Meta Abandons Original Quest VR Headset - Gizmodo

With lone 1 iteration ahead, Meta has declared that its archetypal Meta Quest VR headset won’t beryllium receiving immoderate much emotion oregon TLC.

In an email sent to Meta Quest 1 users and aboriginal posted to Twitter, the institution spelled retired however it volition beryllium dropping enactment for its original, cheaper virtual world device. Most importantly, the instrumentality volition nary longer person aboriginal contented updates. By 2024, the instrumentality volition nary longer get immoderate bug fixes oregon information patches.

Notably, users volition nary longer person important functionality. Though Meta promised you volition inactive beryllium capable to usage the headset and its installed games and apps, Quest 1 users volition nary longer beryllium capable to articulation parties, and they volition besides suffer entree to Meta’s diagnostic merchandise Horizon Home connected March 5 this year. Users volition nary longer beryllium capable to invitation others to their homes oregon question implicit to different user’s home.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced what was primitively called the Oculus Quest successful 2018 arsenic the premiere wireless VR headset. The institution released the headset successful 2019 (so Meta is simply a small disconnected successful their missive erstwhile they said they launched the instrumentality “over 4 years ago”), and this was each earlier Meta officially renamed the devices and its assorted services successful 2021. So the Quest 1 is moving disconnected four-year-old tech, and it would marque immoderate consciousness wherefore Meta would not privation to enactment aging hardware.

The Meta Quest 2 has been billed arsenic a budget, entry-level VR headset, but that was Meta trying to engender enactment for their full conception of the “metaverse” portion operating astatine a loss, a strategy which finally spot them successful the backside successful Q3 past year. Meta past instituted price increases for the Quest 2, raising costs to $399 for its 128GB mentation and $499 for its 256GB edition.

The archetypal Quest debuted for $399 for a 64GB mentation and $499 for its 128GB rendition, but you tin easy find cheaper versions inactive being sold for overmuch cheaper online. It conscionable means determination volition beryllium 1 little cheap(er) headset connected the market, and determination don’t look to beryllium immoderate caller releases to regenerate it.

The extremity of enactment for the Quest 1 means entry-level VR volition go that overmuch much costly for the mean person. Pico, which is owned by TikTok genitor institution ByteDance, announced its ain $425 and $499 headsets past year, but the institution was absent astatine CES 2023, and we inactive don’t person immoderate connection of U.S. merchandise plans. Beyond that, there’s been small propulsion for much budget-friendly VR arsenic of late. Meta has its ain $1,499 Quest Pro it released past twelvemonth to decidedly mixed reviews. This year, HTC launched its VIVE XR Elite mixed world headset for $1,099, which Gizmodo got to try astatine CES.

And, of course, there’s Sony and its PlayStation VR2. The institution had these headsets acceptable for demo astatine CES, but scheduling difficulties meant Gizmodo did not get the accidental to demo the device. We’ll conscionable person to spot what happens with Sony’s $549.99 headset erstwhile it yet releases successful February.