Apple, Meta Fight for The Killer XR Device

This month is proving a pivotal moment in the XR consumer landscape. As WWDC approaches, Apple continues to drop hints, leading spectators to assume an immersive device is coming that continues the transformative firm’s track record of distributing game-changing consumer hardware.

An XR device from Apple could be massive. Apple found great success in years past with its portfolio of advanced hardware and software products such as the iPod, iPhone, Mac, and Apple TV.

As the emerging immersive marketplace grows in influence following cataclastic moments in the XR, which still shape the industry to this day, including the meteoric rise of Pokemon: Go, a gaming application which brought advanced AR visuals to the masses, and the remote working boom which saw enterprise end users tout VR meeting rooms – and in turn the Metaverse – as an alternative to combat new-found hybrid working hurdles.

Now, with the high potential of an Apple XR device, a new paradigm shift within the immersive technology market may be around the corner.

Thanks to a transformative year’s past, a brand new potential shift may be possible.

2022: Laying the Foundations for a Transformative Year for XR

2022 saw the immersive industry explode like never before. While XR products have achieved enterprise and consumer success, the market remained niche. However, Meta brought XR to the mainstream like never before with the Quest product portfolio and its integrated services.

While opinions on the Facebook parent firm remain highly split, it is hard to deny that Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg brought immersive technology like the Metaverse to the mainstream, enabling a whole new wave of support and financial aid to the emerging technology space.

Moreover, with its Quest 2 device, the Menlo Park-based firm delivered countless VR devices to consumer and enterprise end-users, introducing many individuals to spatial computing.

In 2023, Meta is working hard to promote its underperforming Quest Pro device as a serious enterprise and future of work tool. Meta is also preparing its upcoming device to transform the consumer XR market and general opinions on the company.

Additionally, it is essential to highlight how countless XR firms are working alongside industry giants to innovate in XR, providing immersive solutions to consumer and enterprise end-users. The XR Today Marketplace is a great space to learn more about the massive network of immersive firms fighting for XR excellence.

Is the Next Quest XR Headset Incoming?

This month, Oculus – the original development firm behind the Quest portfolio – Founder Palmer Lucky confirmed the development of the Meta Quest 3 and Apple’s upcoming device.

In a tweet, the industry expert noted how the Quest 3 is coming in 2023, featuring a redesign and more powerful computing framework.

Lucky explained:

Meta is also coming out with a new headset this year. The Oculus Quest 3 is probably what they’re gonna call it, but it is a lot more compact. It’s a lot more powerful. It’s gonna be a really great headset as well, but it’s gonna be a much more affordable headset. It’s not gonna be on the extreme end of kind of showing what can be done in theory, but it’s gonna be a really good product.

The Meta Quest 3 remains elusive. Since Meta’s Quest Pro launch, the firm has remained silent on its upcoming Quest 3 product, instead focusing on securing gaming content for its Quest 2 device and promoting the Quest Pro as an innovative work solution.

Lucky also noted:

As far as if I’m happy – look, yeah. I think that if I were still running things, things would be going faster and they’d be doing better. But everyone thinks that. Everyone thinks that if they were in charge, then, you know, whether it’s politics or agriculture or, tech, everyone imagines that they’d be the number one boss. But I’m not. Mark Zuckerberg is.

However, Meta’s recent movements could paint an interesting picture of the Meta Quest 3.

Quest 3, A Quick History

Most recently, Meta entered a negotiation with Magic Leap to leverage the former’s AR technology for an unspecified immersive device – notably, the deal foreshadows both firms’ monumental presence at AWE this week. Perhaps, a sign of a big announcement?

In January, industry analyst Brad Lynch tweeted that Meta’s Reality Labs started internally testing Quest 3 engineering validation test (EVT) kits starting December 2022. Moreover, Lycnh’s tweet revealed how Meta plans to distribute Quest 3 EVT to third-party development teams in Q2 2023.

At the time, Lynch also added:

In December, I was made aware that the first Meta Quest 3 EVTs were being tested internally by core Reality Labs teams. Now I am hearing the next phase of devices are starting to make its way to other XR software departments [at] Meta. Dev kits are slated 2Q23 for 3rd party partners.

In an earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg said the following month that the Quest 3 is ready for 2023. Moreover, according to Zuckerberg, the device could cost between $300 – $500 – much cheaper than the far more expensive Quest Pro device.

During the call, Zuckerberg noted how the value of MR resides in VR’s power of immersion while maintaining user presence in the physical world around them.

The CEO continued:

We’re already seeing developers build out some impressive new experiences like Nanome for 3D modeling molecules and drug development, Arkio for architects and designers to create interiors, and of course a lot of great games. The MR ecosystem is relatively new, but I think it’s going to grow a lot in the next few years

Additionally, in his tweets this month, Palmer Lucky concluded by adding that he’s happy with the progress of Quest 3, but he also added that “if I were still running things, things would be going faster, and they’d be doing better.”

However, Lucky notes that “everyone thinks that if they were in charge – everyone imagines that they’d be the number one boss. But I’m not. Mark Zuckerberg is.”

In regards to upcoming competition between Apple and Meat, Lucky also added:

So given all of the challenges, he’s still investing heavily. He’s putting a lot of money into this. Apple’s putting a lot of money into this. I’m still confident that VR is kind of inevitably the final computing platform, barring some kind of telepathic Borg hive mine.

Apple Set to Make Massive Splash in the XR Market

Now, back to Apple. The firm’s WWDC is coming soon.

On the 5th of June, Apple is hosting its annual conference, which promotes the firm’s upcoming consumer hardware, and this year Apple is encouraging the XR industry to watch, presumably because of a forthcoming XR product.

However, trademarking and leaks confirm that an immersive product is coming.

Across the past few months, leading up to WWDC 2023, Apple took multiple steps to secure an operating system (OS) for a specified XR device, currently known as xrOS, via trademarking campaigns.

Keen observers first noticed xrOS late last year, when lines of code revealed core aspects of Apple’s planned product offering.

The code which Apple unveiled suggests various elements of the upcoming device which align with pre-existing Apple devices, including:

• An official immersive application storefront.
• Support for simulation applications for training or entertainment.
• Original XR applications.
• Interoperable immersive applications across the XR headset and an iOS device.
• Apple’s immersive OS may also require smartphone tethering to assist with navigation, application loading, or computing support.

It is noteworthy that the features listed refer to rOS, the predecessor to xrOS. Features may change for the WWDC announcement.

According to reports, Apple’s immersive device will be the “star of the show” during this year’s conference, with Apple potentially using the product as an iPhone replacement. While also dramatically shifting the XR industry and its significant players: Meta, Pico, HTC VIVE, Varjo, and countless other enterprise and consumer XR device firms.

Closing Comments on Apple’s Marketplace Debut

In their series of revealing tweets, Palmer Lucky also commented on Apple’s upcoming industry debut, stating – based on hands-on experience – that Apple’s headset is “so good.”

He also added:

The Apple headset is very, very good. I have not seen the final headset, but I have seen an earlier version of the headset and it is excellent. It is gonna be a huge deal. It is gonna be expensive, but I think that they’re following a pretty smart strategy, which is to make VR into something everybody wants before it’s something that everybody can afford, which was kind of our position in the early days when we started Oculus.

The XR industry will soon feel the impact of both Apple’s and Meta’s headsets. Both firms have a strong case for needing to debut a killer XR product that convinces mass audiences to adopt immersive consumer hardware at scale.

Meta achieved this by putting cheap and accessible VR headsets in consumers’ and enterprises’ homes, laying an immersive foundation. Now, it is up to Apple, Meta or perhaps an understated wild card to evolve upon the past year’s innovation to start the shift towards an immersive future.