A New Meta Quest In all probability Will not Occur in 2026

In case you’re a fan of VR, I most likely don’t have to inform you that zeal for {hardware} appears to be on the downslope. Not solely was there no new Quest headset out of Meta Connect this 12 months—a convention that’s traditionally been dedicated to VR stuff—however rumors counsel subsequent 12 months may very well be extra of the identical.

In response to a report from UploadVR, new Quest headsets have been pushed again till 2027 on the soonest, together with the corporate’s rumored ultra-light headset and the Quest 4, a successor to the Quest 3, which got here out in 2023. In response to UploadVR, the Quest 4 might not come out till 2028, which admittedly looks like eons away in gadget years.

Regardless of the delay, memos seen by UploadVR counsel some huge issues within the pipeline for the Quest as soon as each headsets are lastly launched. On the ultra-light facet of issues, the “Quest Air,” because it’s being tentatively referred to internally, will reportedly be coupled with a compute puck that acts because the headset’s mind. Theoretically, offloading all of the computing might drastically scale back the load, making for a tool that feels much less annoying to put on over lengthy durations. Whether or not will probably be highly effective and secure sufficient to really get pleasure from is anybody’s guess, however at the very least you won’t want to coach your neck muscle tissue earlier than you put on it.

The Quest 4, however, is reportedly shaping as much as be a “massive improve” to the Quest 3, in accordance with memos, and can doubtless land as extra of a competitor to the Apple Vision Pro than a budget-focused headset just like the Quest 3S. Talking of budgets, UploadVR additionally factors out that headset pricing might drastically change within the subsequent era, with a memo stating that the Quest 4 will “considerably enhance unit economics.” Both which means Meta has by some means discovered a approach to make all of this {hardware} for a decrease value, or it plans on elevating costs to try to squeeze a revenue. Personally, my cash is on the latter, particularly as a result of the memo reportedly states that Meta needs to be extra centered on “making the enterprise sustainable.”

Couple all of this with the truth that Meta could also be on the precipice of drastically reducing its budget for Reality Labs, the division of the corporate that oversees VR/XR {hardware}, and it begins to make extra sense. It looks like a foul signal for the Quest, and that will not be fully inaccurate, however a slowdown does really feel inevitable. Actuality Labs has blown by way of tens of billions of {dollars} since 2022, which isn’t precisely a traditional tempo for a {hardware} market like VR/XR that also feels very area of interest. I don’t assume anybody anticipated Meta to maintain that burning a lot money perpetually.

Enterprise Insider additionally reviews that Meta has delayed the release of its “Phoenix” pair of XR glasses to “get the main points proper.” Does that imply Meta is souring on AR glasses already? Most probably not, given how closely it pushed into the class of wearables this 12 months through the Meta Ray-Ban Display and Oakley-branded smart glasses. I’ll admit, delays throughout the board for brand new Quest {hardware} aren’t encouraging, however I believe the truth that new {hardware} remains to be even within the dialogue is definitely a very good signal. That being stated, roadmaps can at all times change. Tune in subsequent time when Meta abandons {hardware} fully for AI slop?