When will Meta Quest 4 be released and what could it offer?
MIXED reader Christian Freund wanted to know when Meta Quest 4 will be released and what direction it will take. Here's what we know so far.
Every Monday, we answer a question from our readers. Send your question to tomislav@mixed.de with "Question" in the subject line, and with any luck, we'll answer it the following Monday.
This week's question comes from Christian Freund:
When is the successor to the Meta Quest 3 coming, and what direction will it take on a technical level?
Hello Christian,
I don't have any insider information, but there's report that gives the first details about Meta Quest 4, and based on Meta's previous product roadmap, statements from executives, and the general technical evolution of headsets, it's possible to make speculative statements about what technical features the next Quest generation might offer.
According to a report by The Information, Quest 4 is scheduled to launch in two versions at the end of 2026: a cheaper standard version and a more expensive premium version. The codenames of the two devices are reportedly Pismo Low and Pismo High.
If this report is correct, Meta is planning to release two headsets of the same generation, like the current Quest generation, but they will be released at the same time and not a year apart. Quest 3 was released at the end of 2023, Quest 3S one year later. If Meta maintains its current software philosophy, the first exclusive Quest 4 content can be expected sometime in 2027.
I find this schedule to be credible because there were three years between the launches of the Quest 2 and Quest 3, and Meta releases at least one new hardware product every year. If Meta were to delay the next generation of headsets, there would be a gaping hole in Meta's hardware roadmap. It also makes sense for the two Quest headsets to be released at the same time, as this would cut Meta's marketing efforts in half compared to the launches of the Quest 3 and Quest 3S, which had to be marketed separately.
- 2020: Meta Quest 2
- 2021: Ray-Ban Stories
- 2022: Meta Quest Pro
- 2023: Meta Quest 3 and Ray-Ban Meta Smartglasses
- 2024: Meta Quest 3S
- 2025: Rumored: Ray-Ban Meta Smartglasses with HUD (codenamed Hypernova)
- 2026: Rumored: Meta Quest 4 (codenamed Pismo Low / High)
Beyond 2026, the hardware roadmap is less clear. Meta is currently working on ultralight mixed reality glasses with a tethered puck, codenamed Puffin, which is reportedly slated for release in 2027, unless Meta decides to can the prototype and change its plans. The first full-fledged consumer AR glasses are also deep in development and are expected to be a scaled-down version of the Orion product prototype, due out sometime between 2027 and the end of the decade.
The second part of your question is harder to answer. Nothing is known yet about the technical specifications of the Quest 4 and Quest 4S (as I will call them in this article for simplicity's sake). There is an indication that Meta is testing a Quest 4 product prototype with eye and face tracking, but this does not mean that one or both headsets will actually offer these features (the header image shows the Quest Pro, which is the only Meta headset to date that offers eye and face tracking).
I strongly suspect that at least Quest 4 will offer eye tracking and that Meta will try to implement eye tracking for Quest 4S as well to ensure feature parity between the two devices. This was important to Meta with the Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S, which share the same chipset and have equivalent mixed reality capabilities.
Eye tracking is a key technology for virtual and mixed reality, enabling higher resolutions and better graphics, more realistic social interactions, and more intuitive user interfaces. Meta's CTO, Andrew Bosworth, has said that eye-tracking will eventually become a standard feature of Quest headsets, and I can't imagine that we'll have to wait until Meta Quest 5 for that to happen, which would be towards the end of the decade.
Beyond eye tracking, I expect only incremental improvements in Quest 4 and 4S. The field of view may increase only slightly, if at all. The interesting question is whether Quest 4S will continue to rely on Fresnel lenses for cost reasons, or whether Meta will finally abandon this outdated type of lens.
For Quest 4, I'm hoping for face tracking sensors and that Meta's codec avatars will finally mature into a product and become a premium feature of the more expensive headset. And that the form factor and weight will be reduced with Quest 4, although I don't know how Meta will accomplish that.
Upcoming Quest headsets are poorly kept secrets, and I expect that by the end of the year we will have a clearer idea of what the Quest 3 successors will offer technically.
Kind regards,
Tomislav
Interested in VR and AR? Then follow us on Facebook or X or share your experience in the comments. For feedback, topic suggestions, or other ideas, please email us at hello@mixed-news.com.
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
