Undoubtedly renamed Meta Quest 3 and Meta Cambria at the time of their release, the Oculus Quest 3 and Quest Pro were entitled to a major leak this week.
2022 might be the year of revival for virtual reality. After the official announcement of the PSVR 2 headset which will be released at the end of the year on PS5, it is the turn of Meta’s VR device to be talked regarding. Happy coincidence of timing or cleverly oiled marketing coup, the American company was the subject of a leak only a few hours following the announcement of its main competitor, which allowed it to take center stage.
According to a leak from YouTuber and extended reality analyst Brad Lynch, the Oculus Quest 3 and Quest Pro will first have to rely on a change of surname. After becoming Meta, the Facebook group reaffirmed its desire to offer a complete, and above all, coherent ecosystem. Thus, the Oculus Quest 3 would be renamed Meta Quest 3 while the Quest Pro would take the name of Meta Cambria.
Big technical improvements to the program
Meta Cambria (Q2 2022) will include MiniLED screens. Targeting to sell 3 million HMD units in its first year.
Quest 3 is planned to include uOLED. Meta signed deal to build production lines for these displays with Changxin Technology
Connect 2023 announce/release soon following
— Brad Lynch | CES 2022 (@SadlyItsBradley) January 4, 2022
Also according to Brad Lynch, the first Meta VR headset to be released this year will be the Meta Cambria (Oculus Quest Pro). No surprise on this side, the company had already confirmed the rumors of a release in 2022. What we did not know, however, is that the model would be equipped with mini LED screens. Undoubtedly formalized during the annual Meta developers conference, these new panels coupled with a refined “pancake” optics would make it possible to obtain a helmet that is thinner, but also lighter than the models currently on the market. However, we must expect a steep bill, the firm of Mark Zuckerberg having already specified that the Cambria would be “a high-end device at a higher price, equipped with all the latest advanced technologies“.
Homemade chip for the Meta Quest 3
Regarding the Meta Quest 3, we will have to expect uOLED screens, but also a home processor. Brad Lynch indicates that Meta would have planned to power its next headset, not with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR3 – expected at the end of 2023 – which will replace the XR2 (already equipped on the Quest 2), but with its own dedicated chip. VR.
Even though Qualcomm Snapdragon XR3 is expected to be available by late 2023:
Meta is hoping to have their own silicon design ready for Quest 3. And not rely on a SoC that all smaller XR players will use. Mainly with a focus on a GPU that is better designed for VR loads
— Brad Lynch | CES 2022 (@SadlyItsBradley) January 4, 2022
However, it will be necessary to be patient. Released in October 2020, the Oculus Quest 2 might not give up its place until 2024. Meta would indeed have planned to formalize its new consumer headset during its Connect 2023 conference, expected for the end of next year, i.e. in almost two years.
