Meta Quest headsets seen as popular Christmas gifts as app soars to top of App Store

The Meta Quest line of AR and VR headsets appear to be popular Christmas gifts this year, as the Meta Horizon companion soars to the top of the iPhone App Store in the US region, and around the world. The uplift in demand is likely driven by the release of the Meta Quest 3S, a cheap-but-capable $299 model.

The Amazon Alexa app also rose in the Top Free app charts, as Echo speakers continue to be popular gift ideas. AirPods and Apple Watch were also likely to be one of the most unwrapped gifts this Christmas, but the App Store does not give us any insights into the popularity of Apple’s own products …

This is because AirPods do not have a companion app of any kind, with their functionality being built directly into the operating system. The Apple Watch does have a Watch app on the phone, but it is installed by default and is not included in App Store charts or trending metrics.

Visibility on Vision Pro is elusive for the same reasons, although we wouldn’t expect Apple’s $3,500 headset device to be a go-to gift idea for the vast majority of households. In contrast, the Meta Quest lineup is relatively cheap and accessible to all ages, with a library of fun games to play on Christmas Day itself with the whole family.

Apple is said to be exploring a partnership with Sony to bring PSVR controller support to Vision Pro, in a hope to attract more VR games to its visionOS platform. But consumer demand will probably remain low until significantly cheaper incarnations of the headset come to market.

Of course, Apple doesn’t need to depend on the Vision Pro for its financial success. Apple will officially report its holiday sales during its quarterly earnings call in January. You can expect a combination of iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch and Mac sales to drive tens of billions of dollars in revenues for the company.