Meta verified that Quest 3 owners have stronger retention rates than owners of earlier headsets.
Industry speculation and analysis frequently focus on headset unit sales, but what is most important to Meta and developers is how many purchasers utilize the headset on a daily basis rather than leaving it on a shelf or in a drawer. By March 2023, Meta had sold approximately 20 million Quest headsets, and five months prior, 6.37 million owners had allegedly utilized their headsets that month.
At GDC 2024 this week, Chris Pruett, Meta’s Director of Content Ecosystem, informed developers that Quest 3 owners are more likely to continue using apps.
Back in 2019, John Carmack said that the original Quest had greater retention than any other Oculus headset, including the PC-based Rift and Rift S.
There are several plausible causes for Quest 3’s improved retention, and the solution might be a mix of them.
It might be owing to the greater quality experience provided by the pancake lenses and more powerful processor. Apps and games load quicker, appear crisper and clearer, and are occasionally more visually detailed. They also frequently operate at a greater refresh rate, which means they seem smoother and have a lower risk of making the user ill. And all of this comes from a thinner headset that many people find more pleasant to use.
It might also be attributed to the better passthrough. The Quest 3’s decent quality color vision of the environment allows owners to engage with and be aware of their surroundings without removing the headset, making browsing the web and watching YouTube more engaging.
There may also be a degree of selection here. People who are more invested in VR are more likely to upgrade to Quest 3, and those who are prepared to spend $500 or $650 on a headset may be more inclined to keep using it than those who pay less.
Regardless of the specific causes, this news demonstrates that the retention issue is not inherent in XR headsets, and that better technology over time can overcome it.
