Meta, the parent company of Oculus, has been in the news recently due to rumours that it has cancelled the Quest Pro series of virtual reality headsets. A few days ago, The Information, a news outlet reported that Meta has stopped production of Quest Pro. The report also claims that the company has cancelled plans for future “Pro” series XR hardware. However, Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth denied this statement, saying “Don’t believe everything you see.”
How the rumour started
The rumours of the cancellation of the Quest Pro series began when a report claimed that Meta had discontinued the professional VR/AR headset and stopped work on the Quest Pro 2. This was reported by several websites including zdnet and mixed-news. The report also claims that Meta would continue selling the Quest Pro as long as there was enough stock. However, Bosworth has rebuked these claims, stating that people should not believe everything they see. Bosworth said:
“I explain this every year. There is no Quest Pro 2 headset until we decide to have one. I mean, there are a lot of prototype headsets – a lot – that are being developed in parallel. Some we’ll say, ‘This isn’t right,’ and we close the project. Some we’ll say, ‘That’s right,’ and we accelerate development. What you need to understand is that until it’s officially launched, there is no name. So, there may be a Quest Pro 2, and there may not be. Don’t believe what you read about What gets stopped or started, a lot of times it comes from someone not happy that their particular project got killed and other projects didn’t.”
Bosworth also suggested that the fake report is probably from an employee who was upset that his project was cut.
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Quest Pro series
Quest Pro is a $1,000 mixed reality headset launched by Meta, mainly for professionals, providing high-performance and high-resolution virtual reality experience. Available in October 2022, the product originally sold for $1,500, but it was slashed by $500 a few months later. Meanwhile, the Quest 2, a consumer-focused VR headset, has seen multiple price changes, ranging from $300 to $400.
Still, according to ITHome, Quest Pro didn’t go so well from the start. The product never clearly defined its existence, and the company vaguely positioned it as a workstation for professionals. In reality, the Quest Pro is more of a developer kit for studios looking to create consumer apps for the cheaper Quest 3 (coming fall 2023 for $500). Meanwhile, Quest Pro users have reported numerous usability issues since launch, making it feel less market-ready than the company had hoped.
Despite the rumours, it seems that Meta is still committed to developing the Quest Pro series. Bosworth has stated that the company is working on multiple prototype headsets, indicating that it is still exploring different options for the Quest Pro lineup.
Conclusion
Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, denied the claims that the Quest Pro series has been cancelled. He stated that the Quest Pro is still in development and that the company is working on multiple prototype headsets. Bosworth also advised people not to believe everything they see. From his words, it is clear that the news that Meta has cancelled the Quest Pro series of VR headsets is false and should be disregarded. However, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the Quest Pro lineup. But for now, it seems that Meta is still committed to developing high-end VR headsets for professionals and enthusiasts. We will keep a tab on the development of the Quest Pro series. As usual, we will let you know when there is an official and authentic information regarding the series.
