Meta unveils Quest 3 mixed reality headset ahead of Apple’s VR debut

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, on Thursday, revealed the corporate’s next-generation mixed reality headset, the Quest 3, because it braces for Apple to doubtlessly reshape the nascent market that Meta has dominated up to now.

Priced beginning at $499, the system shall be 40% thinner than the corporate’s earlier headset and have color mixed reality, which mixes augmented and digital reality (AR/VR) parts, Zuckerberg mentioned in an Instagram put up.

The Quest 3 additionally can have a brand new Qualcomm chipset with twice the graphics efficiency, Zuckerberg mentioned. He mentioned the system would launch within the autumn and promised extra particulars on the firm’s annual AR/VR convention on Sept. 27.

Zuckerberg’s announcement got here lower than per week earlier than tech rival Apple was anticipated to unveil its first mixed reality system.

Meta’s units comprised practically 80% of the 8.8 million digital reality headsets bought in 2022, in accordance with an estimate by market analysis agency, IDC.

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Far behind in second place at 10% market share was the Pico system by Chinese-owned ByteDance, which additionally owns social media competitor, TikTok.

Still, regardless of its dominance, Meta has struggled to promote its imaginative and prescient of an immersive “metaverse” of interconnected digital worlds and develop the marketplace for its units past the area of interest of the gaming group.

In March, Meta minimize the costs of most of its current Quest headsets in hopes of stirring demand, after elevating the worth of its entry-level Quest 2 128 GB model in July 2022.

Its high-end Meta Quest Pro now retails for about $1,000, down from a launch worth of $1,500, and the Quest 2’s 256 GB model now begins at about $430, down from $500.

The firm mentioned, on Thursday, that it might decrease the Quest 2 costs as soon as once more beginning June 4, with the entry-level system dropping again to its authentic price ticket of $300 and the 256-GB model falling to $350.

Revenue from its Reality Labs segments, which incorporates headset gross sales, declined 50% in the newest quarter in comparison with the 12 months prior.