What if at the foot of the tree this year came a big gift package containing a mixed reality headset? In any case, this is the wish of Mark Zuckerberg, who launched the Quest 3 this fall. Expectations around this new device are high at Meta, its manufacturer. The company represents around 50% of sales of headsets, all technologies combined – virtual, augmented or mixed – worldwide, according to figures from IDC, ahead of Sony, ByteDance or HTC. Problem is, their total volume remains relatively low: between 8 and 9 million units. For comparison, it is ten times less than connected watches, or a hundred times less than smartphones. In fact, despite its position as the overwhelming market leader, Meta continues to tirelessly lose money in this segment. More than $3.5 billion in the third quarter of this year alone. Christmas being traditionally a strategic period for the sale of electronic devices, the Menlo Park firm hopes that the Quest 3, sold for 549 euros in France, will finally have the cash drawer ringing.
She has some reason to believe it. For the first time, mixed reality combines experiences: the total immersion of a user in an activity – virtual reality -, but also the integration of virtual elements into their real environment – augmented reality. More complete, this new generation of headsets makes it possible to meet numerous personal use cases – from gaming to watching films, including listening to music or office automation – and professional ones, such as corporate training or optimization of industrial processes. Meta is not the only one to find the promising vein. Microsoft, Samsung, ByteDance and the young French company Lynx have entered the race. Just like Apple. The tech juggernaut, the largest market capitalization in the world, announced in the spring the release of the Vision Pro, based on this same technology, during 2024 in the United States. The headset is billed as a “space computer.” The words do not lie: it is indeed a potential replacement for the traditional PC.
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This battle between giants, with investments amounting to billions of dollars, outlines a rather attractive future for helmets. The appetite for immersiveness, which surged during Covid, remains keen, according to experts. “Applications like Fortnite, Roblox or Minecraft, which are both social and immersive, and which therefore fall within this definition, have several tens of millions of users, constantly growing,” underlines Jacques Baranger, director of the metaverse pole within the Talan group and member of the Metaverse Observatory administration committee.
Two more obstacles. The high price of headsets, especially the most high-end ones: Apple’s should be marketed around $3,500. And above all, their bulk. “The Quest 2, for example, remained heavy and could cause headaches with prolonged use,” notes Morgane Soulier, expert in digital strategies. This is why Meta promises a third-generation Quest “40% thinner” than its predecessor.
A quest towards miniaturization that continues to obsess the tech giants. It naturally leads to an ultimate product, capable of one day competing with another essential everyday device: the smartphone. Meta thus put connected glasses on sale this fall in partnership with Ray-Ban. For just over 300 euros, these include a camera to capture everyday moments and post them on social networks, as well as microphones to make phone calls. They also benefit from advances in artificial intelligence, which advises or responds to simple requests, like a ChatGPT stuck on the nose. Naturally, Apple, the father of the iPhone, is also interested. But, as with the helmet, the challenges are numerous: how to integrate a high-performance battery into ever thinner glasses arms, electronic chips and sensors so as not to weigh them down? A few more brakes, before making eyes at as many people as possible.
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