Preorders for the Vision Pro headset started earlier this month, and Apple is scheduled to release the device on February 2. Apple sold more headsets than anticipated based on pre-orders, and as the launch gets closer, anticipation rise even more. With its Quest line of products, Meta has been active in the AR/VR market for some time, and it views the Vision Pro as a possible rival. With the Vision Pro, Meta hopes to “reinvigorate” its efforts in the metaverse and become the “Android” of the AR/VR world.

Meta thinks that the Vision Pro will “validate” its current business and attract further customers.

Although we have some initial conjectures, it is yet unknown how the industry would see the Vision Pro in terms of the use case. Although the Vision Pro from Apple costs a lot more than the Quest lineup from Meta, more affordable choices are being developed in order to simplify the product lineup. The market hasn’t yet reached a consensus on whether the $3,499 price tag is reasonable given the device’s utility, though. Keep in mind that the headset is still in its infancy, and the developers will need some time to create appropriate use cases and adjust to the new technology. Though the Vision Pro would “reinvigorate” the metaverse, Meta is still optimistic.

The company’s “biggest” update since the release of the original iPhone is expected to be iOS 18.

According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, persons with knowledge of the matter assert that Meta expects the Vision Pro to reinforce and boost its $50 billion endeavors in the metaverse. Apple’s Vision Pro would put a lot of pressure on the Meta Quest lineup, and as competition grows, it might also lead to new opportunities for customers. Each business would research the rivals and provide customers with a unique feature set. This will enhance the user experience and provide greater variety.

With little to no competition thus far, Meta has been operating alone in the AR/VR space and aims to become the “Android” of the space.

If it weren’t for Android, the iPhone and accompanying Vision Pro headset might be the only smartphones on the market. Apple will continue to face competition in the AR/VR space from Meta until new opportunities present themselves. Still, a lot relies on how developers perceive the two offerings. The competition between the two businesses will only get more fierce in the future because Apple is developing less expensive versions of the headset.

It’s evident that Meta, which wants to increase its efforts in mixed reality, is already impacted by the Vision Pro headset even before it launches. As previously said, given its usefulness compared to its high price, it is unclear how the market will react to the Vision Pro headset.