What you need to know
- The Meta Quest 4 and Quest 4s are coming in 2026, according to one report.
- The Meta Quest Pro 2 will debut in 2027, confirming earlier reports on the pro-level headset sequel.
- Meta is said to be cutting R&D costs for Reality Labs by 20% by 2026.
While the Meta Quest 3 is only just about to celebrate its first birthday, a new report suggests that its successor will be headed to market in just two years from now. What's more, Meta is reportedly looking to release a Meta Quest 4s at the same time, debuting a premium and budget line at the same time.
That's opposed to Meta's current strategy, as the company is rumored to be debuting a budget-minded Meta Quest 3s this Fall. The report comes from The Information (via UploadVR) and is written by Wayne Ma and Kalley Huang. Ma has reported on several Meta leaks in the past that turned out to be true, which means there's a high likelihood of this report being quite accurate.
Releasing the Meta Quest 4 when the Quest 3 is just three years old might seem like a fast timeframe — especially if you're a console gamer who is used to 6-8 years between major Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo releases — but it falls right in line with the length of time between the Quest 2 and Quest 3's release.
The report also says that a Meta Quest Pro 2 headset is still in the works for a 2027 release despite the recent cancellation of an LG-made prototype. Quest Pro 2 rumors have been all over the place recently, so it might be wise to take this one with a grain of salt.
A new pair of AR glasses and the Meta Quest 3s are supposed to debut this Fall, while the Quest 4 and Quest 4s are reported to appear in two years.
Meta is also said to start cutting Reality Labs' budget by 20% between this year and 2026. Reality Labs is the group within Meta that's responsible for products like the Meta Quest and Ray-Ban Meta Smart glasses, as well as Meta's Llama AI and other behind-the-scenes developments.
Reality Labs has earned a reputation for spending lots of money despite churning out several successful products lately, including the Meta Quest line and the aforementioned Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Most recently, Reality Labs pulled in 30% more revenue than in previous quarters, showing continued growth in Quest headset sales and the VR market, as a whole.
Meta is said to be debuting a new pair of AR glasses this Fall in addition to the Meta Quest 3s. The launch of more products gives Reality Labs a chance to increase its revenue further and, combined with lower R&D spending, could be the way Meta finally makes the infamous division profitable.
The Meta Quest 3 is the best VR headset on the market today with thousands of games, cutting-edge mixed reality vision, and more developer support than any other headset.
