2024-08-26 22:21:43
Shuffling cards in Meta’s release calendar. According to the latest rumors, the high-end model project from Mark Zuckerberg’s company (known so far by the codename La Jolla and intended to compete with Apple’s Vision Pro in 2027) seems to have come to an end. Instead, the launch of an economical version called Quest 3s is imminent: in fact, possible prices for the future gadget have already leaked, appealing to those tempted to try virtual reality without spending too much.
Will there be no high-end headset for mixed reality?
According to two employees at Meta who spoke to the portal The Information, the company has ended the mixed reality glasses project known internally as La Jolla. The engineers and developers in the group had been working for several months on a device that could compete with Apple’s Vision Pro. The hardware was supposed to include a high-resolution micro-Oled display, a high-performance processor, and an ergonomic design suitable for prolonged use. Originally planned for launch in 2027, the headset was set to storm the category with a very aggressive price, even below $1,000, far from the initial estimate of around $2,000 that emerged last year, but above all, cheaper even than the current most advanced model, Quest Pro (in the cover photo).
A matter of cost-saving
According to the source, keeping the final price so low would have been the main difficulty faced by the team, as micro-Oled screens alone still require a significant investment in procurement, leaving little room for other components worthy of a flagship device in the segment. The efforts should now focus on Quest 4, which could debut next year and be positioned in the mid-range. Something like this could be unveiled on September 25 at the Meta Connect event.
Price of the economical Quest 3s glasses
And it is precisely during the Meta Connect event when the new economical Quest 3s glasses are expected to be revealed, which should be positioned between the current Quest 2 and Quest 3, like a kind of Lite version of the latter. According to rumors reported by leaker Lunayian (specialized in updates from the world of virtual and augmented reality), the headset will be powered by the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip and will feature a design with sensors arranged in a triangle at the front. To maintain the price around 350 euros (about 390 dollars), the headset will be delivered without a controller in the box.
Article originally published in WIRED Italia. Adapted by Mauricio Serfatty Godoy.