- By Vikas Yadav
- Sat, 24 Aug 2024 02:06 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Meta, renowned for its Quest headsets in the immersive reality market, has reportedly pulled the plug on plans of a premium mixed reality headset to take on Apple's flagship spatial computer - the Vision Pro. Citing two Meta employees, The Information noted the company told its Reality Labs staff to stop working on the device after a review meeting this week.
According to the report, the device was internally codenamed La Jolla and was expected to arrive in 2027. The device was said to use MicroOLED screens, similar to the Vision Pro. For context, the Apple Vision Pro costs $3,500. As per the news outlet, the Reality Labs division is responsible for the marketing and development of the Quest lineup.
While the business vertical incurred billions in losses, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has been optimistic about the future of AR and VR technologies. The latest Quest 3 is available at a starting price of $499. Citing the news outlet, Reuters reported the company has paused the production of the premium Quest Pro, Meta's most expensive handset, which costs $999.
This decision was mainly pivoted due to the lower sales and poor reviews. Coming back to the sacked La Jolla project, Meta aimed to keep the cost under $1,000 of the project. However, this appeared tough due to the significant costs of the MicroOLED screens. Plus, Apple's flagship headset is yet to make a robust mark on the sales sheet. These factors might have forced Meta to sack the project.
Meanwhile, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth posted on Threads: "We have many prototypes in development at all times. But we don't bring all of them to production. We move forward with some, we pass on others. Decisions like this happen all the time, and stories based on chatter about one individual decision will never give the real picture." According to reports, Meta may unveil a more affordable Quest and new AR glasses this year. The Quest 4 in two trims (premium and standard) is expected in 2026.