According to a recent report from Korea, Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to travel to Korea on February 28th for discussions regarding their collaboration on the Meta Quest Pro 2.
Mark Zuckerberg is making his first visit to Korea in ten years, reportedly to engage in discussions with LG Electronics regarding a potential XR collaboration. A new report from Korea suggests that Meta aims to partner with LG Electronics to develop the next Quest Pro headset, ensuring access to high-quality components through a comprehensive supply chain. Interestingly, rumors about this collaboration between Meta and LG Electronics aren’t exactly new, as they have been circulating since last year.
LG Electronics is set to assist Meta in manufacturing the Quest Pro 2 by using its expertise in high-quality hardware. Meta, on the other hand, will contribute their experience in building VR and AR headsets, along with their software, ecosystem, and AI capabilities. The report also sheds light on a potential release date for the Quest Pro 2: “The two companies plan to launch XR headsets with top-notch performance surpassing Apple’s “Vision Pro” in the first quarter of next year.”
Hardware collaborations between Meta and other companies for building VR/AR headsets are not uncommon. This trend was earlier observed with products like the Samsung Gear VR (Meta + Samsung), Oculus Rift S (Meta + Lenovo), and Oculus Go (Meta + Xiaomi).
Furthermore, LG will also help Meta on the software front. According to the report, LG plans to grant Meta access to WebOS, LG’s smart-home operating system, which is utilized in their TVs and grants access to an array of streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, HBO, Apple TV+, and many more. This suggests that the Meta Quest Pro 2 may offer access to a great range of streaming services, potentially placing it ahead of competitors like Apple in this aspect.
The first indication of Meta Quest Pro 2 development emerged from Meta’s leaked product roadmap to The Verge. This roadmap shows the company’s intentions to launch a high-end Mixed Reality headset codenamed La Jolla, which is reportedly set to include Codec Avatars.
This means that Meta Quest Pro 2 (or whatever its name will be) could feature Codec Avatars – Meta’s long-lasting research project on hyperrealistic avatars by scanning the headset’s user face, and potentially the whole body. The discovery of Codec Avatars on a mobile headset was made by VR enthusiast Luna, who found strings and information in the code hinting at the inclusion of Codec Avatars.
The rumored price for the Meta Quest Pro 2 is around $2000, as reported by a Korean article.
The article also explores the idea of the “XR Three Kingdoms” era happening next year, where big players like Meta + LG, Google + Samsung, and Apple will compete to gain dominance in the XR market. A situation like this is truly the first of its kind in the VR/AR Industry and it reflects a growing trend of heightened interest and investment in XR technology.
