Meta has simply canceled two in-development VR headsets if the most recent rumors are true.

The social media large has made a reputation for itself within the VR world by making among the world’s greatest VR headsets – the Oculus Quest 2 and Meta Quest Professional. We count on it’ll proceed to impress us later this 12 months when the Oculus Quest Three lastly launches, however its launch calendar after that is perhaps wanting a bit of extra sparse.

In line with The Verge’s Alex Heath in his Command Line weekly publication, Meta is believed to have canceled two in-development headsets, recognized by their codenames as Cardiff and Hermosa (through UploadVR (opens in new tab)). 

As with all rumors, we should always take this information with a pinch of salt, nevertheless it does make sense. Meta not too long ago introduced a brand new batch of layoffs, and in addition introduced plans to direct extra of its efforts into growing AI tasks. Its restricted sources can solely unfold to date, so it could have canceled these VR headsets in favor of different VR and non-VR merchandise that it believes will probably be extra worthwhile.

Mission Cardiff: the Meta Quest Professional 2? 

If Cardiff was due for 2024, the headset it appears probably to be is the Meta Quest Professional 2. That launch would have occurred two years after the discharge of the unique Quest Professional – a launch cycle that will have made sense given the present tempo of enchancment in VR {hardware} – and Cardiff is said to the codename of its predecessor, which was Cambria; Cambria is one other identify for Wales, of which Cardiff is the capital.

The one different choice can be the Quest 4, and on condition that the Quest Three is due out this 12 months – we’re anticipating an announcement in October, with a launch shortly thereafter – a 2024 launch for its follow-up feels means too quickly. For context, the hole between the launch of the Quest 2 and the anticipated Quest Three launch will probably be three years.

So why would Meta cancel the Professional 2?

Effectively, the present Meta Quest Professional hasn’t been particularly nicely acquired. In my three-and-a-half-star Meta Quest Professional overview, I applauded the headset’s improved efficiency and luxury over the Quest 2, however discovered its $1,500 / £1,500 / AU$2,450 worth a tricky capsule to swallow.

The principle difficulty is that the software program isn’t fairly there to correctly make the most of Meta Quest Professional’s largest enhancements – colour passthrough, eye monitoring, and face monitoring. So that you’re paying loads for what in actual phrases is a reasonably minor improve.

Hopefully, some new software program will launch this 12 months, and updates will probably be launched for present apps (like Horizon Workrooms) that desperately want updating to make the Quest Professional really feel like higher worth for cash.

Nevertheless, by the point a variety of these modifications arrive we’ll in all probability be a few 12 months out from the brand new headset – and Meta may need begun hyping up the brand new machine, because it has executed with the Quest Professional and Quest 3, a 12 months earlier than their respective launches.

This is able to not solely annoy present Quest Professional customers who might really feel their funding was wasted, and that they need to have waited for the second-generation mannequin, nevertheless it doesn’t give Meta a variety of time to make sure it doesn’t repeat the errors of the unique Quest Professional with its follow-up, i.e., by not having new software program developed to help its upgrades).

So – if the rumor is true – I don’t suppose this can be a full-on cancellation. I do suppose we’ll see a Meta Quest Professional 2, simply not in the best way Cardiff would have delivered it in 2024. As a substitute, the mission will seemingly be delayed a 12 months or two, and Meta will launch a brand new premium mannequin that appears like a worthwhile funding.

What about Mission Hermosa? 

Mission Hermosa, in the meantime, would probably have been the working title of what may need been the Meta Quest 4. It seemingly would have arrived in 2025, which might have given the Quest Three a strong quantity of respiratory room; plus, a lot as with the hyperlink between Cambria and Cardiff, Hermosa and Stinson (the Oculus Quest 3’s codename) are each seashores in California, suggesting that these tasks are associated in a roundabout way.

Once more, as with the rumored Cardiff cancellation, I don’t count on this to be a full-on canning of the Quest 4. As a substitute, Meta would probably be rethinking its method to the headset, and launching completely different {hardware} beneath the identical identify.

We’ll have to attend and see what Meta proclaims over the approaching years – alongside its headsets it additionally has AR glasses in growth, merchandise that Cardiff or Hermos may even have been. However no matter it has in retailer, as quickly was we study the small print, rumored or in any other case, we’ll deliver you that information.