Meta is reportedly sticking to its plans to launch extra VR headsets and AR glasses in only a few brief years, however issues are getting a little bit tense for these growing the following large metaverse thingamajigs. A brand new report claims Meta instructed its VR/AR groups to chop spending by a fifth. The corporate nonetheless expects builders to pump out a brand new Meta Quest 4 headset, a Quest Professional sequel, and new AR glasses that nix the Ray Bans branding within the subsequent three years.
Meta has been shifting its focus over to AI. The corporate is gearing as much as launch its Llama 400B semi-open source AI mannequin by the top of this month if the rumors will be believed. The Mark Zuckerberg-led tech large hasn’t given up on its VR/AR-centric Reality Labs division, however in keeping with a report from The Information, employees are being instructed to tighten their belts. The division has routinely spent billions of dollars on many tasks, however nameless sources instructed The Info the crew might want to axe prices by round 20%. That’s important, contemplating that the division posted $3.85 billion in losses this previous quarter. The corporate simply acquired finished with some massive layoffs last year that axed 10,000 employees, although we nonetheless don’t know what number of Actuality Labs positions acquired reduce.
In response to the report, the corporate’s chief monetary officer, Susan Li, instructed employees the division has misplaced $55 billion since 2019. That doesn’t imply Meta’s giving up on its metaverse desires, however we don’t know the place these cuts would possibly land. Gizmodo contacted Meta for remark, however we didn’t instantly hear again.
As for now, there are nonetheless merchandise within the pipeline, a few of which we’ll see hit cabinets as quickly as subsequent 12 months. The primary one is a pair of AR glasses, and no, they received’t have any Ray Bans Meta Smart Glasses branding to go together with it. The knowledge sources declare that the following pair of glasses will likely be comparatively heavy for a pair of sun shades, which will likely be round 70 grams and have some thick frames. The glasses themselves use an LCD display in the proper lens together with your common projection expertise like we’ve seen with XReal Air 2 Ultras and related merchandise.
Essilor Luxottica, the conglomerate behind Ray Bans, apparently didn’t like the thought of such heavy glasses bearing their branding. We’re completely happy to see that emblem fall off Meta’s AR glasses. As an alternative, we’re extra fascinated with how properly Meta can stability wearability wants versus battery life, energy, and visuals. Meta’s been specializing in bringing its AI imaging capabilities to the AR glasses, so we will solely count on extra of that within the subsequent go-around.
In order that’s it for 2025, however in 2026 we may even see the sequel to the present $500 Meta Quest 3. We’ve loved our time with Meta’s most-recent headset, and it’s gotten higher since including higher Xbox and Steam integration, alongside enchancment for the UI and hand monitoring. Meta’s reportedly two completely different variations of the Quest 4, one decrease and one other higher-end model.
Lastly, Meta has tentatively slated a brand new model of the Quest Professional slated for 2027. That system price $1,500 when it first hit the scene, however the system proved unpopular with customers who had been extra used to spending a couple of hundred for his or her VR headsets rather than thousands.
The brand new Quest Professional is meant to compete towards the Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s large headset has additionally struggled to make an impression after its preliminary February launch, not the least on account of its $3,500 price ticket. There’s reportedly a weaker, cheaper Vision device in the works, however it could lack a few of the passthrough capabilities of the present, high-end system. Presently, there’s simply too broad a gulf between how properly these units carry out and their measurement/value. Now, the VR race isn’t simply between Meta and Apple, however now contains every firm’s willingness to maintain throwing cash on the waning metaverse market.
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