Roadmap for Meta's upcoming AR/VR devices

Meta intends to introduce its first set of smart glasses with a display combined with a smartwatch with a neural interface to control them in 2025, reported The Verge. 

The company's first set of fully functional AR glasses, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicts could one day be as commonly used as cell phones, is scheduled to launch in 2027.

The specifics were revealed during a roadmap presentation of Meta's AR and VR efforts that was shared with The Verge and attended by hundreds of employees in the Reality Labs section of the company. Together, they demonstrated how Meta, despite a number of setbacks and broader cost-cutting efforts across the company, intends to continue investing in consumer hardware.

Employees were informed on the VR roadmap and that Meta's flagship Quest 3 headset, which will launch later this year, will be $200 more expensive than the $400 Quest 2. It will prominently showcase mixed reality experiences that don't completely immerse the wearer, with front-facing cameras that pass through video of the real world, like the recently unveiled Quest Pro. 

The company's vice president for VR, Mark Rabkin, informed staff members at the presentation that Meta has sold nearly 20 million Quest headsets to date.

Three new Quest models

According to Rabkin, Meta's primary difficulty with the Quest 3, internally known as Stinson, will be persuading customers to pay "a bit more" money than the previous model. He told staff: "We have to get fanatics heated up about it. We must demonstrate to the public the value of all this power and additional features."

A new "smart guardian" will be available to assist wearers in navigating the real world while using the device, according to Rabkin, who also predicted that mixed reality will be a major selling factor.

According to Rabkin, there will be 41 new games and apps available for the Quest 3 that will make use of the improved hardware, including new mixed-reality experiences. He stated that Meta intends to release the Ventura headgear, which is more "accessible," in 2024. The objective for this headset is to "deliver the largest punch we can at the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market".

In terms of hardware for virtual reality, Meta has a head start. Nonetheless, its significant fluctuations over the years reflect the impending fierce rivalry. 

While Sony just unveiled the well-received PSVR 2 for console players, Apple is anticipated to announce a high-end virtual reality headset sometime this year, according to The Verge. In the meantime, companies like Apple, Google, Snap, and others are racing towards something even more significant: augmented reality spectacles. Meta is hopeful that its early investments in the mixed reality market will really pay off in this area.

In addition to the Quest portfolio, Meta has tens of thousands of workers constructing future AR eyewear and wrist-mounted controllers.