Meta’s AI spending spree is helping make its Quest headsets more expensive
The rising costs of RAM and other computing components are pushing up the price of Meta’s Quest VR headsets. The company says that starting on April 19, the prices will increase by $50–$100 (about a 12–20 percent rise). In announcing this price increase on Thursday, the company cited the “global surge in the price of critical components—specifically memory chips—and how it is impacting almost every category of consumer electronics, including VR.”
Unlike many other tech companies that have been pushed into similar price increases due to the ongoing RAM shortage and price hikes for GPUs, high-capacity SSDs, and even hard drives in recent months, Meta’s own spending priorities are at least partly responsible for these rising component prices. The company’s recent pivot towards the “AI superintelligence” race has contributed to the conditions that now make its Quest headsets more expensive.
Spending like a drunk sailor
In January, Meta announced plans to spend $115 billion to $135 billion on capital expenditures this year, up significantly from $72 billion in 2025 and just $28 billion as recently as 2023. The vast majority of that investment is going into AI infrastructure, including a recent $21 billion in new investment in data center company CoreWeave (in addition to $14.2 billion originally committed) and an additional $10 billion recently committed to a planned El Paso data center (up from $1.5 billion initially).
Key Takeaways
- The rising costs of RAM and other computing components are pushing up the price of Meta’s Quest VR headsets.
- In announcing this price increase on April 19, the company cited the “global surge in the price of critical components—specifically memory chips—and how it is impacting almost every category of consumer electronics.”
- Meta’s own spending priorities are at least partly responsible for these rising component prices, as the company has recently shifted its focus towards AI infrastructure.
Originally published at arstechnica.com. Curated by AI Maestro.
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