Virtual Reality
The Meta Quest 3 will release in late 2023
The Meta-verse is only just getting started.
UPDATE 9/27/2023: Well, it’s official. The Meta Quest 3 was released today, with pre-orders live at Amazon, Meta, Best Buy, and B&H Photo ahead of an October 10 retail launch.
Meta will release its next consumer virtual reality (VR) headset, the Quest 3, next year.
That nugget of information came in Meta’s latest quarterly earnings report. That factoid backs up earlier leaks, which said that the Quest 3 would release next year.
Meta already has most of the consumer VR headset market. An updated, upgraded Quest headset would solidify that lead, at a time when multiple other companies are bringing consumer devices out.
From Meta’s quarterly earnings report:
“Conversely, our growth in cost of revenue is expected to accelerate, driven by infrastructure-related expenses and, to a lesser extent, Reality Labs hardware costs driven by the launch of our next generation of our consumer Quest headset later next year.“
Earlier leaks of “Stinson,” the Quest 3’s codename, said it would use two uOLED screens. That’s a departure from the single LCD panel used in the Quest 2, and promises better image quality.
The leaked sketches also show multiple outward-facing cameras with a depth sensor. These will likely enable Augmented Reality (AR) or Mixed Reality (XR) experiences, like on the premium Meta Quest Pro.
We expect the Quest 3 won’t have the internal facial expression-tracking cameras from the professional headset. They’re too expensive to put into a consumer device and keep the price down.
Meta has been burning money like crazy to build its version of the metaverse. The company has lost nearly $10 billion this year, with costs increasing as time goes on.
During that time, VR revenue has dropped nearly 50% since last year, attributed to lower Quest 2 sales.
Owning the metaverse, or a version of it, would benefit Meta.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg drew parallels to Apple’s tightly controlled hardware and software stack during the earnings call, saying that building the metaverse will enable Meta to be more innovative.
The Meta Quest 3 mixed reality headset is ready for release, with pre-orders open before an October 10 release date. The latest Meta headset comes with a host of new hardware upgrades and features, with over 100 new and upgraded titles coming to the storefront throughout the rest of 2023.
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