Meta Quest 3 to offer "Meta Reality" features
Mark Zuckerberg confirms in an investor call that Meta Quest 3 will be based on Meta's new mixed reality system.
Yesterday, Meta announced its latest quarterly results. In the call, Zuckerberg said that "our next generation consumer headset" coming out later this year will feature Meta Reality.
Meta Reality is the name for Meta's mixed reality system, first used in the Meta Quest Pro. Unlike the Mixed Reality of Meta Quest 2, it offers color passthrough and thus a more believable fusion of physical environment and digital elements.
"I expect that this is going to establish this technology as the baseline for all headsets going forward, and eventually of course for AR glasses as well," said Meta's CEO. "The MR ecosystem is relatively new, but I think it's going to grow a lot in the next few years."
For more on Meta Reality and Meta Quest 3, see our article Meta Quest 3: All the Facts and Rumors.
Meta stock on the rise
The fourth quarter 2022 results put shareholders in a positive mood. Although advertising revenue was down slightly year-over-year, the number of users of Meta's apps continued to grow. The Facebook platform reached two billion daily users, a new record.
Zuckerberg told investors he wants to make 2023 the "year of efficiency," which could mean more layoffs. Meta laid off 11,000 employees in November, about 13 percent of its workforce. Meta's CTO Andrew Bosworth previously made similar remarks on his blog, criticizing a lack of focus.
The company's aggressive restructuring, Zuckerberg's commitment to improving efficiency, and growing user numbers sent Meta's stock soaring: In after-hours trading, the stock was worth more than double its early November 2022 low.
Reality Labs get more and more expensive
The Metaverse project remains costly for Meta, with a fourth-quarter operating loss of nearly $4.3 billion, a new record. Reality Labs' total operating loss in 2022 was $13.72 billion. According to new Chief Financial Officer Susan Li, those costs will continue to rise this year.
The third quarter 2022 financial summary. I have highlighted the Reality Labs data. | Image: Meta
Reality Labs' fourth-quarter 2022 revenue was $727 million, down 17 percent from a year ago, due to weaker sales of the Meta Quest 2, Li said. Meta raised the price of the device by $100 last summer. The sales figures confirm earlier sales data for the 2022 holiday season.
There is good news for Meta's VR ecosystem: according to Zuckerberg, more than 200 VR apps have now earned $1 million or more. There are currently about 460 VR apps in the Meta Quest store. Back in October, it was estimated that about a third of all VR apps had crossed that threshold.
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