Meta Platforms (META) chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to unveil a new high-end virtual reality (VR) headset at the company’s annual Connect conference that is being held today (October 11).
The headset, called “Project Cambria” internally, is expected to focus more on mixed reality technology that blends the virtual and physical worlds.
Face and eye tracking will also enable more realistic avatars and better graphics on the new device, which is expected to retail for more than the current Quest 2 VR headset’s $399 U.S. price tag. The exact price of the new headset has not yet been made public.
Sales of existing Quest VR headsets are growing quickly, with industry estimates saying they have surpassed 15 million units sold. But virtual reality remains a nascent industry, and Meta Platforms has been losing money on the business for several years now.
Meta Platforms main revenue source continues to be online advertisements on its social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
During the Connect conference, industry analysts will be watching to see if Cambria — or the “Quest Pro” as it has been rumored to be officially named — will be enough of an advancement to expand the market for virtual reality headsets.
Meta Platforms’ main virtual reality app, called “Horizon Worlds,” is full of software bugs and underused by even the company’s employees. Updates to Horizon Worlds are also expected to be announced at the conference.
Meta Connect is being held virtually this year and will be streamed online for anyone to watch beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern time.
Meta Platforms’ stock is down 60% this year and trading at $133.79 U.S. per share.
