The Meta Quest 3 goes on sale tomorrow (October 10) with the social media giant looking to build on the immense success of the Quest 2.
The mixed-reality headset will this time face competition from a new entrant into the space – Apple and its Vision Pro headset due out in the US early next year.
Although the Vision Pro costs seven-times as much as Meta’s £479 Quest 3, there are reportedly those within camp Zuckerberg who’re more than a little concerned about Apple’s entry into the sphere.
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In his most recent Power On newsletter, the well-connected Mark Gurman revealed a conversation with a person within Meta who said: “We’re in the ‘afraid of Apple’ stage.”
Gurman likens the situation to Apple’s entry into the mobile phone arena in 2007, and every single person reading this knows how that worked out.
The newsletter points out that Meta has backed away from its vast metaverse vision of us all living as ridiculous-looking avatars in the virtual world, in favour of an approach more akin to productivity and gaming. That’s precisely where Apple sees the Vision Pro excelling too.
So how can Meta continue to compete with the Apple machine and its software and hardware ecosystem? Well, Gurman reckons the plan is to be “even more aggressive on price” while offering new products at lower tiers and selling the headsets minus the Touch controllers.
He writes: “For next year, Meta is planning a cheaper mixed-reality headset that looks a lot like the Quest 3 but uses less costly components, I’m told. Meta would then reposition the Quest 3 as its mid-tier offering. At the high end, the company would come up with a replacement for its failed Quest Pro.
“One way Meta is considering lowering the cost of an entry-level headset is by not bundling it with hand controllers. Instead, users would have to buy the accessories separately or operate the headset with hand gestures.”
Do you think Meta has anything to be afraid of, considering the disparity in price points? Let us know @trustedreviews on X.
