Meta Quest Pro didn’t exactly make the splash in the prosumer market that many thought it would. Consequently, it seems Meta has decided to pull the plug on this mixed reality headset just over two years after its debut. According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Meta is not only gearing up for a Quest 3, aimed squarely at consumers, but they’re also in the works with a new “high-end” model, potentially lining up as the next incarnation of the ill-fated Quest Pro.
In one of his regular newsletters, Gurman covers a broad swath of recent XR developments. This includes a possible screen addition to Meta’s next Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and news about Apple’s Vision Pro, which reportedly faces dwindling demand that’s slowing down production, despite its chunky $3,500 price tag.
Gurman, leaning on information from insiders, mentions that Meta is actively crafting the Quest 4 VR goggles. Alongside this, there’s mention of another premium offering that might one day take the place of the current Quest Pro mixed-reality setup.
Back in late 2022, the Quest Pro made its first appearance. It was a notable pivot from Meta’s usual lineup of standalone headsets, which typically priced around $300. This ‘Pro’ model debuted with a lofty price of $1,500 and boasted innovative features like color-passthrough, pancake lenses, along with face and eye-tracking capabilities. But barely five months down the line, the price tagged was slashed to $1,000 in a bid to pull more prosumers into the fold.
Fast forward to July 2023, The Information published a piece suggesting that Meta decided to axe the Quest Pro line altogether. However, Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO, and the head of Reality Labs, was quick to downplay the news, telling everyone to take it with a grain of salt.
A subsequent report in July 2024 from The Information hinted at Meta pivoting its ‘Pro’ efforts towards developing a notably lighter mixed reality device. This new device, codenamed ‘Puffin,’ is said to resemble hefty glasses and is penciled in for a 2027 release. This aligns with Meta’s ambition to roll out a pair of AR glasses before 2030, akin to its Orion AR prototype.
Further revelations by The Information shortly afterward claimed Meta had abandoned a Quest Pro 2 prototype, dubbed ‘La Jolla’. Bosworth later went on record confirming La Jolla’s cancellation while also affirming the development of Puffin. Yet, he stopped short of clarifying if Meta is ready to fully retire the Quest Pro line.
Meta’s product development strategy is all about building new prototypes while phasing out others. Bosworth has previously pointed out that this approach allows for exploration before diving into full-on commercialization. Just where projects like Quest Pro 2 fall in this cycle is hard to determine, blurring the line between whether these pauses and starts are paving the way forward or merely leading to dead ends.
While quashing the earlier rumor about Quest Pro’s demise, Bosworth remarked, “There might be a Quest Pro 2, there might not be. I’m not really telling you, but I will say don’t buy into everything you read regarding what’s been stopped or set in motion.”
