Meta plans a cheaper headset than Quest 3 for 2024, according to a Meta roadmap leaked to The Verge.
Meta’s VP of VR Mark Rabkin reportedly told staff:
“The goal for this headset is very simple: pack the biggest punch we can at the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market.”
Of course, the idea of a stripped-down budget headset from Facebook sounds familiar. In 2018 the company released Oculus Go, a $200 standalone headset for seated use with no positional tracking, fixed lenses, and a basic rotational laser pointer remote. Go was withdrawn from the market in 2020 and Facebook vowed never to ship a headset without positional tracking again.
It’s unclear how exactly the 2024 headset would differ from the Quest 3 slated for later this year, which Rabkin reportedly said will cost more than $400. What would Meta remove this time, or reduce, to achieve the lower price point? Developing a separate headset suggests it will make tradeoffs to achieve the lower price.
The report also doesn’t say what Meta plans to call this 2024 headset. Will it be a Quest 3 Lite, a Quest Go, or something else entirely? For now, it’s reportedly just known by its codename: Ventura.
It’s important to note that hardware companies frequently cancel projects in development, so there’s no guarantee this headset will ever actually ship.
