Meta is Optimistic about Apple's Entry into VR Market
Meta executives are hopeful about the competition with Apple's Vision Pro in the virtual reality market.
Meta's Optimism
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Meta executives are feeling optimistic about Apple's entry into the virtual reality market. They view Apple's entry as a validation for Mark Zuckerberg's pivot to the metaverse and believe it can help draw in more customers. Meta hopes its Quest headset could become the Google Android of the metaverse.
Meta's Quest headset is being sold for around $500, a fraction of the Vision Pro's $3,500 price tag. Meta hopes that the Vision Pro's high price will push customers towards its cheaper alternatives. Some potential buyers of the Vision Pro have already expressed that the price is laughable.
There is speculation that Apple's Vision Pro is a form of insurance against Meta's dominance in the metaverse. Bloomberg reported that Apple would face issues if augmented reality headsets became popular and it did not have a competing product. The Vision Pro is seen as a defense against Meta's potential popularity in the market.
Meta's Metaverse Focus
Mark Zuckerberg's decision to prioritize the metaverse has resulted in significant financial losses for Meta. The company has lost a cumulative $47 billion in its metaverse-focused Reality Labs division since 2019, according to a recent BI analysis of regulatory filings.
Despite the financial setback, Zuckerberg remains committed to the metaverse. He has stated that Meta continues to focus on Reality Labs and the metaverse, and the company is investing over $15 billion per year into the project.
Representatives for Meta declined to comment on the report.
