If you’ve been wanting to get into the world of VR headsets for a while, then you’ll know that the Meta Quest lineup is probably one of the best when it comes to balancing cost with specs. Now, you could go for the latest release, the Meta Quest 3, one of the best blended VR and AR headsets out there and also one of the best standalone headsets, but it’s quite expensive at $500 and up. On the other hand, there’s a great early Black Friday sale on the still excellent Meta Quest 2. While it usually goes for $300, it’s been discounted to $249, making it a lot more affordable for those who’d like to try VR on a budget.
One of the best upgrades in the Quest 2 from the original Quest is the 1,832×1,920-per-eye pixel resolution, which helps reduce a lot of the screen door grid pixelation found in lower-pixel-density screens. It also comes with the upgraded Qualcomm XR2 chip, which is made specifically for these types of headsets and can handle some blended reality stuff, although keep in mind the AR passthrough is all in black and white.
While the Quest 2 does have some productivity functionality, such as the ability to get phone notifications or let you watch stuff on a big, virtual screen, where it really shines is in gaming. There’s an absolute ton of Meta Quest 2 games you can enjoy, some of them just as good as their PC counterparts and more than enough to make the Quest 2 its own standalone console. You can also hook it up to your PC for a bit of extra processing power as well, but you don’t have to, and either way, you still have a huge library of games to play.
If you look at the Quest 2 as a gaming console similar to the Nintendo Switch, it’s a solid value at $249. And if you’re looking for more savings, check out these early Amazon Black Friday deals.
More Black Friday deals from CNET
