The wait for the next VR Meta kit is almost over and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that he will be appearing in October during a performance at the Joe Rogan Experience.
While Zuckerberg doesn’t name the headset, it’s almost certainly Project Cambria – the long-awaited sequel to the Oculus Quest 2 Meta. now in September, Meta has only a few months to keep its promise.
Moreover, it’s unlikely that Zuckerberg is talking about an alternative VR device like the Oculus Quest 3. When Meta discussed her other plans for VR goggles or said they were purely prototypes – like his super bright HDR Starburst test – or she talked about them as if they were still in an earlier stage of development.
In contrast, Project Cambria is ready for use by members of the general public, including host of the Joe Rogan podcast (opens in a new tab) describing my time with headphones as “amazing”.
Cambria Design Tricks and Treats
Project Cambria is set to be Meta’s premium line of VR headsets – a competitor to the long-rumored Apple VR headset that we definitely won’t see at the upcoming Apple event for the iPhone 14.
Based on leaks discussing what Project Cambria is capable of, it will likely have at least 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. We can also note that its processor will speed up and the new processor is likely from Meta partner Qualcomm. In addition, Cambria is expected to include two mini LED displays, which are likely to offer a 120Hz refresh rate (to improve the “experimental” 120Hz feature in Quest 2).
Most importantly, Cambria will use face and eye tracking to improve your experience. Face tracking will make VR Meta avatars look more realistic as they will be able to mimic the user’s facial expressions. Meanwhile, as the developers of Moss explained in our interview, eye tracking will allow VR game developers to make better use of Cambria’s computing power. They will only do this by correctly rendering the areas players are looking at.
But these improved specs will come at a price. In May, the leak appeared to show an in-house Meta roadmap for the upcoming Cambria VR headsets, which was expected to cost $ 799 (around £ 640 / $ 1,125). This is roughly twice as much as the cheapest Oculus Quest 2 model after the price increase.
Unfortunately, speaking of a price increase, we should expect Cambria’s price to rise. Quest 2’s increased production costs are almost certainly emulated by Project Cambria. As such, we’d be surprised if it came back as low as $ 799, but we’ll have to wait and see what Meta announces in October.
Lastly, you probably won’t have to worry about constantly ringing your Project Cambria headset. No wonder Meta is believed to be going to name the VR Quest Pro Kit – which is based on several rumors and leaks, including a line of code on the Oculus iPhone app.
With Project Cambria coming out next month, Meta will soon officially show what the headset is capable of, and when it does we’ll be ready to tell you all about it.
While waiting, why not use the best Meta headset right now, with our picks of the best Oculus Quest 2 games?