Quest App Downloads Decline 27% Compared to Last Year as Meta Seeks to Boost Quest 3S Sales

Meta doesn’t often spill the beans about exactly how many VR headsets it sells, but there’s a clever way to get a sense of its popularity: looking at how often its Meta Horizon companion app is downloaded on Android and iOS devices.

According to independent analyst Omdia, cited in a report by Game Developer and Forbes, there was a notable 27% drop in downloads of the Meta Horizon app on Christmas Day in 2024 compared to the previous year, a day typically marking the highest spike for the year.

If we examine the chart provided by Omdia and Sensor Tower, we can track the pattern of major releases of Meta’s Quest headsets. This includes the launch of Quest 2 in October 2020, which set sales records the subsequent year, and the more recent drops of Quest 3 in October 2023, followed by Quest 3S in October 2024.

The Quest 3S is Meta’s latest foray into mixed reality, leveraging Quest 3’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset alongside full-color mixed reality capabilities. However, it retains the older display technology and bulkier Fresnel lenses from the Quest 2. It’s a solid choice if your budget is capped at $300, but I’d still suggest spending a bit more for the Quest 3 at $500.

That being said, the chart doesn’t paint the whole picture. It doesn’t factor in re-downloads, updates, or additional downloads on new devices from existing iOS or Google Play accounts. It also skips users who already own a Quest and are simply upgrading their device, like moving from a Quest 2 to a Quest 3S.

Game Developer reports other aspects that could skew the figures between app downloads and actual headset sales. These include second-hand sales, headset sharing, and even non-owners downloading the app just to check out the store.

In the absence of direct sales data from Meta, third-party retailers serve as another indicator. Game Developer points out that, based on Amazon’s metrics, Meta sold over 160,000 Quest headsets in November 2024 across eight countries—a 16% drop from the previous year. Notably, two-thirds of these sales were for the Quest 3S, with the remainder being Quest 3.

On a brighter note, the Quest 3S was celebrated as the best-selling console on Amazon US in 2024, surpassing heavyweights like the Switch, PlayStation 5 Pro, and both Xbox Series S and X refreshes.

Even so, the drop in app downloads and Amazon sales year-over-year hints at a waning excitement compared to the glory days of Quest 2. Omdia’s earlier data show that after its launch, Meta saw a doubling in overall app downloads within a year, and nearly tripled downloads the next Christmas.

We’re left wondering how much effort Meta will pump into promoting Quest 3 and Quest 3S. Will they bankroll exclusive, blockbuster games to entice users leading up to the holiday season? To boost sales, Meta even slashed $50 off the 256GB Quest 3S for a limited time, sweetening the deal with a free copy of Batman: Arkham Shadow and a three-month Quest+ subscription.

Whether these trends highlight a broader slowdown in the VR market or just a shifting consumer focus is still up in the air. Yet, one thing is clear: Meta’s Quest line remains central to advancing consumer VR. However, with competitors like Google likely watching closely, change might very well be brewing.