Meta’s ambitious Quest Pro never quite hit the mark with its target prosumer audience, prompting the company to phase out its pioneering mixed reality headset just over two years after it hit the shelves. Now, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Meta isn’t just working on a Quest 3 for the general consumer market but is also developing a “high-end” model that might take over from the Quest Pro.
In his regular newsletter, Gurman has compiled a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the XR world. Highlights include the possibility of Meta integrating a display into its upcoming Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and the buzz around Apple reducing production of its Vision Pro due to lower-than-expected demand for the $3,500 device.
Gurman, citing insider insights, also mentioned that Meta is “working on Quest 4 VR goggles, alongside a new premium model potentially set to succeed the Quest Pro mixed-reality headset.”
The Quest Pro, which launched in late 2022, was a bold step away from Meta’s typical consumer standalone headsets, which hovered around a $300 price point at the time.
Initially released with a $1,500 price tag, the Quest Pro offered a suite of upgrades over the Quest 2, such as color-passthrough, pancake lenses, and both face and eye-tracking features. However, less than five months after its release, Meta slashed the price down to $1,000 to entice more prosumer interest.
Fast forward to July 2023, The Information published a claim that Meta was cutting the Quest Pro line, a statement promptly disputed by Meta’s CTO and Reality Labs head, Andrew Bosworth, who asserted, “don’t believe everything you read.”
In another article from The Information, dated July 2024, it was suggested that Meta is redirecting its ‘Pro’ focus towards creating a lightweight mixed reality device resembling “a bulky pair of glasses,” known internally as ‘Puffin,’ which is rumored for a 2027 release. This is part of Meta’s broader strategy to roll out a pair of AR glasses before 2030 designed to mimic the functionality of their Orion AR glasses prototype.
Shortly thereafter, a subsequent report from The Information indicated that a Quest Pro 2 prototype, codenamed ‘La Jolla’, had been shelved. Bosworth later confirmed that La Jolla was indeed canceled in favor of developing Puffin, yet he did not clarify if this marked the end of the Quest Pro line entirely.
Meta’s developmental strategy seems to involve a cycle of testing and discarding prototypes, a process Bosworth has previously described as prioritizing exploration over immediate market release. It remains unclear whether these starts and stops represent strategic stepping stones or final conclusions for certain projects, like the Quest Pro 2.
While countering earlier reports that the Quest Pro was axed, Bosworth remarked, “there might be a Quest Pro 2, or 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.”
