Thomas Alsop
Research expert covering the global hardware industry
Meta Quest - statistics & facts
In September 2024, Meta introduced Quest 3S, a more affordable version of Meta Quest 3, the company’s highly popular virtual reality (VR) and mixed-reality headset. Meta Quest is the branding assigned to a series of VR headsets developed by Meta Platforms, the company formerly known as Facebook. The name change reflects the company’s growing ambitions beyond social media, notably bringing the metaverse to life. Meta Quest 3 features a higher resolution, a stronger performance, innovative Meta Reality technology, and a slimmer, more comfortable design. The device joins a product lineup that also includes Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 2.
Reality Labs is the business unit covering Meta’s immersive technology developments
With Meta rebranding its VR products away from the original Oculus naming, the company also began reporting the financial results of its augmented reality (AR) and VR business separately. The Reality Labs business segment of Meta is the corporate successor to Oculus, a company that was founded in 2012 before being acquired by Facebook in 2014 for 2.3 billion U.S. dollars. To support the continued innovation of AR/VR technologies, Meta operates several Reality Labs research facilities around the world. In 2022, Meta generated 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from its Reality Labs business segment, amassed from the delivery of hardware products such as Meta Quest and Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses, as well as related software and content. However, the Reality Labs segment has faced its challenges, reporting an operating loss of 13.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, a trend that continued into the first quarter of 2023 with a further loss of four billion U.S. dollars.Meta Quest devices support creativity and collaboration, as well as entertainment applications
Meta Quest devices are among the most popular VR devices available on the market. The company’s other products include the Meta Quest Pro, featuring a newer design compared to Meta Quest 2, ten sensors (both inward and outward facing), and revamped optics. Previously referred to as Project Cambria, Meta Quest Pro is an upgraded version of consumer-orientated Quest devices such as Meta Quest 2, with the Pro version regarded as more of an enterprise-level VR headset due to its 999 U.S. dollar price tag. Meta Quest 2 is also a standalone VR headset and retails at 299 U.S. dollars from June 2023 following the release of Meta Quest 3 – a price reduction of 200 U.S. dollars that no doubt makes Meta’s VR headsets accessible to more potential customers.Meta’s rivalry with Apple now moves into headsets
While Mark Zuckerberg has pinned his hopes on immersive experiences in the metaverse, Apple’s Tim Cook has instead pointed toward the impact spatial computing could have on the world. The first signs of this came to life at Apple’s annual developer conference in June 2023 where the company debuted the Apple Vision Pro, its new standalone mixed-reality headset. The launch of such a product aligns with Tim Cook’s belief that AR will become indispensable in our lives and be deployed as a tool that will aid creativity and collaboration. Only time will tell as to who will come to dominate the AR/VR headset market in the future, though the 3,499 U.S. dollars price tag of Apple Vision Pro may deter potential buyers, especially with Meta Quest devices available at a lower price.
