The first $1,000 Meta Quest Pro was quickly supplanted by the Meta Quest 3, a device that cost half the price. A new report—now effectively confirmed by Meta execs—claims Meta is no longer considering a new, expensive headset to be worthwhile. After all, CEO Mark Zuckerberg already claimed the $500 Quest 3 is better than the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro in every way that matters. Why bother with a competing, expensive headset?
Meta has reportedly been developing several new AR/VR products, including a pair of true altered reality glasses (and so has Apple). One of those projects was a Pro-level headset codenamed La Jolla. On Friday, The Information reported, based on anonymous sources, that Meta decided to axe the headset originally slated for 2027. The report mentions that Meta Quest 4 is still in development, with a planned release in 2026.
That headset was going to be very much like Apple’s Vision Pro. It was supposed to have micro-OLED displays. Meta reportedly wanted to craft a headset as capable as Vision Pro and sell it for less than $1,000. That’s a tall order for such high-quality displays, and the company couldn’t find a way to match the costs, according to The Information’s sources.
On Threads, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth indirectly confirmed The Information’s report: “We have many prototypes in development at all times. But we don’t bring all of them to production. We move forward with some; we pass on others… stories based on chatter about one individual decision will never give the real picture.”
Meta has been trying to juggle the cost of AR development with its plans to dominate the industry. While we’re not hearing the word “metaverse” nearly as much as we once did, the company’s VR-focused Reality Labs division continues to burn through billions of dollars. In its last quarterly earnings report, Meta reported Reality Labs lost $4.5 billion in its second quarter alone.
According to a previous report from The Information, Zuck’s starting to count the bucks his company spends on AR. At this point, the company has a two-pronged strategy for VR. Now that other companies are making headsets based on Meta’s own RealityOS, it can become the sugar daddy of AR software while still pumping out the most-capable virtual reality hardware.
Just last week, Meta added the ability to use an HDMI link to mirror any PC, phone, or other compatible device at 1080p. The company’s latest updates have vastly improved the hand tracking performance, and it’s edging close to the Vision Pro’s industry-leading tracking.
Meanwhile, Vision Pro sales have stalled in the U.S. just as Apple is getting into the European and Asian markets. A big factor for that is price, and Meta is probably looking at Apple, wondering whether the public is ready to buy a VR headset that costs more than $3,500 or even $1,000. Apple’s going to try that with a rumored cheaper Vision headset that will likely be less flashy than the Vision Pro.
Instead of spending even more money on a more expensive Quest, Meta is better off improving the capabilities of its cheaper headsets. That likely won’t stop the money drain, but if it can be the one to finally crack AR glasses, perhaps it can get the broader public to care.
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