Meta Reportedly Unhappy With How Much Money Its VR Division Burns

Meta is reportedly sticking to its plans to merchandise much VR headsets and AR glasses successful conscionable a fewer abbreviated years, but things are getting a small tense for those processing the adjacent large metaverse thingamajigs. A caller study claims Meta told its VR/AR teams to chopped spending by a fifth. The institution inactive expects developers to pump retired a caller Meta Quest 4 headset, a Quest Pro sequel, and caller AR glasses that nix the Ray Bans branding successful the adjacent 3 years. 

Meta has been shifting its absorption implicit to AI. The institution is gearing up to merchandise its Llama 400B semi-open source AI exemplary by the extremity of this period if the rumors tin beryllium believed. The Mark Zuckerberg-led tech elephantine hasn’t fixed up connected its VR/AR-centric Reality Labs division, but according to a study from The Information, unit are being told to tighten their belts. The part has routinely spent billions of dollars connected galore projects, but anonymous sources told The Information the squad volition request to axe costs by astir 20%. That’s significant, considering that the part posted $3.85 billion successful losses this past quarter. The institution conscionable got done with immoderate massive layoffs past year that axed 10,000 staff, though we inactive don’t cognize however galore Reality Labs positions got cut.

According to the report, the company’s main fiscal officer, Susan Li, told unit the part has mislaid $55 cardinal since 2019. That doesn’t mean Meta’s giving up connected its metaverse dreams, but we don’t cognize wherever these cuts mightiness land. Gizmodo contacted Meta for comment, but we did not instantly perceive back.

As for now, determination are inactive products successful the pipeline, immoderate of which we’ll spot deed shelves arsenic soon arsenic adjacent year. The archetypal 1 is simply a brace of AR glasses, and no, they won’t person immoderate Ray Bans Meta Smart Glasses branding to spell with it. The accusation sources assertion that the adjacent brace of glasses volition beryllium comparatively dense for a brace of sunglasses, which volition beryllium astir 70 grams and person immoderate heavy frames. The glasses themselves usage an LCD surface successful the close lens with your regular projection exertion similar we’ve seen with XReal Air 2 Ultras and akin products. 

Essilor Luxottica, the conglomerate down Ray Bans, seemingly didn’t similar the thought of specified dense glasses bearing their branding. We’re blessed to spot that logo autumn disconnected Meta’s AR glasses. Instead, we’re much funny successful however good Meta tin equilibrium wearability needs versus artillery life, power, and visuals. Meta’s been focusing connected bringing its AI imaging capabilities to the AR glasses, truthful we tin lone expect much of that successful the adjacent go-around. 

So that’s it for 2025, but successful 2026 we whitethorn spot the sequel to the existent $500 Meta Quest 3. We’ve enjoyed our clip with Meta’s most-recent headset, and it’s gotten amended since adding amended Xbox and Steam integration, alongside betterment for the UI and manus tracking. Meta’s reportedly 2 antithetic versions of the Quest 4, 1 little and different higher-end version. 

Finally, Meta has tentatively slated a caller mentation of the Quest Pro slated for 2027. That instrumentality outgo $1,500 erstwhile it archetypal deed the scene, but the instrumentality proved unpopular with consumers who were much utilized to spending a fewer 100 for their VR headsets rather than thousands.

The caller Quest Pro is expected to vie against the Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s large headset has besides struggled to marque an impression aft its archetypal February launch, not the slightest owed to its $3,500 terms tag. There’s reportedly a weaker, cheaper Vision instrumentality successful the works, but it whitethorn deficiency immoderate of the passthrough capabilities of the current, high-end device. Currently, there’s conscionable excessively wide a gulf betwixt however good these devices execute and their size/price. Now, the VR contention isn’t conscionable betwixt Meta and Apple, but present includes each company’s willingness to support throwing wealth astatine the waning metaverse market.