Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced the company's upcoming mixed reality headset, the Quest 3, as competition from Apple looms. The Quest 3 will be 40 per cent thinner than its predecessor and will introduce color mixed reality, combining augmented and virtual reality elements. Meta also plans to lower the prices of its existing Quest 2 headsets while enhancing their performance.
The Quest 3 will feature a new Qualcomm chipset with double the graphics performance of the Quest 2 and is scheduled for release in autumn. The announcement comes just before Apple's anticipated unveiling of its own mixed-reality device.
Despite Meta's dominance in the virtual reality market, the company has faced challenges expanding beyond the gaming community and realizing its vision of an interconnected metaverse. Meta's revenue from headset sales declined by 50 per cent in the most recent quarter, and headset sales overall have dropped by 54.4 per cent year over year.
Apple is all set to launch its new mixed reality headset at the WWDC 2023 which will begin on June 5. The headset is expected to demand a massive premium compared to the Quest 3. Leaks have suggested that Apple may introduced the headset at a price of $3000 (roughly Rs 2.50 lakh).
Despite being competitors, the launch of Apple's VR headset will also give Meta a push as buyers will look for cheaper alternatives to enter the VR ecosystem. The price cuts of Quest 2 could also boost further consumption.
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