Open our Meta Quest 3 review and you’ll see that the virtual reality headset has a not unreasonable starting price of $499.99 / £479.99 / AU$799.99 – certainly well below the $3,499 (or higher) that you pay for the Apple Vision Pro. However, it looks like an even more affordable Meta headset is on the way.
After teasing what’s being called the Meta Quest 3 Lite earlier this month, VR Panda (through Android Authority) posted a photo of the rumored device on social media. As you might have expected, it looks a lot like the Meta Quest 3.
There are some differences, however: the passthrough cameras on the outside of the wearable have apparently been omitted, which presumably means that augmented reality effects and any form of hand tracking are not on the agenda.
The Android Authority team believes further savings are possible by using a more affordable processor. Savings will certainly have to be made somewhere if Meta is to succeed in significantly undercutting the price of the Quest 3.
AR/VR for less
😶🌫️any pancakes? https://t.co/Kr1EmRRjpd pic.twitter.com/4zHpuqeXFzMarch 15, 2024
As with any leak, we must exercise a degree of caution before taking it at face value. We did hear last year that a cheaper Meta Quest VR device was on the way, but there haven’t been many leaks or rumors about it – and of course, business plans can always change when it comes to gadget launches.
The lack of passthrough cameras would be a surprise, even as Meta tries to save on production costs. The company has previously said that passthrough will likely be a “standard feature” on future headsets, so make of that what you will.
If you want to attach a device to your head that combines virtual reality and augmented reality, then the distinction between Apple and Meta is quite clear: the former company’s offering costs seven times as much.
Affordability is a big selling point for Meta to highlight, and it looks like that gap will widen even further with the next device. However, so far there’s no indication when a Meta Quest 3 Lite headset might see the light of day.