Meta Reality Labs Sales of AR/VR Equipment Exceeded Expectations in 2024

What Happened?

Sales information indicates Meta’s Reality Labs exceeded expectations in 2024, growing 40% from 2023, according to a leaked memo obtained by Business Insider. 

The memo was reportedly written by Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer. 

According to Mr. Bosworth ‘2024 was a pivotal year for Reality Labs and positioned us for greatness in 2025.’ The leaked memo appeared only a few weeks after the Meta Quest 3 was listed as the top selling gaming console on Amazon for 2024. 

Why it Matters

Meta has invested heavily in Reality Labs and AR/VR technology in the past several years, and despite the recent success overall the division is still operating at a net loss. 

Since 2020 Meta has lost about $50 billion while developing AR/VR technologies. The recent uptick in revenue and sales for AR/VR support Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s emphasis on the division.

Meta CFO Susan Li said Reality Labs is a ‘long-term strategic priority’ and that Meta will continue to make significant investments in virtual and augmented reality.

Virtual and augmented reality technology has seen several new additions in the past few years, including Apple’s Vision Pro and several new types of AR glasses. Virtual reality creates an artificial but immersive digital experience for the user, whereas augmented reality overlays digital images onto users’ normal field of vision. 

Apple has called the Vision Pro a form of special computing, which allows users to perform the same functions as a conventional computer just without the keyboard or monitor. The Vision Pro is much more expensive that Meta’s Quest 3, which could account for the higher number of overall sales for Meta. 

Meta’s increased sales and commitment to continue supporting Reality Labs is good news for the estimated twenty million people worldwide who own a Meta Quest headset. The library of content for these headsets has expanded significantly from the launch in 2019. 

Initially the amount of available content was very limited, but now games, videos, educational and instructional content are widely available for users to access.

How it Affects You

Virtual reality sales and usage continues to grow worldwide not just for Meta but for competitors as well. Even though Apple has scaled back production of the Vision Pro and may even stop producing them in 2025, the likely culprit for Apple’s weak sales is the high price tag. 

More affordable virtual reality headsets like Meta’s Quest 3 continue to show good sales. The Apple Vision Pro costs $3,500 while Meta’s Quest 3 can be purchased for only $300. 

A wide variety of video content shot in 360 and immersive gaming content along with the low price and ease of use have made Meta’s Quest 3 a consumer favorite. It provides the same quality as the Vision Pro for far less expense.