The Meta Quest Pro was initially hailed as a game-changer, but it ultimately didn’t resonate with the prosumer market as anticipated. A little over two years since its debut, Meta has decided to pull the plug on its first mixed reality headset. According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Meta is not just focusing on a successor for the Quest 3 consumer line but is also working on a new “high-end” model that could potentially take the place of the Quest Pro.
In his weekly newsletter, Gurman dives into a variety of XR updates, including hints that Meta’s next Ray-Ban Smart Glasses might feature a display. Interestingly, he also mentions whispers of Apple cutting back on production of the Vision Pro, citing reduced demand for the pricey $3,500 headset.
Relying on insider information, Gurman shared that Meta is actively developing the Quest 4 VR goggles, as well as a brand-new high-end model that might eventually replace the Quest Pro in the mixed-reality space.
The Quest Pro, which launched in late 2022, represented a bold shift from Meta’s standalone headsets, which were typically priced around $300 at that time. Initially hitting the market at $1,500, the ‘Pro’ offered enhanced features over its sibling, the Quest 2. These included color-passthrough technology, innovative pancake lenses, and advanced face and eye-tracking capabilities. However, less than five months post-launch, Meta slashed the Quest Pro’s price to $1,000 in a bid to entice more prosumer interest.
In July 2023, The Information stirred the pot with reports that Meta planned to cease the Quest Pro line altogether. However, Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO and head of Reality Labs, was quick to challenge this, cautioning against taking such reports at face value.
Fast forward to July 2024, and another piece from The Information suggested Meta was pivoting its ‘Pro’ strategy towards developing a lightweight mixed reality headset. This device, purportedly codenamed ‘Puffin,’ was said to resemble a chunky pair of glasses and was earmarked for a 2027 release. Alongside this, Meta has expressed ambitions to launch a pair of AR glasses ahead of 2030, promised to mirror the capabilities of its Orion AR glasses prototype.
Shortly after, a follow-up report by The Information indicated that a Quest Pro 2 prototype, known internally as ‘La Jolla,’ had been shelved. Bosworth later confirmed that La Jolla was indeed off the table and reasserted their commitment to developing Puffin. However, he did not clarify whether the Quest Pro line would be permanently discontinued.
Meta’s innovative strategy involves a cycle of launching and scrapping prototypes, a process Bosworth has previously described as focusing on exploration over immediate commercialization. The fate of projects like Quest Pro 2 remains ambiguous, making it challenging to determine whether these developments signal progress or stagnation.
Although Bosworth dismissed earlier rumors of the Quest Pro line’s demise, he left things open-ended by stating, “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.”
