Metaverse postponed

The Metaverse is some way off with Meta  canceling the development of its high-end mixed-reality headset, which was intended to compete with Apple’s Vision Pro. 

 The project, named “La Jolla,”  was aiming to launch a high end mixed reality head-set using high resolution, high cost, micro-OLED screens in 2027.

Apple’s micro-OLED -based Vision Pro costs $3,500 and has not sold well. It is said that Meta had aimed at a price point of $1,000 but this looked impossible.

Meta’s current headsets sell for  $200 and $500. A $999 headset was discontinued last year after poor sales.

Meta’s investment in the Metaverse since 2019 is estimated variously at $36 billion to $46.5 billion without any profits. Its Metaverse unit lost $3.85 billion in Q1 alone.