Meta Quest 3: Market launch in 2023 with micro OLED displays?
Over the past few days, new rumors have been making the rounds about Project Cambria and Meta Quest 3. What's it all about?
XR analyst and Youtuber Brad Lynch wants to know in which time frames Cambria and Quest 3 will be released and which displays the VR glasses will use.
Cambria is the codename for Meta's next VR goggles, a high-end device that will be sold alongside and compatible with Meta Quest 2, but won't replace it and will be significantly more expensive. Cambria was unveiled at Connect 2021 and will launch this year. Exactly when is not known.
Meta Quest 3 - Launch only in two years?
Nothing is known about Meta Quest 3 so far, except that the VR goggles are in development and will be more compact than their predecessor. John Carmack recently reiterated that Meta Quest 2 has a "long life" ahead of it.
An important point here is that the "project Cambria" product will *NOT* replace Quest 2, it will be sold alongside it. Quest 2 will have a long life. https://t.co/6S7ARZwfS9
AdAd- John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) December 24, 2021
According to Lynch's sources, which he is not allowed to disclose for obvious reasons, Meta Quest 3 will be announced first at the Connect conference in fall 2023 and will go on sale shortly after - similar to Meta Quest 2 in fall 2020.
Meta Quest 3 will use micro-OLED displays, according to Lynch. The contract to build the manufacturing facilities has already been signed, he said. The Snapdragon XR3 should be available by the end of 2023, but Meta hopes to have its own chip with a VR-optimized GPU in place by then, Lynch further writes.
Cambria comes with LC displays
Lynch also has some interesting details to share about Cambria. According to this, the market launch is set for the second quarter of 2022.
Unlike Meta Quest, the high-end device will use mini-LED screens. These are improved LC displays with a deeper black level, but on the whole, they don't come close to the image quality of OLED screens. Mini-LED or not, Lynch believes that Meta is aiming for an HDR rating for the Cambria displays to work towards appropriate content for Meta Quest 3.
Meta Cambria (Q2 2022) will include MiniLED screens. Targeting to sell 3 million HMD units in its first year.
Quest 3 is planned to include uOLED. Meta signed deal to build production lines for these displays with Changxin Technology
Connect 2023 announce/release soon after
AdAd- Brad Lynch | CES 2022 (@SadlyItsBradley) January 4, 2022
Lynch estimates that Meta plans to sell three million Cambria devices in the first year. That's pretty optimistic, and if that number is correct, then in typical Meta fashion, the device will likely be heavily subsidized again and marketed to VR-loving consumers in addition to professionals and developers. Lynch assumes a price of under 1,000 US dollars.
PSVR 2 and Cambria: Mass production to start soon
A day after Lynch's tweets, tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo published a report that supports Lynch's predictions and adds new details. According to the report, Meta will rely on two 2.48-inch mini LED displays with a resolution of 2,160 by 2,160 pixels for Cambria. Kuo names Sharp and JDI as suppliers.
Kuo gives the planned market launch as mid to second half of 2022. The analyst estimates that Meta will sell one to two million units of the autonomous high-end VR glasses in this period. Kuo also comments on Apple's VR headset and Playstation VR 2, with the latter expected to go on sale as early as the second quarter of 2022. You can read Kuo's full report on the Chinese XR blog Nweon.
According to Lynch, Chinese contract manufacturer Goertek will soon begin mass production of Sony's VR glasses and Meta's Cambria. Lynch cites a "well-known Chinese supply chain analyst" for this.
Goertek, Chinese manufacturer, will be in charge of mass producing Meta Cambria and PS VR 2 (soon!)
Goertek sold off Pico to Bytedance earlier this year, but signed a deal to continue producing Pico headsets
Also expected to supply components for Apple AR/VR HMD
Ad- Brad Lynch | CES 2022 (@SadlyItsBradley) January 1, 2022
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