According to the Wall Street Journal, Meta has reached an agreement with Tencent to market a new, Meta Cheaper Quest in China.
According to the Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources, the preliminary arrangement makes Tencent the sole vendor of Meta’s VR headsets in China. Since early 2023, there have been reports about a collaboration between Meta and Tencent.
According to the article, Meta would receive a larger portion of device sales, while Tencent would receive a larger portion of content and service income. Tencent games and applications will also be available on the headgear. Tencent is a global gaming publisher that owns many studios, including Riot Games (League of Legends, Valorant).
A cheaper Quest headset reportedly coming soon
According to the Wall Street Journal, the headset will also be available in other markets. According to the rumor, this is not Meta Quest 3, but rather a new low-cost headset. Meta Quest 3 is priced at $500 USD.
There have been speculations for long time regarding a new Quest headset that will be introduced in 2024 and will be priced similarly to the Meta Quest 2. What technical tradeoffs Meta would make for a prospective “Meta Quest 3 Lite” are still unknown. According to a Chinese expert, the gadget will employ the Quest 3‘s new processor and Fresnel lenses rather than pancake lenses, and will not support color pass-through. According to the Wall Street Journal, the headset would employ less expensive lenses than the Quest 3, implying that they will be Fresnel lenses.
The headgear, whose official name has yet to be revealed, will be introduced in China around the end of 2024, according to the article. The cost is not specified. According to the Chinese researcher, the headset might be released in the United States and Europe in the first part of the year for as little as $200.
A new opportunity for Meta
For Meta, the acquisition represents an opportunity to re-enter a market where Facebook and Instagram have been barred for almost 15 years. It would not be the first time Meta attempted to enter China with a VR product. Meta introduced the standalone 3DOF headset Oculus Go in the Chinese market in 2018, with the assistance of Xiaomi.
Meta might put pressure on Pico and its owner, Tiktok’s parent firm Bytedance, if Quest launches in China. Pico is apparently in the process of laying off employees because its VR business did not function as predicted.
