Meta’s next virtual reality headset will arrive in October, said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It is almost certain the headset code-named “Project Cambria”, will likely launch around the company’s annual Meta Connect 2022 event on Oct 11, according to the comments made by Zuckerberg on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Project Cambria is a hybrid-augmented reality/virtual reality device fitted with internal sensors aimed at professionals. This is one of four headsets Meta plans to launch by 2024. Initially, Cambria was set to release last year, but was pushed back into the fall and costs about $800. As a result of Meta’s recent $100 price increase on the Quest 2 VR headset, the pricing could be up in the air for now.
“For the next device that’s coming out in October, there are a few big features,” Zuckerberg said. He then described the new social options that would be enabled by eye and facial tracking. “The ability to now have kind of eye contact in virtual reality,” Zuckerberg said as part of the feature list. “Have your face be tracked so that way your avatar — it’s not just this thing, but if you smile or if you frown or if you pout, or whatever your expression is, have that translate in real time to your avatar.”
That’s on par with what we know of Project Cambria, which is supposed to have a high-resolution color screen, sophisticated pass-through augmented reality and internal sensors for eye tracking. As reported by Bloomberg last month, leaked code suggests the device could be called the Meta Quest Pro.
Compared with the existing Quest, which was recently increased to $399, Cambria is expected to be “significantly” more expensive. The device is expected to be released this year, according to Meta.
