Meta’s plans to beat Apple’s Vision Pro include cheaper headsets and no controllers

Meta is considering a follow-up to the Quest 3, launching this week, and plans to follow the lead of Apple’s Vision Pro as it races to incorporate its virtual reality technology. That is according to Mark Gurman currently Switched on newsletter for Bloomberg, who writes that the company’s Quest headset marketing plans have changed in response to Apple’s Vision Pro announcement earlier this year. Part of the plan is to launch a controller-free virtual reality headset to reduce the cost next year.

Gurman says a person inside Meta told him the company is “in the ‘fear of Apple’ stage,” comparing it to the mobile industry just before the iPhone launched. He writes that the company’s shift from a strong focus on the metaverse and more toward pushing the practical uses of headphones (gaming and productivity) is a direct response to Apple’s pitch for the Vision Pro. One could argue that Apple’s headphones have more down to earth than immersive virtual worlds, even if their price is not at all.

Meta’s roadmap has involved making its next headset, codenamed Ventura, even cheaper (the Quest 3 already costs less than 15 percent of the cost of a Vision Pro) and more comfortable without sacrificing resolution. the screen. And apparently, according to Gurman, Meta is also considering removing the controller bundle to help with that, allowing customers to simply use hand gestures or purchase controllers separately.

Ultimately, Apple and Meta are going after different markets, but right now, the existing market for VR headsets is basically “people who want VR headsets” – you know, early adopters. Meta is trying to figure out how things will play out when the market really grows, and to get a foothold in it, the company needs a different product, or risk Quest going the way of feature phones.