The next Quest Pro, developed in partnership with LG, is set to be released in the first half of next year, according to a report from a South Korean news outlet. The Korea Economic Daily, citing “industry sources,” stated that Mark Zuckerberg will be meeting with the CEO of LG Electronics to finalize the details of the partnership. This visit will mark Zuckerberg’s first publicly-known trip to South Korea since 2014, when he visited Samsung to finalize the Gear VR smartphone-holder headset partnership.
The report comes after another South Korean news outlet, Maeil Business Newspaper, had previously reported that Meta had partnered with the LG group to manufacture future Quest Pro headsets, with the first device planned to be priced around $2000. This move is not unprecedented for Meta, as the company has previously collaborated with experienced consumer electronics companies for VR headsets. For instance, Samsung handled the hardware for Gear VR, Oculus Go was manufactured by Xiaomi, and Oculus Rift S was co-designed and manufactured by Lenovo. All three headsets bore both the partner company’s logo and Oculus branding. However, it remains unclear how LG’s brand will be incorporated in Quest Pro 2, or whether that will even be its name.
In addition, it was reported that Samsung announced it was building a headset with Google handling the software, which is expected to be shipped later this year. This suggests that software-first Big Tech companies are partnering with Korean hardware companies on XR headsets.
The new report also claims that while Meta will handle the software of the new headset, webOS (the operating system of LG TVs) will somehow be incorporated. It’s unclear what exactly this means, but it might mean the headset will essentially include a virtual LG TV. This could bring over services like Netflix, Disney+, Max, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Hulu, Paramount+, and VUDU with no extra developer effort required. This is a significant development as Quest is currently lacking these kinds of apps.
Furthermore, the Quest Pro 2 is expected to feature Codec Avatars, Meta’s long-running research & development project aiming to revolutionize remote communication by achieving truly convincing photorealistic avatars driven in real-time by headsets with face tracking sensors. This advancement could potentially position Meta as a strong competitor in the high-end headset market.
In summary, the partnership between Meta and LG to develop the Quest Pro 2, along with other industry developments, suggests that the high-end headset market could become a three-way competition in the near future. This is an exciting time for VR and AR enthusiasts, as new advancements and partnerships continue to shape the industry.
