Meta Platforms is set to partner with South Korean tech giant LG for the former’s successor to the Quest Pro, media reports said on Monday.
UploadVR broke the news from the Maeil Business Newspaper, which stated that Meta had inked the joint venture with the Seoul-based company.
According to the news, the headset, named the Meta Quest 4 Pro, will cost roughly $2,000. A major plus to the exclusive partnership is that Meta can leverage LG’s microLED and microOLED microdisplay technologies.
Also, LG Electronics will supply LG displays, batteries, and LG Innotech components. Additionally, it will manage production for some of Meta’s operations for the device.
It is understood that the headset aims to compete with the Apple Vision Pro, which comes with an eye-watering price tag of $3,499.
Meta also plans to launch a cheaper Quest headset next year, priced at $200 or less. Currently, the Meta Quest 2 will set back customers $299 USD, the Quest Pro $999, and the upcoming Quest 3 $499.
However, the future premium device will cost customers more than double the price of the Meta Quest Pro.
Media reports suggest that Meta’s budget-friendly headset, codenamed Ventura, will be released in 2024, The Verge leaked in March.
Furthermore, Meta has struck several joint ventures with companies like Lenovo, Samsung, and Xiaomi for the company’s Oculus Rift S, Gear VR, and Oculus Go, respectively.
Additional strategic partnerships included Mets’s Ray-Ban Stories. Many of the Menlo Park-based firm’s previous iterations have allowed the company to test prototypes for functionality, pricing, and boosting adoption rates.
Private Meetings, Public Plans for Meta Quest Lineup
The news comes after reports found that Meta’s US operations conducted private meetings with Samsung and LG Display executives. Both sides entered talks at the LG Science Park in Seoul in October last year, around the time of the Meta Connect 2022 event.
An industry official said at the time, as quoted by SBS Biz,
“I understand that cooperation in the high-resolution display business inside Meta’s virtual reality VR and augmented reality AR devices has been discussed with both companies.”
The update comes just after the Meta Quest Pro launched in late October. The tech giant aims to capture microdisplay partnerships for upcoming headsets to gain a competitive edge. This will also secure supply chains following a tumultuous tech economy last year.
Apple Meets Meta with Cheaper microOLED Parthers
Conversely, Apple, Meta’s de facto rival, has begun looking into microOLED displays for future releases of its Vision Pro headset.
According to The Information, Apple plans to secure deals with SeeYA and Best on Earth (BOE) to supply the designs.
Sources cited in the report said that Apple had been “testing advanced displays” from both potential partners with potential inclusion in future Vision Pro headsets. This would allow Apple to release cheaper designs of the premium-priced device, which currently leverages Sony’s microOLED displays.
To date, Sony cannot release over one million units, where each heads-up display (HUD) needs two to function. The report added that Apple hopes to rigorously test the microdisplays to meet strict quality control requirements for the device. Suppliers will also need to increase productivity in order to reach the lower cost threshold.
