Meta intends to occupy a leading position in the virtual reality market. And to compete with the future headphones from Apple, the group is preparing the Quest Pro, a top-of-the-range model with ambitious characteristics.
Let it be said: 2023 will be the year of virtual reality (VR for Virtual Reality in English) and augmented reality (AR for Augmented Reality in English). These two technologies will be at the heart of metaverse – or metaverse –, the famous entirely virtual universe prepared by Meta and countless “trendy” companies, at the center of all fantasies and desires. Several digital giants are also working hard on the subject, starting with Apple, which should soon release a revolutionary helmet, announced – and hoped – as as innovative as the iPhone in its time. Sony is also on the move, with its PS VR2, which will mainly target gamers – but not only. While waiting for these future champions, it is Meta who occupies the field with his famous helmets Quest, previously sold under the Oculus brand. And Mark Zuckerberg’s group does not intend to leave the field open to its declared competitors. As told in Bloomberg Mark Gurman, the journalist well known for his indiscretions on Apple, Meta has in his boxes a new top-of-the-range model which should be released at the end of the year, the Quest Pro.
Meta Quest Pro: virtuality more real
Known under the code name of Project Cambria, the Meta Quest Pro will immediately target the high end. Equipped with new very high definition cameras, a much more powerful chip, screens providing better rendering and greater storage capacity than the Quest 2 released at the end of 2020, it would be much more efficient, in particular by ensuring a more precise eye tracking. If Mark Gurman does not give precise details in his article, we know that Meta has great ambitions for the Quest Pro. Mark Zuckerberg had already announced during the presentation of the financial results of his company, in April 2022, that this helmet will be rather intended for professionals and that it could replace a laptop PC or a work environment. The firm had already unveiled Infinite Office, a series of functions deployed on the Meta Quest 2 to allow the user to evolve in a “real” office in virtual and/or augmented reality.
Meta will probably reveal more at the end of the year, during its Connect conference, in which the group will present its novelties in VR and AR. But there is no doubt that the Quest Pro will be a key element for the development of its famous metaverse, if only as a technological showcase. Because according to Bloomberg’s predictions, this new helmet will not be within everyone’s reach. And if the Quest 2 is sold around 350 euros, the Quest Pro could reach or even cross the symbolic bar of 1,000 euros. A “premium” price, up to Meta’s ambitions, but which should not be very far from the price of Apple’s future headphones…