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Meta is reportedly releasing four VR headsets by 2024

Meta is going all-in on the metaverse.

by
Joe Rice-Jones
May 3, 2022

Image: KnowTechie

Meta is currently working on four virtual reality (VR) headsets to be released in the next two years. That’s according to The Information, which saw an “internal road map” from the company.

The first of these devices is Project Cambria; a high-end VR and mixed-reality headset that Meta wants to replace your laptop with. It will have facial expression tracking, sensors to mimic eye contact in VR, and new optics to make the metaverse more believable.

Cambria will be running on Android hardware, although it’s not clear at this point if Meta will use Android or its own software on the device. Expect to see this later this year, possibly before September.

The price of the pro-level VR headset is going to be high; with two sources telling The Information (via Android Central) that Cambria will cost $799. A Meta spokesperson said that the “price would be significantly higher,” which we take to mean that Meta will be selling the hardware at a loss.

Funston, the codename for the successor, is being readied for a 2024 release. Also scheduled for 2024 are two pairs of augmented reality glasses, Nazare and Hypernova. Finally, there’s a Quest-branded consumer-level VR headset planned, codenamed Cardiff.

oculus quest 2 purple background — Image: KnowTechie

Before that, a consumer headset codenamed Stinson is coming in 2023. That’s going to be the Quest 3 when it hits shelves. A leak from earlier this year says it’ll have uOLED screens.

That’s a lot of VR headsets in a short time, but it’s necessary for Meta to carve out its vision of the metaverse before the competition.

Companies like Pico, now owned by Bytedance, are about to start challenging Meta in the consumer space, with the upcoming Pico Neo 3 Link.

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