The next VR headset from Meta should be priced significantly higher than $800, a spokesperson for the company wrote to UploadVR over email.
The headset is currently known as Project Cambria and it is expected to ship later this year as a high-end work-focused headset that is also compatible with Quest games. Earlier today, in a report from The Information (subscription required), “two people familiar with the matter” suggested Meta is targeting a $799 price for Cambria, alongside sources indicating Meta plans three additional VR headsets to release by 2024. However, a Meta spokesperson indicated to The Information that Cambria’s price would be significantly higher than that.
UploadVR independently contacted Meta about the headset’s price in light of the report, and a spokesperson reiterated to us that the headset would be “significantly” above $800.
Meta recently described Project Cambria as “more focused on work use cases and eventually replacing your laptop or work setup” with “improved ergonomics and full color passthrough mixed reality to seamlessly blend virtual reality with the physical world. We’re also building in eye tracking and face tracking so that your avatar can make eye contact and facial expressions, which dramatically improves your sense of presence.” The headset is expected to use pancake lenses for a slimmer front-end on the design, and Cambria’s controllers are expected to track themselves.
The Information’s report suggests Meta aims to follow Quest 2, which starts at $299, with “two new versions” in 2023 and 2024 as well as a second version of Cambria in 2024. A previous report from The Verge dived deep into Meta’s AR glasses development and detailed those plans into the latter part of the decade. Meta is also working on wrist-worn neural input devices as well as the Portal video calling appliances, with the company likely to align its products with one another over successive generations so that buyers have reasons to purchase multiple pieces of Meta hardware.
Of course, the timelines Meta actually lands on for its devices as well as the features and prices targeted in the forthcoming eyewear could still shift dramatically as the company develops its product roadmaps further.
Note: This piece was edited a few hours after publication for better clarity.
