We're a little under a week away from Amazon's big summer sale, but Meta Quest 3 owners who want to upgrade their VR setup for less than usual don't need to wait that long. The Meta Quest 3 accessory I use every day (even days when I don't use my headset) has already dropped to a historically low price, and that goes for the Meta Quest 3S version too.
Prime Day Meta Quest deals are always a staple of Amazon's big sales, but in recent offerings, I've seen more and more of them wait until the event's official start time to become available. What's more, you often need a Prime subscription to access them. Not this time; the PrismXR Carina D1 Charging Dock is already at $49.98 at Amazon, down from a full price of $69.99.
So out of all the possible Quest 3 chargers on the shelves at Amazon, why do I recommend this one?
Well, for starters, that price tag is competitive. For some reason, charging docks can set you back up to $100, with most of the decent ones that'll give you a place to charge and display your headset above the $70 line. Even on a bad day when it's at full price, the Carina D1 won't step over that line.
But this recommendation from me goes beyond price alone. For me, the biggest reason to opt for the PrismXR charging dock is controller charging. For some reason, Quest 3 and 3S controllers lose charge so fast, and since they don't have a USB-C charging port, that eventually costs you a fortune on AA batteries. In the box for the PrismXR Carina D1 are a set of rechargeable batteries, as well as some magnetic battery covers. Then, all you need to do is snap the controllers into place on the dock, and you won't need to pay the equivalent of a second pension to Duracell.
There admittedly are other docks out there that'll charge your controllers and headset together, but that brings me to the other reason I like the PrismXR version. Unlike its competitors, this one is pretty low profile. It matches the color and design language of the headset, and it stays low to the ground. That means you have loads of scope to store your headset anywhere that isn't on a top shelf or desktop. You can put it on a lower shelf, you can put it in a cube unit in your gaming room, you can put it on a unit underneath your desk - the world is your oyster, all because PrismXR hasn't made some massively tall, massively wide holster.
I'm also a fan of the fact that while testing out various third-party Elite headstraps for the Quest 3, I've been able to sit the headset in the dock regardless of which I'm using. That's a big win, since folks who upgrade their headset will rarely get all their accessories from the same brand.
For clarity, this dock does work for both the Quest 3 and 3S, but if you have either model of the 3S, you will need to buy a separate model of the dock because the dimensions are ever so slightly different. The good news is that the 3S version is actually even cheaper right now.
To read more, check out our selection of the best VR headsets, the best gaming PCs, and the best PC controllers.
