Last month, Meta announced a price hike of Quest 2.
Meta’s chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of company’s next virtual reality headset in October.
Speaking on Joe Rogan’s podcast on Spotify, Zuckerberg said that the new device will likely make its debut around the company’s annual Connect conference and will have “few big features.” These will include eye tracking and facial tracking features that aim to increase users’ “social presence.” The virtual avatars can imitate users’ real time facial expressions like frowning, smiling etc. and enhance non-verbal communication.
Zuckerberg emphasised on using virtual reality as a technological expression of connecting with people. “When you’re on a video call you don’t actually feel like you’re there with the person. To me, what virtual reality unlocks is that it really convinces your brain that you’re there,” he said.
The headsets are tipped to be a part of the U.S. multinational tech giant’s Project Cambria and will likely be a sequel to the popular Oculus Quest 2. The upcoming high-end headset will be called the Meta Quest Pro and will likely cost over $1,000, according to a Bloomberg report.
Last month, Meta announced a price hike of Quest 2 wherein the base 128GB variant was priced at $399, up from previous $299, and price of 256GB model was increased from $399 to $499.
Following Facebook’s rebranding to Meta, the company has been marching towards knitting both real and virtual experiences into a mixed reality and recasting the whole business as a “metaverse”, rather than just focusing on its social media business. However, sustainability of Meta’s high-end product intrigues analysts especially when competitors like Apple are poised to set foot in the market.
