Meta Has Supposedly Cancelled Its Apple Vision Pro Rival

Meta has axed a premium mixed reality headset that would have competed with the Apple Vision Pro, sources say.

Contacts for The Information claimed that Meta’s Reality Labs was told to halt work on “La Jolla,” a high-end headset that would have launched in 2027.

It was supposed to be much more powerful than the Quest 3 and use very high-resolution micro OLED screens like those in the Vision Pro. However, Meta reportedly struggled to get the price below a planned $1,000. The display technology is believed to play a major role in Apple’s $3,499 starting price.

Meta hasn’t directly confirmed the headset cancellation. However, company technical chief Andrew “Boz” Bosworth told Threads users that the firm has “many prototypes in development at all times,” and that some of them get cancelled. Reports about these decisions don’t present the “real picture,” he added.

The company is still committed to mixed reality hardware and actively supports the Quest 3. A Meta Quest 4 is rumored for late 2025 or early 2026, and the Quest 3S could replace the Quest 2 as the budget option. Meta is holding its annual Connect event on September 25th, and might launch augmented reality glasses there.

Meta first tried to dip into the high-end headset space with 2022’s Quest Pro. Its $1,500 price was considered too high at the time, and that along with underwhelming performance improvements hurt its chances. The social media giant cut the Pro’s price to $1,000 in March 2023, and reports surfaced in July that year that Meta had both ended production and cancelled a direct sequel.

The Vision Pro might have played a role. Its combination of a very high price, a heavy build, and a small app selection is believed to be limiting sales. Meta would be getting into a potentially unreceptive market.

However, Apple is also understood to be pushing forward with a more affordable Vision headset for 2025. If that proves more successful, Meta might be pressured to offer an alternative.