Meta Quest 3’s extra reasonably priced sibling could have leaked in new render

This yr is perhaps the yr AR/VR headsets lastly break into the mainstream. Whereas Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional provided a glimpse of a futuristic blended actuality (MR) world — at a particularly excessive worth — Meta appears to be targeted on making VR extra accessible as it really works on what may very well be its most reasonably priced Quest headset but. A brand new render could have simply proven us the design of this cheaper headset.

As reported by The Verge final yr, Meta’s VR vice chairman, Mark Rabkin, spoke about plans to launch a extra reasonably priced headset in 2024. Internally often known as Ventura, Rabkin mentioned the corporate was aiming to “pack the largest punch on the most engaging worth level within the VR shopper market.” For months, rumors have been swirling about this headset. Now, we’d have our first take a look at it.

A recent leak on X (previously Twitter) by VR accent vendor VRpanda could have revealed the attainable design for the upcoming headset. The submit provides that this new headset may very well be known as the Meta Quest 3 Lite.

Whereas it resembles previous Meta Quest fashions, the render appears to lack the passthrough digicam array of the pricier Quest 3. An reasonably priced “lite” model of the Quest 3 would wish to chop corners someplace to deliver the value down. Nevertheless, we don’t count on that that is the best way that Meta would attempt to save a bit of cash.

When it comes all the way down to it, the price of the headset is extra related to the pricey chip processing the huge quantity of pixels per body moderately than the cameras. A number of dependable sources up to now have claimed that the upcoming Quest Lite headset will use the identical Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chipset because the pricier Quest 3. Actuality Labs Director of Engineering for XR Tech, Paul Furgale additionally hinted in a weblog submit that “Passthrough and MR will likely be an ordinary characteristic on all future headsets” after the Quest 3.

Furthermore, the element contradicts some earlier experiences. So we might suggest taking this render with a wholesome dose of skepticism. It’s at the moment unclear the place Meta will attempt to lower prices, however rumors have steered that the headset might come with out controllers.