Augmented reality still isn’t getting the traction it needs to survive in the consumer market, perhaps unfairly. The industry’s hopes were pinned on the launch of Apple Vision Pro, mixed reality glasses that blend virtual reality and augmented reality and were touted as the future of the tech industry.
The Vision Pro could be aimed at augmented reality what the iPhone was for smartphones; It’s not the first product of its kind, but it’s one that has real potential to convince users to invest time and especially money in this technology. And no one was more excited about the Vision Pro than its direct rival, Mark Zuckerberg and his Meta Quest.
Since Meta bought Oculus, the company has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality, as part of its commitment to the metaverse; a bet that was solidified with the launch of the Meta Quest 3. The brand’s most advanced glasses to date are still far from the Vision Pro in terms of hardware and quality of experience, and therefore the next step was launch a product that matches.
Unfortunately, that won’t happen. The Information has revealed that Meta’s plan to create high-end augmented reality glasses has been cancelled. Internally, the device was codenamed “La Jolla” and would compete directly with the Vision Pro; to do so, it would use the same micro OLED technology to achieve high-resolution panels that eliminate the “door” effect that one feels when having screens so close to the eyes.
There are two reasons given for cancelling the project. On the one hand, the final price of the device was going to be too highMeta’s initial goal was to sell the new glasses for under $1,000 to attract users who couldn’t afford the Vision Pro; but micro OLED technology is still too expensive to hit that number without losing a lot of money on each sale. Meta has already discontinued the $999 Quest Pro due to poor sales, so it wouldn’t make sense to offer a product that’s more expensive than that.
A person using the Apple Vision Pro in the Beijing store.
Omicron
The reception of the Vision Pro didn’t help either. The $3,500 price tag put the device out of reach of the vast majority of users, and only a few companies have embraced the technology. Apple itself is aware that You don’t have a popular product on your hands.and that’s why it has already canceled development of the Vision Pro 2 and devoted all resources to a cheap Vision Pro, which would connect to an iPhone to be able to function instead of using dedicated “hardware”.
Meta’s path follows the same direction. The end of the high-end glasses project does not mean the end of Meta Quest in any way. According to the same leak, the company is continuing the development of new glasses, called “Ventura”, which They would be cheaper than the Meta Quest 3who will in turn receive a successor in 2026.
