Meta (Facebook)

Last year we reported that Meta is said to be working on a new Quest VR headset, powered by OLED microdisplays, that will be supplied by both BOE and Seeya. It was believed that Meta aims to release the headset in 2026, and now we hear that Meta will likely delay the launch to 2027, and some more interesting specifications have surfaced.

The original Oculus Rift, and then the 2019 Oculus Quest both adopted OLEDs, but since then Meta opted for lower-cost high-performance LCDs. Now that competition is intensifying with Apple and Samsung aiming at the high-end part of the market, it makes sense for Meta to upgrade the performance of its VR headsets - and OLED microdisplay provide improved form factor, image quality, and power consumption. The rise of OLED microdisplay production in China also means that prices are getting lower.

Omdia has released their projections for the AR and VR markets, with some very interesting data. First of all, the company releases its estimates for the new devices that Apple, Meta, XREAL and Rayneo will release in 2026, 2027 and 2028:

All of these new devices, according to Omdia, will be based on OLED microdisplays, as these displays offer superb image quality, high power efficiency, and a very small footprint. While microLEDs have a big potential due to their much higher brightness (and efficiency), the technology is not ready for mass production yet.

Bloomberg reports that Meta has decided to cut its Metaverse project budget, by around 30%. Meta has spent over $60 billion, developing AR and VR technologies in the past 5 years.

It is reported that Meta is shifting its priorities back to its core products, and to its AI technologies. While it is seen as a leader in the Metaverse, or in AR, it hasn't managed to translate that into any meaningful products, even though it is leading the AR markets with its AI-powered headsets.

Meta is said to be working on a new Quest VR headset, powered by OLED microdisplays. This could be the Meta Quest 4 headset (slated for 2026), or it could be a premium edition of the Quest 4 - or it could also be that the OLED microdisplay headset will only be released in late 2026, or even early 2027.

Two companies have been signed up to supply the OLED panels, BOE's BMOT and Seeya. 

A few days ago, Meta introduced its first AI smart glasses product with a display, the Meta Ray-Ban Display. The display is projected on the right side (it uses a single panel, not two), and it offers a 600x600 resolution, 20-degrees FOV (42 FPD pixel density) - and a brightness of 5,000 nits.

According to reports, Meta chose an LCoS display panel (produced by Omnivision) and waveguides by Lumus. The Meta Ray-Ban Display, which will last for 6 hours in "mixed-use", will ship in a few days, starting at $799 in the US.

According to reports, Meta has decided to cancel one of its VR projects that was planned for 2027. This device was to be a high-end product, similar to Apple's Vision Pro - with a similar high price tag. Following the poor market reaction for Apple's Vision Pro, Meta decided to scrap the project.

The original Oculus Rift

Meta was planning to use OLED microdisplays in its upcoming high-end headset, as these are the best performing displays for such products. It is reported that one of the reasons that Meta is not proceeding with its project is the high price of the OLEDs. These are expensive displays indeed - according to some estimates, Apple is paying $350 for each display, which means around $700 for each headset. On the other hand, it is estimated that OLED microdisplay prices are set to drop sharply in the near future as new capacity comes online, and new players (including Samsung and LGD) start producing displays. 

Jeff Yurek is a former creative professional turned marketer passionate about storytelling and technology. He is currently Vice President of Marketing at Nanosys, Inc. in Silicon Valley, Calif., and serves as the Vice Chair of Marketing for the Society for Information Display. Here's an interview we conducted with Jeff towards Display Week 2023.

Hello Jeff! Can you tell us what to expect from SID Display Week 2023? 

Display Week is the best place to experience and learn about cutting-edge display technologies and applications. The program for Display Week 2023 is packed as always with valuable courses, technical talks, business presentations, and amazing technology demos.

Reports from Korea suggest that Meta (Facebook) is in talks with both Samsung Display and LG Display, regarding the supply of OLED microdisplays and microLED microdisplays for its future AR and VR glasses.

According to the reports, dozens of executives from Meta have met with executives from LG Display and Samsung Display, and the discussions are still ongoing. According to other reports, Meta plans to use OLED displays in its upcoming VR glasses, and MicroLEDs in AR glasses that will hit the market at around 2026.

OLED microdisplay maker eMagin reported its preliminary financial results for Q3 2022, with revenues in the range of $7.4 to $7.6 million, an increase of 28%-31% from last year.

eMagin says it sees strong demand in the military market, increased revenue from medical customers and also increased R&D contract revenues.

Reports suggest that Meta (Facebook) is developing two new VR headsets, with very different display technologies - one with mini-LED displays, and the other with OLED microdisplays (as we reported in August 2021).

The Oculus Quest Pro (codenamed Cambria) will be based on mini-LED displays, . Meta aims to launch the Quest Pro in the summer of 2022 and hopes to sell 3 million headsets by the end of the year.