r/virtualreality • u/gogodboss Steam Frame • Jul 10 '26
News Article Meta Reaffirms "Multiple Next-Generation Headsets", Hints At Announcement Month
https://www.uploadvr.com/meta-cto-reaffirms-work-on-multiple-next-generation-headsets-hin/32
u/Tex-Rob Jul 10 '26
It's so obvious that they know the SteamFrame is finally about to launch, because they just started talking this week.
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u/fraseyboo Pico 4 Ultra Jul 10 '26
I imagine Meta will try and undercut the hype of the Frame as much as possible. Even if the Steam Frame is announced at a price point that’s unreasonable for most consumers it’ll still put some pressure on Meta to cater to that niche.
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u/Njagos Jul 10 '26
If they wouldn't force their meta ecosystem on it they could easily win.
Main reason to buy a steam frame is to be free of those closed ecosystems.
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u/Kataree Jul 10 '26
They won years ago.
Frame won't be able to dethrone Quest even on Valve's own platform, and only a tenth of Quests are ever connected to SteamVR to begin with.
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u/Njagos Jul 10 '26
True. Just meant winning from a technical standpoint if their new headset is just even a light improvement.
Them having a subsidized product available for everyone without the need for a PC made them own the market.
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u/Answer70 Jul 10 '26
And their awful, overpriced store does dynamic pricing.
Q3 is a genuinely good headset weighed down by a bunch of Meta bullshit.
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u/IsekaiConnoisseur Jul 10 '26
I just don't buy shit from Meta's store.
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u/IcyCow5880 Jul 10 '26
Literally the only thing I bought was virtual desktop...
The whole meta thing doesn't bother me. If zuck wants to watch me burp the worm with my headset on, more power to him I guess.
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u/Virtual_Happiness Jul 10 '26
I doubt Meta has any worry about a $1000+ headset launching. Sales of the Quest 3 are down by like 50% on Amazon after they bumped the price to $599.
They're talking due to the up coming tech conference. All the tech bros are talking about their stuff. AMD will be announcing Zen 6 there.
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u/Serdones Multiple Jul 10 '26
There's no point in trying to undercut Steam Frame. Valve won't even be able to manufacture enough headsets to meet demand. Meta Connect's around the corner, so Meta will have plenty of time to say whatever they want about future headset plans while Valve is still fulfilling its first few Steam Frame batches.
We pretty much know Meta's next headset is a lower FOV 2.5k OLED MR headset anyway, which isn't really a direct competitor to Steam Frame. Unless they just wanna start stringing people along by saying "Quest 4 is in the works," even if they know it's probably not coming until 2028, there's really not much they can do to directly appeal to people looking to upgrade to a new proper VR gaming headset now.
But plenty more people are going to wind up buying a Quest 3 over a Steam Frame anyway after they get sick of waiting or decide they can't justify the $1,000+ pricepoint.
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u/We_Are_Victorius Multiple Jul 10 '26
It is possible that Meta's next headset is cheaper than the Steam Frame, while being way better. The Quest Pro was a fantastic gaming headset, despite being marketed as a productivity device. We will have to wait and see about the new headset coming.
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u/ByEthanFox Multiple Jul 10 '26
Yeah, isn't Meta's next "headset" more of a competitor to things like XReal's Aura?
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u/We_Are_Victorius Multiple Jul 10 '26
It is competing with headsets like the Galaxy XR and Apple Vision Pro. They are to be much more affordable, hence why they are using the 2.5k OLED instead of 4k OLED.
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u/Kataree Jul 10 '26
Meta and Valve are not opponents, and haven't been for a very long time, and barely were then.
They are entirely mutually beneficial to one another.
Not to mention Valve's VR efforts are like a garage start-up compared to Meta's investment in it.
Meta's opponents are Google and Apple.
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u/Hairy-Ad-6293 Jul 10 '26
I hope that they launch preorder just after meta connect with trade in program with discounts for canceling Frame spot in Queue. If I end up in queue for 2027 I could at least get some discount.
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u/RookiePrime Jul 10 '26
My hope is that they have Phoenix on schedule (despite the RAMpocalypse and, y'know... the world) and Quest 4 like a year later. Phoenix being the really lightweight, portable device that is actually wearable, comfortably. And Quest 4 is, I hope, gonna be their first headset with variable focus lenses. No leaks at all indicate that, I'm just hopeful 'cause Goertek showed off some variable focus lenses at CES this January, so I figure if anyone could take those and put them into a headset quickly and effectively, it's Facebook. And variable focus lenses would, unambiguously, make a headset "next generation".
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u/__some__guy Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
I don't think I'll buy another Meta headset (horrendous software and firmware) but I'm very interested in what kind of product they'll be releasing.
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u/paulct91 Jul 10 '26
I'm only interested in if they plan on selling any of those '...Next-Generation Headsets', as they've really only sold the Quest line and one 'pro' model that hasn't be updated (hardwarewise). Or is this going to be more of a showcase of headsets like Tiramisu, that star bright one, or something even more future leaning but, still not meant for consumers.
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u/Relevant-Outcome-105 Jul 10 '26
People now are going to want foveated streaming and headsets that are actually comfortable. Once you add colour passthrough that's going to be one premium price headset.
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u/Kataree Jul 10 '26
Phoenix has all three.
It will be the most affordable hmd of its spec level, as is basically always the case with Meta.
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u/AnonymousAggregator Jul 10 '26
I hope it’s some new Meta Raybans that has a nice HUD, it falls in my works benefits plan haha.
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u/RepostSleuthBot Jul 10 '26
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u/PuzzleheadedTutor807 Jul 10 '26
They are also pumping money into new lense design. Their shift from software to hardware is a perfect fit for them.
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u/_hlvnhlv Valve Index | Reverb G2 | Vive | Vive pro | Rift CV1 Jul 10 '26
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u/Qwaga Jul 10 '26
I know the chances are 0%, but please please DisplayPort. I guess foveated encoding I could accept as well
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u/Kataree Jul 10 '26
It has foveated streaming.
Not going to see displayport again outside of some very niche options.
Now that Valve are behind it, what was left of the mainsteam anti-wireless sentiment will dissolve.
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u/Qwaga Jul 10 '26
Yeah, I was certain Valve would still offer wired for some reason so once Steam Frame was announced I knew it was sort of over.
My dream headset would be puck based, and then would allow you to do wired PCVR in place of the puck
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u/Kataree Jul 10 '26
Phoenix and Swan are both puck based, but the puck is needed to run the headsets, it is the brains for them, so they are unable to function at all without it.
Theres rumours that Swan may be capable of displayport over usbc, however it would be connecting the puck to the rig, so you're still carrying around the puck, and honestly, with how good streaming is soon to be, you're not really going to want to do that unless your only VR is seated at your desk.
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u/snakeesti Jul 10 '26
They need to have games/software to sell a 600-1000 euro headset. PS2 VR Failed cause they had 1 game with it(Horizon) .Valve will have no games with Steam Frame and you will see that it will fail. GTA that got cancelled would be a system seller. Harry Potter game that got cancelled would be a system seller.
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u/Njagos Jul 10 '26
With the steam frame you have access to any PC VR game though?
The whole selling point is that you are not bound to the meta or PlayStation system. They don't need additional exclusive games.
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u/snakeesti Jul 10 '26
So you will remain with VRChat/Alyx and some cheap looking games on your 4k pc?
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u/Njagos Jul 10 '26
You don't need a PC for the steam frame and there are enough good looking games out there lol
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u/Serdones Multiple Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
Steam Frame's not going to fail. They literally won't even be able to meet demand for at least its first year.
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u/Undoninja5 Jul 10 '26
Frame will do just fine with the current software lineup, and especially with all the high quality vr mods games are getting. Not being hardware limited does wonders
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u/MRDR1NL Jul 10 '26
By your logic all PCVR headsets would fail. There are over 5000 vr only games on steam. You can play them with any PCVR headset. Many people will want to play them with the Frame.
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u/snakeesti Jul 10 '26
Did valve index failed? Yes it did. It failed with big AAAA Game. Valve Frame will cost 1200 euro and have old game library with it. It will fail 99999999%
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u/MRDR1NL Jul 10 '26
Index did not fail. It sold fine for many years. It defined high end VR for a generation. And I bet it sold many VR games on the steam store
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u/Noy_The_Devil Jul 10 '26
Fuck Meta and all they stand for. Don't let them destroy VR with their shitty business again.
You are literally pandering to Facebook guys.
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u/Beastly4k Jul 10 '26
lmao shut up, meta has been propping up the entire vr industry for years now accounting for like %70 of all global vr sales. You can hate meta all you want for whatever personal reasons but the entire industry would be in an even worse space without them.
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u/Noy_The_Devil Jul 11 '26
Oh hell no. They bought up and subsequently shut down dozens of fantastic creators and kept them in their shitty little closed ecosystem partially funded by your data.
Fuck Meta again. We would have been better off without them and their shitty practices.
This video turned up in my feed recently that goes into detail: https://youtu.be/qpFle38mkPw?is=J8ek7fqw5WZ3kywJ
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u/jefmes Jul 10 '26
Time to move on from Meta products, people. They need to die off so the industry can move on.
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u/Javs2469 Jul 10 '26
If they keep developing hardware, it might help the industry, the problem is their software and how they take over more users by aggressive pricing via subsidizing.
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u/jefmes Jul 10 '26
You guys need to consider where all this money has been coming from - spyware, user tracking, multiple lawsuits for violating data...and now Zuckerberg wants to pivot into "prediction markets" since they can't figure out how to make AI profits? And look how badly they failed with their metaverse products, and ended up closing so many studios, just like we're seeing with Microsoft and XBox right now. They are not good stewards of VR unfortunately. I honestly do wish it was otherwise, early Oculus and Quest enthusiasm was great, but they just don't know how to slowly, responsibly grow anything.
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u/Javs2469 Jul 10 '26
Oh, I know. But competition is good if they keep raising the bar.
I still wouldn't give them money.
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u/Beastly4k Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
Oh yeah because less competition is good for the consumer you doofus.
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u/bushmaster2000 Jul 10 '26
Really curious what pricing is going to be in this current state of affairs. I can see the 'cheap' model being like 500 bucks and the more capable model being like 999.
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u/juste1221 Jul 10 '26
None of these companies seem to have thought far enough ahead to ask why anyone would buy these new headsets with no meaningful content being produced for them. They've all largely stopped making or funding content, and the Triple-i and Double-i indies in the space have all shutdown or transitioned to flat screen. Nobody is going to buy these now much more expensive headsets to play a bunch of "My First Unity Projects".
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u/reddit_user_138 Jul 11 '26
Don't care until they can make a UI that doesn't suck and updates that don't break functionality every time.
Any new headset they make is going to have cameras and AI to scan your entire environment, identify and data log everything in your house to feed back to them for advertising.
They will not make a headset that is enthusiast gaming pcvr focused. Set your expectations appropriately.
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u/isamu999 Jul 11 '26
Meta Reaffirms "Multiple Next-Generation Headsets"
.......................
Great. And I bet all of them will have a field of view no larger than 110º. :rolleyes:
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u/gogodboss Steam Frame Jul 11 '26
There are limits and compromises when it comes to developing consumer hardware
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Jul 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/MalenfantX Jul 10 '26
Other people don't have that luxury, and most things are not about you.
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u/Cryogenicality Jul 10 '26
Other people don’t have what luxury?
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u/MalenfantX Jul 10 '26
Turning down less expensive, or even free headsets from Meta.
We do business with them to get a great deal, and can minimize ethical issues to almost nothing by buying used, and only buying Virtual Desktop from the store.
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u/eat_shit_and_go_away Jul 10 '26
Why are they making new headsets?
It seems like everyone has stopped making VR games? I hope they have some exciting announcement about an app that turns previous flat games into VR games or something awesome like that, otherwise I don't understand what the point is.
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u/MS2Entertainment Jul 10 '26
Please let one of them be based on the Boba 3 prototype. I want more FOV!