Prime Day discounts cut prices on Quest 3S and Pico 4 Ultra

A wave of Prime Day and retailer discounts has pushed several virtual reality headsets to new low prices this week, giving shoppers a rare chance to buy midrange and premium devices at substantial markdowns. The Meta Quest 3S is being sold across multiple U.S. retailers for between roughly $249 and $329 depending on the store and bundled extras, while U.K. shoppers can find the Pico 4 Ultra at about £429, a drop from its earlier listed price of £608.

Retailers are packaging the Quest 3S with incentives such as a free copy of Batman Arkham Shadow and a trial subscription to Meta Horizon in some listings. The Quest 3S uses the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor shared with Meta's higher‑end Quest 3, but makes optical and other compromises to reach a lower price. Senior tech critic Alex Lee described the 3S as running "like a dream" and noted its full‑colour passthrough and access to a broad catalogue of VR experiences, while cautioning that its Fresnel lenses are less sharp than the Quest 3's pancake optics.

The Pico 4 Ultra deal in the U.K. has drawn attention as a direct alternative to Meta's headsets. The Pico 4 Ultra uses the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset but offers higher RAM...