Meta Launches New Quest 3 Headset at Higher Price Point Before Apple’s Vision Pro Release
Just before Apple Inc. enters the market, Meta Platforms Inc. has unveiled its newest range of head-worn devices, solidifying its position in the virtual and augmented reality industry.
The company officially announced the Quest 3 headset on Wednesday, raising the price by $200 to $500 at its annual Connect developer conference. It also introduced the second generation of smart glasses, which it developed with luxury sunglasses maker Ray-Ban.
The Quest 3, which was previewed by Meta earlier this year after Bloomberg published a hands-on review of the device, offers better performance over the Quest 2 from 2020. It also marks a shift from VR to mixed reality, which combines virtual and augmented reality. reality.
This is a very important moment for Meta’s hardware business. Although the company has dominated VR glasses for years, Apple is ready to release the Vision Pro headset in the coming months and stage a showdown. Like the Quest 3, the Vision Pro is a mixed reality headset with unique Apple technology and content. The Vision Pro has Apple’s marketing muscle behind it, but also a much higher price: $3,499.
In addition to competitive pressure, Meta has also struggled to sell to consumers in the metaverse — the collection of interconnected online worlds that use its headsets.
The social media giant embraced the metaverse concept in 2021, going so far as to change its name from Facebook to Meta. But after sales and use of the headset stalled, the company moved toward artificial intelligence and more marketable technologies. Meta is now promoting its headset as a gaming and productivity tool – the same way Apple is expected to market the Vision Pro.
According to Counterpoint Research, Meta is far and away the industry leader in headphones, with almost half of the market. But it has been a money-losing proposition for the company. The big question is whether mainstream consumers will finally embrace the products.
Quest 3 is the latest attempt to broaden the technology’s appeal. Headset users can switch between VR and mixed reality, known as XR, with a double tap on the side of the device. The user can use the more immersive VR option while watching a movie or playing a game, then switch to XR mode while browsing the web and viewing photos. In this case, the information and images are overlaid on top of the real views surrounding the user.
The Quest 3 has a 30% higher resolution, new lenses and a faster Qualcomm Inc. chip. There are also two-color pass-through cameras that allow users to see the world around them.
The latest headset has twice the processing power of the Quest 2, which allows for better graphics rendering, smoother operation and faster loading of applications. It’s also thinner than the Quest 2 and adds improved speakers and new controls.
The device looks similar to the previous version, but with three sensors on the front. The left and right modules are cameras, while the center sensor is a new component that determines where objects and walls are located in the user’s room. Thanks to this, the device can automatically set virtual guardrails so that the user does not, for example, walk into the table. It can also be used for gaming, such as a game that allows players to shoot objects at a wall.
After struggling to make money with VR headsets, Meta aims to turn a profit on Quest 3. It increases the price of the device by 67% for the model with 128 GB of storage. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company also offers a $650 version with 512 gigabytes of space. The Quest 3 goes on sale on October 10th.
Raising prices due to slow sales is a gamble for Metal. It failed to attract consumers to its high-end Quest Pro model, which costs $1,000. But all the products in its range cost a fraction of Apple’s new Vision Pro, which is due for release in early 2024.
In addition to XR, Meta develops new software to attract users. The company has partnered with Microsoft Corp. to allow the device to stream games from the Xbox Cloud Gaming service.
Meta also released another version of its smart glasses, developed in collaboration with Luxottica Group SA’s Ray-Ban. The latest version wasn’t a hit, but Meta hopes to entice consumers with something that looks more like regular glasses.
The latest version offers new frame options as well as improved speakers and better cameras. Unlike the sci-fi vision of smart glasses – with augmented reality that can display digital content – this product is less ambitious. It focuses on taking pictures, shooting videos, making calls and listening to music.
The new models come in two styles – Wayfarer and Headliner – and offer a range of standard, polarized, transition and prescription lenses. The $299 glasses also come in different sizes and colors, including glossy, matte black, and a new transparent version that shows off the electronics inside.
The new models have a 12 megapixel camera and five microphones. That compares to the previous version’s two 5-megapixel sensors and three microphones.
