Facebook still has high expectations for the virtual reality ecosystem. The parent company of Oculus already has numerous headsets on the market. Earlier today, the company unveiled the Quest project, which is another VR headset. It is a stand-alone device and will cost $399 when it hits the shelves next year.
Facebook’s Quest Sounds Interesting
It is always difficult to determine whether or not the market is ready for yet another virtual reality headset. Given the lackluster interest from consumers at this stage, it seems the wait for the best VR headset is far from over. Facebook acknowledges something will need to change. An odd decision, especially when considering the company already has two competitive units on the market today.
Both the Oculus Rift and Oculus Go tackle very different market segments. With the new Quest VR headset, Facebook is trying to bridge the gap between the two. With an expected price tag of $399, it is not necessarily a new project consumers will be overly excited about just yet. Even though this will be a standalone unit, the steep price tag is simply not appealing.
Not too many specifics are known about this new VR headset. Mark Zuckerberg has not commented on specifics, even though it will become available come spring 2019. The built-in hardware will need to be powerful enough to provide a proper VR experience, as the Rift needs to be tethered to a PC whereas the Go is not too powerful for a standalone unit.
It appears the Facebook Quest is another step toward having 1 billion people using virtual reality That is Zuck’s original vision, even though no real progress has been made in this department. Whether or not another multi-hundred dollar VR headset will change people’s perspective on VR, remains highly doubtful. Without the content to explore, there is no reason for anyone to buy such a unit.
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