Is MR the price that we’ll have to pay in order to get a cheaper VR headset from Meta? Maybe

The Vision Pro stirred the pot of the XR industry not just because it’s the first new product category that Apple has revealed in awhile, but also because it promises very impressive mixed-reality capabilities, like creating virtual workspaces that blend with your real world setting.

Much in that vein, the Quest 3 has joined the list of the best VR headsets on the market, not just because it’s equipped with the Snapdragon XR Gen 2 — the most sophisticated MR chip available right now — but also because Meta has promised that impressive MR features are coming as an update in 2024.

But, like, the Vision Pro is said to cost $3,500 and the Quest 3 costs $500. Even if the difference between these prices is basically night and day, even the $500 asking price is too much for a consumer, who’s never tried VR before and wants to check it out.

Which is how industries grow, by the way. And if we want that to happen, we need more budget headsets. But how is that going to happen?



Well, easy: features will need to be cut. We can’t have a headset with the most powerful SoC, and 15 cameras, and a display on the outside and — I don’t know! — a pre-packed stuffed lama, and then expect its price to fall below $250 (which I, personally, think is what the aim should be).

We keep hearing about what Apple may have to sacrifice in order to make a budget-friendly Vision Pro — which is my favorite on again, off again rumor, by the way — and often enough, mentions include the external display, horsepower and the battery (partially or entirely).

But what about Meta? Rumors about the Vision Pro are so contradictory that we can’t even say if Apple is making a budget-friendly Vision Pro. But Meta’s plans were leaked awhile back and if they are still true: a cheaper Quest headset is very much underway.

Well, Brad Lynch — same guy that leaked the Quest 3’s design more than a year before it launched — has shared some info. He’s calling the device the “Quest 3 Lite” and rumor has it that it will launch in 2024 for the astounding price of:

• $199 for a 64GB model
• $299 for a 128GB model
• $399 for a 256GB model

And, just for the record, the Quest 3 right now with 128GB on board costs $499 and if we bump the storage up to 512GB, the price changes up to $649.

The source also points out that this theoretical headset may use Fresnel lenses and include black and white passthrough, just as the Quest 2 did. But the SoC? Well, it will apparently be the Snapdragon XR Gen 2, as seen on the Quest 3.

And even if the chip is powerful, the black and white passthrough bit certainly guarantees that AR-powered mixed-reality shenanigans won’t be possible on this budget headset.

Of course, all of this has to be taken with a grain of salt. I mean, people are still waiting for their Quest 3 units to arrive, so it’s a bit early to think about a “Quest 3 Lite”. But one thing is for certain: a budget-friendly VR headset is needed and you just can’t beat a price like $199.