Met is not done with its attempt to create a massively successful VR line. Its Meta Quest headsets are not exactly failures, but it could definitely do better. With the aim of getting more sales, the tech giant is partnering with LG to create a new VR headset.
Meta x LG VR Headset
Despite not reaching the number of sales that would inspire continuation, Mark Zuckerberg remains determined to develop the virtual reality aspect of Meta. The social media company is partnering with several LG subsidiaries to launch a new high-end VR headset.
The device would have LG Electronics for assembly, LG Display would provide the Micro OLED displays, and LG Energy and LG Innotek would supply its batteries and other parts. With that said, LG obviously plays a huge part in manufacturing.
The collaborative VR headset from Meta and LG is expected to be released in 2025, so it's still a long way from now. According to 9To5Mac, the expected price is $2,000 which means that the VR headset would be equipped with higher-end components.
Compared to the devices that Meta has already released, the Meta Quest Pro is $999, half of what the rumored upcoming headset costs. Given its price, the new VR device might be in response to Apple's Vision Pro VR headset.
Even with the high-end equipment, Meta still intends to launch more affordable versions. The company is releasing the Meta Quest 3 headset this October 2023, which costs $499 and is half the price of the Meta Quest Pro.
If Meta wants to get ahead of the VR market, it has a lot to live up to. The Apple Vision Pro has a Micro OLED display higher than 4K in resolution for each eye along with 12 cameras, while the Meta Quest Pro only has a 2K LCD display and five cameras.
Meta's VR headsets also come with physical controls while Apple Vision Pro uses five sensors and six microphones for advanced gesture and voice recognition, meaning that it can be used hand-free as opposed to handheld controllers.
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It Could Save Reality Labs
Meta's Reality Labs is its virtual reality and augmented reality unit, which has been costing the company billions in loss. Since the beginning of 2022 up to the second quarter of 2023, the company has reportedly lost around $21 billion.
The biggest loss it saw around in the 4th quarter of 22, when it cost the company $4.3 billion. According to CNBC, Meta is already expecting operating losses to "increase meaningfully year-over-year due to our ongoing product development efforts."
With the VR hardware, the tech giant also continues to develop its metaverse product, Horizon Worlds. Just recently, Zuckerberg decided to finally add legs to the avatars in the metaverse, which previously had players float around the virtual world without lower limbs.
The addition is available in the beta version of Quest Home and will be rolled out in other virtual aspects like Horizon Home and Meta Horizon Worlds. Perhaps the update along with the upcoming high-end headset would be enough to pull Meta out of its VR slump.
