Apple’s Vision Pro just lost a future competitor. According to a new report from The Information, Meta’s premium headset project has officially been canned. Meta’s ‘Vision Pro’ will no longer see the light of day, and apparently because it would have been too pricey to sell well.
Premium Meta headset project is no more
Sylvia Varnham O’Regan and Wayne Ma, writing for The Information:
Meta Platforms has canceled plans for a premium mixed-reality headset intended to compete with Apple’s Vision Pro, according to two Meta employees.
Meta told employees at the company’s Reality Labs division to stop work on the device this week after a product review meeting attended by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth and other Meta executives, the employees said.
The axed device, which was internally code-named La Jolla, began development in November and was scheduled for release in 2027, according to current and former Meta employees. It was going to contain ultrahigh-resolution screens known as micro OLEDs—the same display technology used in Apple’s Vision Pro.
The cost of the Meta headset’s micro OLED displays is largely to blame for the cancellation.
Per the piece, Meta reportedly wanted to keep the cost of the device below $1,000, and that feat seemed virtually impossible considering the premium price tag of the high-resolution displays.
Why did costs need to stay sub-$1,000? Because that price point was “considered necessary for the product to sell well.”
Meta’s upcoming Quest 4 is reportedly still in the works with a targeted 2026 release date, but that device is expected to stay in the $500 price range of the Quest 3.
Apple’s pricing challenge with the Vision Pro
It’s unclear whether the $1,000 number refers to component costs or a targeted selling price. Either way, Meta’s headset would still have ended up way cheaper than Apple’s Vision Pro.
At $3,499, the Vision Pro carries a significant premium over existing VR-type headsets. But it is also, thanks to features like its dual micro OLED displays, technologically more advanced than its competitors too.
The timing of Meta starting, then later canceling its premium headset project, seems closely related to the Vision Pro. It started the work after the Vision Pro introduction, and ended it now that Apple’s headset is struggling.
Apple doesn’t release Vision Pro sales numbers, but things haven’t seemed great. Earlier this summer, the company reportedly shifted its focus from making a Vision Pro 2 to instead prioritizing a lower-cost Vision headset.
If Meta thought that shooting for $1,000 was necessary to have a successful product, Apple sure has a long ways to travel down the price chart with its next Vision device.
Do you think Meta made the right move here? What’s your pricing sweet spot for a Vision-style headset? Let us know in the comments.
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