Open our Meta Quest 3 review and you'll see that the VR headset has a not-unreasonable starting price of $499.99 / £479.99 / AU$799.99 – certainly well below the $3,499 (or more) mark. that you will pay for Apple Vision Pro. . However, it looks like even more affordable Meta headphones are on the way.
After teasing what's called Meta Quest 3 Lite earlier this month, virtual reality panda (via Android Authority) has posted an image of the rumored device on social media. As expected, it looks a lot like Meta Quest 3.
There are some differences, however: the pass-through cameras on the outside of the wearable have apparently been ditched, which presumably means that augmented reality effects and any sort of hand-tracking controls are off the agenda.
The Android Authority team believes that greater savings could be achieved by using a more affordable processor. Savings will certainly have to be made somewhere, if Meta is to manage to significantly lower the price of the Quest 3.
AR/VR for less
😶🌫️still pancakes? pic.twitter.com/4zHpuqeXFzMarch 15, 2024
As with every leak, we need to apply some level of caution before taking it at face value. Last year we heard talk that a cheaper Meta Quest VR device was on the way, but there haven't been many leaks or rumors about it, and of course, the company's plans can always change when it comes to device launches.
The lack of pass-through cameras would be a surprise, even if Meta is trying to save on production costs. The company has previously said that pass-through is likely to be a “standard feature” in future headphones, so make of that what you will.
If you want to put a device on your head that combines virtual reality and augmented reality, then the distinction between Apple and Meta is pretty clear: the former company's offering costs seven times as much.
Affordability is a big selling point for Meta to emphasize, and it looks like that gap will grow even more with the next device. However, so far, there is no indication of when the Meta Quest 3 Lite headphones might see the light of day.
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