Dave McQuilling
Priced at $1,500, Meta’s new Quest Pro headset may have put a lot of people off. It isn’t designed for or marketed to gamers, leaving VR’s largest demographic wondering when it will be their turn for some new hardware. However, fans of VR gaming might not be waiting much longer.
Speaking during Meta’s Q3 earnings call, the company’s CFO, Dave Wehner, confirmed a new “consumer Quest headset,” likely the Quest 3, will hit the shelves “late next year.” Unlike Meta’s most recent hardware, a sequel to the Quest 2 is expected to be built around an accessible price tag — likely retailing at a similar price to the Quest 2. Mark Zuckerberg has previously thrown around figures between $300 and $500, which is great for sales volume but may limit what the hardware can do.
Pancake lenses, which allow for a far smaller headset, are present in the Quest Pro. They’ll also more than likely be present in any sequel to the Quest 2, particularly as Meta rivals Pico has managed to put the high-end lenses in its direct competitor to the Quest. A new chip, replacing the Quest 2’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1, is another likely feature.
Eye and face tracking are other Quest Pro features that could trickle down to the Quest 3. While face tracking has applications in social apps and might be a cornerstone of Meta’s plans for the Metaverse, eye tracking is more important. It allows for something called “foveated rendering, ” which means the device only has to render the area you’re currently looking at in high detail. The process can help overcome processor and screen limitations — allowing a device to punch above its weight.
Details on the Quest 3 are currently sparse — but if previous releases are anything to go by, you can expect a series of leaks, a big announcement at next year’s Connect, and a full release around this time next year.
Source: Meta via Engadget
