 2024 thing.. I'm guessing April or october

There is supposedly a "Quest 3 Lite" coming. I expect this to actually replace the Quest 2 in the $300-350 range and give some of the benefits of the Quest 3 (like color passthrough, faster processor, new controllers) without the fancy lenses or other niceties.

If you don't mind waiting, that might be the best in-between option. But for now, the Quest 2 is honestly pretty good. I love my Quest 3 but it's hard to say it's good enough to justify a 2x jump.

Quest3Lite would be a 2024 thing.. I'm guessing April or October

Worth buying this instead of waiting for a budget version of the Quest 3?

Budget version of the Quest 3 seems to be coming in 2024 and would be better than Quest 2. The question still is when it will release (April or October are my guesses) and what the price is, what the compromises are, etc..

Quest 3 benefits are mostly the better mixed reality (color passthrough), better CPU and better lenses. My guess is that a Quest3lite will have an in-between CPu between the quest 2 and the 3, not get the new lenses and have color passthrough. At $350, it's probably worth the $100 over the quest 2, but it's anyone's guess what the action price and specs will be

If you don't mind waiting, that would be the one to get

Thanks, just looked into some of the rumors. Price points are all over the place between $199 to $350, saw stuff about not including controllers too.

My only experience I have with VR is the HTC Vive with games like skiing. The NFL game has me the most interested right now tho.

I have about $200 to spend at Best Buy in gift cards, so I was thinking about the Meta Quest 2 from Best Buy or going with the PS Portal.

Too bad Best Buy doesn't give a $50 gift card because Target with 5% off with the red card, $50 gift card, and combining cash back with certain sites is a game changer.

Personally, between the PS Portal and Quest 2, I'd take the Quest 2 any day, but YMMV

The Quest2 (and 3) are a much better user experience than any of the other VR systems I've used (which often need tracking devices or to be tethered to a PC/Console). Being able to use it anywhere is a big gamechanger, especially since you still have the option to use it tethered (or wireless) with a PC for those PC-Only games.

The Quest2/3 software has come quite far since release, especially in regards to hand-tracking (which is very much usable.. so it would make sense the "Quest 3 Lite" might not have controllers). You will want the controllers for a lot of games, but for pointing and clicking, or even grabbing things, it does work with using your hands. The Quest 2 has also unlocked "extra power" over the last 6 months or so.. since it was underclocked to keep it from overheating or allow more CPU room for future updates.. any existing games can use that extra power now.

The games/software itself have also come quite far over the years, moving away from the "stand and look" type of games, to fully interactive and 360 games where you might be reaching above, below, dodging things with your body, and having smoothe movement versus the older "point and click" movement that a lot had.

It's hard to tell in videos online.. since even when I look at game previews, they look quite boring in 2D.. but playing them in 3D/VR is a completely different experience. I bought a few that looked boring but had great reviews.. and loved them when I actually played them! But watching in 2D isn't as exciting.

Thanks. How big of a deal are the cameras in the front for mixed reality?