Meta plans for cheaper headsets and no controllers as a response to getting the Vision Pro from Apple. The tech firm as reported is “afraid of Apple,” and is reportedly taking clues and cues from the Vision Pro for its plans for the Quest.
Meta Cheaper Headsets and No Controllers
Meta is at the moment looking down the road at a follow-up to the Quest 3, which in question is releasing this very week, and with that plans to take cues from the Vision Pro of Apple while it also races to mainstream its VR tech. That is however according to Mark Gurman in the Power On newsletter for Bloomberg Today, who in question writes that the Quest headset marketing plans of the company have changed in response to the Vision Pro announcement of Apple in the early parts of this year. Part of the plan as you should know is to release a VR headset without controllers in a bid to get the cost down in the coming year.
Meta in the ‘Afraid Of Apple’ Stage
Gurman reveals that a person within Meta said to him that the company is “in the ‘afraid of Apple’ stage,” and then comparing it to the mobile phone industry just before the launch of the iPhone. He writes that the shift of the company away from a heavy focus on the metaverse and more to then pushing the practical usage of the headset which comes to gaming and productivity is a direct response to the pitch made by Apple for the Vision Pro. You could well argue that the headset of Apple is more down-to-earth than immersive virtual worlds, even if its price tag is very much not.
Meta’s Roadmap in Making Its Next Headset
The roadmap of Meta has involved making its next headset, codenamed Ventura, even much cheaper. The Quest 3 headset in question is already less than 15 percent of the cost of a Vision Pro and is also even more comfortable without sacrificing screen resolution. And apparently, as per Gurman, Meta is also looking at cutting ties with controller bundling to help with that, thus allowing customers to either just use hand gestures or just purchase controllers separately.
Apple and Meta After Different VR Headset Markets
Both Apple and Meta are ultimately after different markets, but right about now, the existing VR headset market as you should know is pretty much just “people who want VR headsets” — you know, quite like the early adopters. Meta is however trying to figure out just how things will shake out when the market eventually grows, and to put a footnote in it, the firm needs a different product, or it risks the Quest going the medium of feature phones.
MORE RELATED POSTS
