Mark Zuckerberg took to his personal Facebook page today to show off a demo of the company’s unreleased “high-end” VR headset.
The physical product, which for now is codenamed Project Cambria, was blurred in the video, but Zuckerberg showed off a “mixed reality” experience where the new headset’s color cameras displayed passthrough video of the outside world while overlaying a game-like experience on top of those visuals.
The company has already communicated that they hope to leverage this device for experiences beyond game, specifically productivity, though this demo, called “The World Beyond” was definitely more game-like in nature.
The company’s $299 Quest 2 headset already has passthrough cameras, but they only capture grayscale images, Cambria’s onboard sensors will capture full color which should allow for more immersive experiences. Also aiding that will be a dedicated depth sensor onboard the device, which should help the headset more accurately place digital content in a user’s physical space.
There are a lot of unanswered questions about the device, most specifically what “high-end” means in terms of price. Meta has largely sold its VR products at a loss, but as it doubles down on the metaverse, it’s unclear whether that’s a long-term strategy. The Information previously reported that the headset would cost $799, though a Meta spokesperson said at the time that the price would be “significantly higher.”
