The Low-Cost VR Honeymoon Is Over
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Get ready for a wave of expensive VR headsets:
Call it a summer surprise. Meta suddenly ratcheted up the entry-level price for its 2-year-old Quest 2 VR headset, jumping from $299 to $400 starting Aug. 1. A product getting more expensive two years after its release doesn't normally happen. But these aren't really normal times, and the Quest 2 was never a normal headset.
While Meta's reasoning is that the price increase helps its investment in VR and the metaverse, the Quest 2 headset was always priced artificially lower than a device like that should have cost. It's unfortunate, but it's hardly the end of the price increases for VR tech. Based on what we know about the next wave of the most-anticipated VR headsets, things are going to get a lot more expensive soon.
Meta's next headset, the expected "Quest Pro" also called Project Cambria, should be coming this fall [and] expected to cost over $800.
Apple's long-expected VR headset, now projected for a 2023 release, could vault as high as $3,000, according to reports. [...]
The "most affordable" of the three might be the PlayStation VR 2, a headset expected by the end of this year. Signs are pointing to premium pricing, though. [...]
[...] At the same time, Sag says that he sees a return of VR toward consumer headsets, versus business-focused models. "I think the PSVR will help with that even as the Quest 2 raises in price."
Has a compelling reason for the general public to get one emerged yet, or are we still quite a ways away from that?
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