Quest 3 is now the second most popular PC VR headset
After months of neck-and-neck competition, Quest 3 overtakes Valve Index to become the second most popular PC VR headset.
Meta Quest 3 was launched in October 2023. In January 2024, it took the third place in the SteamVR stats, behind Quest 2 and Valve Index. This position has been maintained for several months. Until now.
In August, Quest 3 gained 1.45 percentage points in the statistics, while Quest 2 and Valve Index lost 1.33 and 0.84 percentage points, respectively.
These numbers could be natural fluctuations. However, it is likely that some users have switched to Quest 3 from the much older devices, especially since Quest 2 has been sold out for some time and the full Valve Index kit still costs twice as much as Quest 3.
The August 2024 SteamVR stats from Valve's monthly Steam hardware and software survey. | Screenshot: MIXED
Pico 4 also performed well in August and now has a user share of over 3 percent. However, the standalone headset still lags behind the eight-year-old PC VR devices HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
Since August 7, the Playstation VR 2 can also be used as a PC VR headset. The device entered the SteamVR stats with a meager 0.35 percent user share, indicating low usage as a PC VR device.
The Meta Quest 3S, a cheaper version of the Quest 3, is expected to be released this fall. Will it overtake the Quest 2 and 3 in the SteamVR stats, and if so, how soon?
What are Valve's SteamVR statistics?
SteamVR is the leading PC VR platform. The standalone Quest headsets can be used on a PC with wired or wireless PC VR streaming via Air Link, Virtual Desktop, and Steam Link.
Valve's monthly updated Steam hardware & software survey tracks all VR headsets that have been used with a PC and SteamVR in the past month and whose users participated in the survey. From this, conclusions can be drawn about the relative distribution of PC VR headsets among each other.
However, the survey does not track other non-SteamVR powered platforms, such as standalone devices that are not used on a PC, so it only reflects a small proportion of the overall VR market.
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