Oculus Quest Pro likely coming in around September

7/5/2022

The next high-end Meta VR headset has been described internally as a ‘laptop for the face’ according to a new report.

The Information says it has a roadmap for the company’s hardware, with four new products coming by the end of 2024, including the headlining device codenamed Project Cambria – aka the Meta Quest Pro. Six months ago, the company previewed the headset “as a completely new and advanced high-end product.”

The report says the Quest Pro will be available from September 2022 at a price of US$799(~S$1105.18), which is around than three times the cost of the current Meta Quest 2. That’s a pretty conservative estimate judging by recent speculation over the price of this Pro product.

According to the report, the headset will have specs similar to a Chromebook, and will be powered by the Android-based Meta operating system.

The idea will be for the headset, which will be geared for work as well as play, to offer access to web apps and will retain compatibility with the Quest apps running on the current device.

Meta’s next virtual reality headsets will be key to powering the company’s vision for the metaverse, and the roadmap is “aggressive” according to the report.

Cambria/Quest Pro will be followed by Quest 3 next year, according to the report, which says it is codenamed ‘Stinson’. ‘Funston’ will be the follow up to the Quest Pro in 2024, followed by another lower-end device in 2024, codenamed ‘Cardiff’.

Meta did tell The Information that “it is common for target ship dates to change during the course of development” so these timings may slip. However, it’s clear big things are happening at Meta and, with possible incoming challenges from Apple, the company will be looking to operate from a position of strength.