Meta VR: Latest Oculus Quest Virtual Reality Devices, Announcements

Meta is launching a new virtual reality (VR) headset this fall, company founder Mark Zuckerberg said in an Instagram post in June.

The new headset, the Quest 3 follows the Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets.

Meta's chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth, known as "Boz," said the Quest 3 announcement was timed in early summer to help consumers prepare for their holiday shopping. More details will be announced at the Meta Connect conference in September.

Meta entered the VR space in 2014 when it purchased Oculus VR from founder Palmer Luckey for $2 billion in cash and stock. The Oculus VR headset was rebranded as the Meta Quest.

But Meta has struggled to profit from its VR offerings. Its Reality Labs, which produced the Quest Pro and is working on its metaverse venture, lost $13.7 billion in 2022.

Reviews of the Quest Pro have been mixed, and sales have been underwhelming. The company lowered the prices of its VR headsets earlier this year to boost sales.

Meta's VR headsets are used to access hundreds of games and other VR content. The headsets are also needed to access its metaverse concept, which is a broad term for a virtual world of connected digital, simulated-reality experiences where people can shop, socialize, and view entertainment.

The Meta Quest 3 will be released this fall. It will be a 128GB virtual and mixed-reality headset, featuring higher resolution, stronger performance, "breakthrough Meta Reality technology," and a slimmer, more comfortable design than Quest 2, according to the company.

Meta renamed the Oculus VR headset as the Meta Quest soon after purchasing Oculus in 2014. Meta has since released the Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets and is debuting the Quest 3 later this year.

Prices for the Quest 3 will start at $499.99. Meta lowered the price of the Quest 2 to $299.99 for the 128GB and $349.99 for the 256GB. The company also recently lowered the price of Quest Pro from $1,500 to $1,000.

Virtual reality is still a relatively new technology, so there are plenty of research and development costs. Meta's VR offerings have been losing money, nearly $14 billion in 2022. The company is also striving to compete with Apple and other companies in the virtual and mixed-reality sectors.

The decision to purchase a Meta VR headset is a personal one. But, the headsets are needed to access the metaverse and library of Meta games and other content.