Meta's financing option for Quest headsets is now available in the UK too.
The "Play Now, Pay Later" scheme launched last year in the US for Quest 3, and expanded to Quest 3S upon that headset's launch.
In the US it arrived via a partnership with US fintech company Affirm, and offers Quest 3S from 24 monthly payments of $20, or Quest 3 for $30.
For the UK version of the offering Meta has partnered with Swedish fintech firm Klarna, and the payments are taken for 12 months instead of 24.
Quest 3S is available from £30/month for 12 months, while Quest 3 is £46/month.
Ian Hamilton
In both the US and UK versions of Quest financing, the offering includes the Horizon+ games subscription scheme for the duration of the payments.
However, while the US version includes Warranty Plus and Batman: Arkham Shadow, the UK version isn't listed as including these perks.
Meta Quest Play Now, Pay Later is available from the online Meta Store. As with all financing of this type, it's subject to a basic credit check.
As with outright purchases, the Meta Store allows headsets acquired through the financing scheme to be returned within 30 days for a "full refund", meaning you could use it to try out a Quest for free. Note however that this requires returning the headset and all packaging in good condition, and you can be charged for any damage determined by Meta.
Quest 3 or Quest 3S?
Wondering whether you should opt for a Quest 3 or a Quest 3S?
Quest 3S is Meta's budget headset option. It has all the same VR and mixed reality capabilities of Quest 3, and has the same chipset and RAM inside, but it uses older, lower-quality fresnel lenses that aren't fully adjustable, so may not be suitable for everyone's eyes.
Quest 3, on the other hand, uses Meta's advanced pancake lenses. They're clearer, sharper, wider, and fully horizontally adjustable, suitable for everyone's eyes. These pancake lenses also enable Quest 3 to be thinner, which makes the headset feel less heavy.
Quest 3 also has 512GB storage, whereas Quest 3S is only available in 128GB or 256GB.
If you have the funds, you should always pick Quest 3. But if you don't, Quest 3S can still run all the same content.
