Zhi DongXi (public number: zhidxcom)
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According to foreign media The Information, Meta will release four VR headsets and two AR glasses in the next four years.
Among them, the earliest VR headset will be released in September this year, the device code name is Cambria, is expected to sell for $799 (about 5291 yuan). The device also has an iterative version code-named Funston, which will be available in 2024. However, people familiar with the matter believe that the supply chain and the epidemic may lead to delayed product releases.
In just four years, Meta plans to release four VR headsets in a row, plus two AR glasses. The industry generally develops a VR/AR headset product in a cycle of about 18 months. Such an aggressive new product release rhythm also highlights the inevitable meta-universe of Meta.
First, this year into the VR headset high-end market, four years in a row to issue six new products
According to The Information, The Current Meta's product roadmap reveals plans for the release of six headsets.
Between now and 2024, Meta will launch four VR headsets, code-named Cambria, Funston, Stinson, and Cardiff.
Among them, Cambria is a high-end flagship VR headset, which may be launched in September this year. Subsequently, Meta will launch a VR headset code-named Stinson in 2023, which is a follow-up to the Quest series.
▲ Vr headset code-named Cambria
In 2024, Meta will launch a VR headset code-named Funston, which is an iterative version of Cambria, and Cardiff will be an iterative product of the new Stinson of the Quest series.
In other words, Meta will alternately release high-end VR headsets and low-end VR headsets, and VR headsets in different price bands will help Meta seize most of the VR headset market.
At the same time, Meta will also release two AR glasses, and its internal code names are Nazare and Hypernova. Among them, Nazare will be launched in 2024, while HYPERNOVA, an AR glasses with stronger features, will be launched in 2026.
Second, VR headset highlight Cambria: with full-color perspective, face tracking two highlights
In October 2021, Meta CEO Zuckerberg revealed for the first time at Connect 2021 that Cambria, a high-end VR headset, will be released in the second half of this year.
Although many media and analysts consider cambria's VR headset to be Oculus Quest 3 or Oculus Quest 2 Pro, Zuckerberg himself once said at Connect 2021: "Cambria is a product different from Quest 2, mainly facing the high-end market." Therefore, whether the VR headset code-named Cambria belongs to the Quest series is still inconclusive.
This VR headset has a higher resolution image display, and people can also use it to send emails or text messages. Inside Meta, Cambria is often referred to by developers as Arma, and the device has two highlights: full color pass-through and face tracking, which can enhance the user's MR experience.
Cambria's Outward-facing cameras allow vr headset screens to present real-world scenes. The device's full-color perspective capability not only allows the VR headset to present a completely virtual scene, but also allows the VR headset to display both the real world and the virtual world, just like AR glasses.
▲A full-color perspective idea proposed by Meta at the conference
Meanwhile, Cambria's built-in sensors track users' eyes and facial expressions in real time, helping users generate virtual avatars in apps like Meta's Horizon Worlds and Workplaces.
In addition, sources revealed that cambria will be a little heavier than the Oculus Quest 2, as it will carry a larger capacity battery on the back of the headset.
The upgrading of the functions of Cambria devices has also made people have higher expectations for the use of VR headsets.
According to a person familiar with the matter, internal developers at Reality Labs sometimes see Cambria as "laptop for the face" or "Chromebook for the face." It can be seen that Meta's VR headset positioning is transforming from an entertainment device into an efficiency tool suitable for office scenes.
These news also coincide with Zuckerberg's previous argument that "VR headsets will replace PCs" at the first quarter of 2022 earnings conference. Zuckerberg revealed at the earnings conference that Cambria will pay more attention to the use of work scenarios, and will eventually replace laptops or other work equipment.
At the same time, Meta compared the Cambria VR headset to Google's Chromebook laptop, and also revealed that the device should have higher computing power.
But is this really the case?
The Information mentioned that the current Cambria VR headset also uses an Android-based VR operating system. This means that users cannot use any of the commonly used working software designed for PCs through VR devices, and can only enjoy the functions of part of the web version of the software through vr web browsers.
Meta also seems to be aware of this problem, adding support for opening multiple windows in web browsers in a recent Quest 2 version update. Therefore, how to let users use some common work software through cambria VR headset will be one of the challenges faced by Meta to promote the application of VR headsets in work scenarios.
▲Quest 2 version upgrade adds multitasking
Investment institution Goldman Sachs recently said in a report on AR and VR technology that although VR technology is improving, so far, VR headsets have not become a just-needed product for consumers, and a small number of people still use VR devices.
That is to say, the current VR headset market size is still in the initial stage of development. Goldman Sachs also predicts that if Meta can get people to telecommute through VR headsets, It will sell 19.4 million VR devices in 2023.
Third, Meta encountered three major dilemmas: difficult to make profits, difficult to innovate, difficult to release
Although Meta reveals the inevitable goal of "meta-universe" through its ambitious product roadmap, what is in front of Meta is the three dilemmas of VR new products being released as scheduled, VR hardware equipment being more competitive, and VR hardware being difficult to make a profit.
The pace of new product launches is often influenced by multiple factors. For example, Meta's Cambria VR headset was supposed to be launched at the end of last year, but due to the impact of supply chain capacity, the epidemic and research and development schedule, it was postponed until September this year. Therefore, Meta's product roadmap is for reference only, and the specific new product release rhythm also needs to be determined according to the situation, in recent years, Meta's new products often cannot be launched as scheduled, affecting the release rhythm.
In addition, according to the previous summary of The Information's news, Meta's self-research plans in the VR field have been repeatedly frustrated. Since 2022, Meta has not only abandoned building a new VR operating system framework, but its self-developed processor is not as good as Qualcomm's XR 2 processor.
On the one hand, this means that Meta is difficult to open a big gap with Pico, HTC, Lynx and other domestic and foreign VR headset manufacturers on the hardware basis of VR equipment. On the other hand, the setbacks of the two hardware research and development teams have also caused a certain waste of resources.
Meta said in a statement on Wednesday: "We will re-evaluate our talent pool based on business needs and slow down our growth rate accordingly based on financial reporting expenditures." ”
Meta is not only starting to "throttle", but also figuring out ways to better "open source".
"The Quest 2 itself is not profitable." Guillaume Chansin, director of display research at Display Supply Chain Consultants, a research firm that has long tracked Meta hardware, said.
Meta wanted to make money through device-related advertising or electronic services, similar to Microsoft's gaming business model. Microsoft has previously mentioned that although he loses money on Xbox hardware, he can make money through games and subscription services to make up for the loss.
But now, Meta only charges Quest's software developers, but it hasn't built an advertising business around its hardware devices yet.
Zuckerberg feels that unless VR devices can reduce hardware costs as the market expands, as the market expands, thereby making a profit through the hardware itself, the advertising business will become one of the important sources of revenue for VR devices.
Conclusion: Consolidate the position of the head, Meta frenzied new products
From the latest product roadmap information, we can see that Meta is building two product routes in the VR field, some products take the high-end flagship, trying to and Microsoft, Apple will release the high-end VR product PK, while the other product is mainly low-cost and high-end, for opening the VR market scale, and consolidating its VR market head position.
Since Meta released Oculus Quest 2 in September 2020, the company has not released a new VR product for nearly two years. Meta's latest hardware product is the Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses released in December 2021 in collaboration with Ray-Ban. Is Meta's product innovation in the VR field weak? Metaverse plan in vain? All kinds of doubts have been surrounding Meta's VR devices.
In the face of these doubts, what surprises will Meta's new flagship Cambria VR headset bring to users? Can this flagship product be a new entry point into the Meta Metacosm? We will continue to monitor the progress of the latest developments.
Source: The Information