san francisco The technology company Meta lifts the compulsion to use one Facebook-Accounts for the VR glasses from oculus on. From August onwards it will be possible to register for the devices with a new meta account, using a Facebook account will then no longer be necessary, the company announced on Thursday.
This could pave the way for a market launch in Germany. In 2020, Meta had to stop selling the devices. The Federal Cartel Office had accused the company of abusing its dominant position with the account requirement and was right with the argument before the Federal Court of Justice.
Instead of lifting the obligation to use a Facebook account in Germany, the company took the devices off the market.
With the new rules, Meta is changing the way it handles account requirements for Oculus devices worldwide. It is initially unclear whether the VR glasses will actually be introduced in Germany. There was no response from Meta to a Handelsblatt inquiry for the time being.
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The Oculus Quest 2 is considered the most widely used VR glasses in the world. According to calculations by the market research company Counterpoint Research, Meta claimed a total of 80 percent of the global market for VR glasses in the fourth quarter of 2021.
$2 billion takeover
The Facebook group took over the company behind the Oculus glasses in 2014 for around two billion dollars. In 2016, the Oculus Rift was the first mass market eyewear. The latest Quest 2 model has been available since 2020. In the US, the glasses cost $299 plus sales tax. Analysts estimate that this price is below the manufacturing and development costs.
The division of the Facebook group Meta responsible for the VR glasses had caused a loss of around ten billion dollars in the past financial year. For the company, however, the Quest 2 is still a high priority because the area lays the foundation for the company’s future in the Metaverse, company founder Mark Zuckerberg argues. At the same time, he has already announced that the area will continue to make significant losses over the next few years.
On the other hand, Meta has scaled back other hardware projects such as a smartwatch. Most recently, the group had started to save in a number of places in the company – this also affected the Reality Labs division.
As a first consequence, the next generation of VR glasses could come onto the market at a significantly higher price. According to reports from the Bloomberg news agency, the next model will be called the Meta Quest Pro and will cost at least $1,000.
The new Meta headset is said to have far better graphics processing and performance compared to the regular Meta Quest headset, Bloomberg reports. In addition, there would be high-resolution cameras that can track eye movements.
The Rival Apple could also launch VR glasses for the first time at the beginning of next year, several analysts reported unanimously. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently fueled speculation about the launch of an Apple headset. Speaking to Chinese state media China Daily, when asked about a headset, Cook said: “I couldn’t be more excited than about the opportunities in this space. Stay tuned and you will see what we have to offer.”
More: Inside Meta: The Deep Fall of the Facebook Group