Meta is probably going to tease/announce the new MR headset Phoenix at Connect. But is this really going to change the XR landscape?

During his latest AMA on Instagram, in response to a question asking if Meta was abandoning VR, Boz reiterated what we already know: that the company is still working on various headsets and that they are focusing on economic sustainability more than before. Then he added that they’ll share more about all of this at Connect.

I’m pretty excited to know more about this headset. I remember a little bird telling me some months ago that it is going to be a very interesting device. And the leaked renders confirm it: it looks very lightweight, and resembles more a pair of ski goggles than a shoebox on the face like Quest. I’m really curious to see what Meta has cooked up when designing this device.

While the announcement or tease of Phoenix is going to be good news, I don’t think it will make us exit the Winter we are in. The last big Winter we had was in 2017-18, and we could go out of it only with a full change of paradigm, a big blast that increased the sales numbers of VR by a lot: that blast was the Oculus Quest (and later, Oculus Quest 2).

The truth is: I don’t see this big blast happening now. Meta Phoenix is basically a variation of the Vision Pro. It is not a new paradigm; it is basically just Meta taking an existing paradigm and making it cheaper, lighter, and more open.

  • poVoq@slrpnk.netEnglish
    6·
    3 days ago

    What winter? The Quest is the problem with its locked down ecosystem.

    Sadly the Steam Frame will be likely too expensive to get much traction outside the enthusiast space, but it will keep VR alive, unlike the shit that Meta is up to.