This week has seen a swathe of details emerge regarding Meta’s VR and AR plans over the next few years. The Quest 3, for example, is supposedly going to be aimed towards VR enthusiasts. As such, this route means a more generic, consumer-focused, and accessible Meta Quest 3 is planned for 2024.
As detailed in a report by The Verge, Meta’s VP of VR, Mark Rabkin held a roadmap presentation to discuss ongoing VR and AR efforts. While Quest 3 was at the centre of this – due to its upcoming launch this year – Rabkin touched on plans for 2024.
Quest 3 offers mixed-reality capabilities designed to attract those who already love VR, so the idea is to release a VR headset that’s “accessible” to the masses. Codenamed Ventura, Rabkin said: “The goal for this headset is very simple: pack the biggest punch we can at the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market.”
A Quest 2.5?
This was essentially the idea behind the Quest platform in general, a standalone system (no other hardware needed) that came with a reasonable price point. Up until last summer, Quest 2 had that. But Meta put the price up by £100 GBP to £400. Even so, Meta has offered the simplest solution into immersive tech, the Quest 2. Unlike HTC VIVE which has tried numerous headsets at different price points. Just look at Vive Cosmos, Vive Flow, Vive Pro 2 and soon the Vive XR Elite.
It seems Meta is going down a similar route. Quest Pro is £1500, the Quest 3 is going to be north of £400, so a “Quest 3 Lite” (so to speak) would have to be around £300-£400. How much can be packed in to provide that “biggest punch” is unclear. It could be mere Quest 2 tweaks, like making it thinner with pancake optics, for example.
Whatever the final product is, Meta is now creating several discernable markets rather than lumping everyone together.
Will this lead to consumer confusion or a more refined approach? Let us know in the comments below.