Meta Suddenly Realizes It Doesn’t Have to Worry About the Vision Pro

The first $1,000 Meta Quest Pro was rapidly supplanted by the Meta Quest 3, a instrumentality that outgo fractional the price. A caller report—now efficaciously confirmed by Meta execs—claims Meta is nary longer considering a new, costly headset to beryllium worthwhile. After all, CEO Mark Zuckerberg already claimed the $500 Quest 3 is better than the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro successful each mode that matters. Why fuss with a competing, costly headset?

Meta has reportedly been processing respective caller AR/VR products, including a brace of existent altered world glasses (and so has Apple). One of those projects was a Pro-level headset codenamed La Jolla. On Friday, The Information reported, based connected anonymous sources, that Meta decided to axe the headset primitively slated for 2027. The study mentions that Meta Quest 4 is inactive successful development, with a planned merchandise successful 2026.

That headset was going to beryllium precise overmuch similar Apple’s Vision Pro. It was expected to person micro-OLED displays. Meta reportedly wanted to trade a headset arsenic susceptible arsenic Vision Pro and merchantability it for little than $1,000. That’s a gangly bid for specified high-quality displays, and the institution couldn’t find a mode to lucifer the costs, according to The Information’s sources.

On Threads, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth indirectly confirmed The Information’s report: “We person galore prototypes successful improvement astatine each times. But we don’t bring each of them to production. We determination guardant with some; we walk connected others… stories based connected chatter astir 1 idiosyncratic determination volition ne'er springiness the existent picture.”

Meta has been trying to juggle the outgo of AR improvement with its plans to predominate the industry. While we’re not proceeding the connection “metaverse” astir arsenic overmuch arsenic we erstwhile did, the company’s VR-focused Reality Labs part continues to burn done billions of dollars. In its last quarterly earnings report, Meta reported Reality Labs mislaid $4.5 cardinal successful its 2nd 4th alone.

According to a erstwhile study from The Information, Zuck’s starting to number the bucks his institution spends connected AR. At this point, the institution has a two-pronged strategy for VR. Now that different companies are making headsets based connected Meta’s ain RealityOS, it tin go the sweetener daddy of AR bundle portion inactive pumping retired the most-capable virtual world hardware. 

Just past week, Meta added the quality to usage an HDMI link to reflector immoderate PC, phone, oregon different compatible instrumentality astatine 1080p. The company’s latest updates person vastly improved the manus tracking performance, and it’s edging adjacent to the Vision Pro’s industry-leading tracking.

Meanwhile, Vision Pro income person stalled successful the U.S. conscionable arsenic Apple is getting into the European and Asian markets. A large origin for that is price, and Meta is astir apt looking astatine Apple, wondering whether the nationalist is acceptable to bargain a VR headset that costs much than $3,500 oregon adjacent $1,000. Apple’s going to effort that with a rumored cheaper Vision headset that volition apt beryllium little flashy than the Vision Pro. 

Instead of spending adjacent much wealth connected a much costly Quest, Meta is amended disconnected improving the capabilities of its cheaper headsets. That apt won’t halt the wealth drain, but if it tin beryllium the 1 to yet ace AR glasses, possibly it tin get the broader nationalist to care.