Meta had high hopes for the Quest Pro, envisioning it as a significant player in the prosumer market. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite hit the mark, prompting the company to halt production of its first mixed reality headset just over two years after its initial release. Now, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Meta is actively working not only on a Quest 3 designed for general consumers but also on a premium model that might fill the void left by the Quest Pro.
Gurman, in his weekly column, offers a sweeping overview of the recent developments in the XR world. Among the highlights, he mentions Meta potentially adding displays to future Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and addresses rumors of Apple scaling down production of its $3,500 Vision Pro headset due to waning demand.
Drawing on insider information, Gurman highlights that Meta is in the process of developing the Quest 4 VR goggles alongside a high-end model that could effectively become the successor to the Quest Pro mixed-reality headset. The Quest Pro’s launch in late 2022 marked a bold shift from Meta’s typical lineup of standalone headsets, which were more attractively priced around $300.
Initially hitting the market at $1,500, the Quest Pro incorporated advanced features surpassing the Quest 2. These included the likes of color-passthrough technology, innovative pancake lenses, and sophisticated face and eye-tracking capabilities. However, within five months of its release, Meta slashed the Quest Pro’s price down to $1,000, aiming to draw more prosumers into the fold.
Fast forward to July 2023, a report from The Information suggested that Meta had pulled the plug on the Quest Pro series. However, Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO and head of Reality Labs, was quick to challenge this claim, cautioning against accepting everything reported as fact.
A subsequent report in July 2024 from The Information indicated that Meta was redirecting its ‘Pro’ efforts towards developing a more lightweight mixed reality device, codenamed ‘Puffin’. This device, which somewhat resembles a hefty pair of eyeglasses, is rumored to be on track for a 2027 release. Meta is simultaneously targeting the release of AR glasses before 2030, anticipated to mirror the functionality of its Orion AR glasses prototype.
In a related twist, The Information released a follow-up report suggesting that the Quest Pro 2 prototype, dubbed ‘La Jolla’, had been shelved. Bosworth later confirmed that La Jolla was indeed canceled, while also acknowledging the ongoing development of Puffin, yet he left the status of the Quest Pro line itself ambiguous.
The way Meta approaches its product innovation is intriguing, to say the least. It highlights a pattern of testing prototypes extensively before deciding which projects advance to commercialization. This means that whether efforts like those relating to Quest Pro 2 are temporary pauses or permanent endings remains an open question.
While refuting the notion that the Quest Pro line was entirely cut, Bosworth kept things ambiguous by suggesting, “There might be a Quest Pro 2, there might not be. I’m not really telling you, but I will say don’t believe everything you read about what’s been stopped or started.”
