It’s official: we’re getting a new Oculus VR headset – but it’s not the Quest 3
It’s called Project Cambria
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Mark Zuckerberg finally lifted the lid onOculus' next VR headset atFacebook Connect 2021– and it’s called Project Cambria.
Coming at some point next year, Project Cambria isn’t a Quest device (so neither theOculus Quest 3nor a direct successor to theOculus Quest 2), but will be compatible with Quest devices, so says the company.
It will arrive as part of Facebook’s push to introduce multiple new mixed reality products “advancing the state of the art” in years to come.
Details about Project Cambria are few and far between at this point – we only caught a brief glimpse of the product itself in a short teaser video – but Zuckerberg confirmed that it’ll boast cutting-edge features that Facebook can’t yet include in its existing Oculus Quest lineup.
As such, it’ll be priced at the higher end of the VR hardware spectrum, though the company hasn’t disclosed specific figures on that front.
In terms of what those cutting-edge features will be, we know Project Cambria will be capable of real-time face and eye tracking, and sport cameras that pass high-resolution video to its internal screens.
This technology will allow the headset to reflect people’s facial emotions in avatars – in keeping with the company’s newpush towards a ‘metaverse’– and also permit Project Cambria a much slimmer form factor compared to even thebest VR headsetson the market right now.
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Elsewhere at the event, Facebook announced that it’sofficially changing its name to Meta.
Analysis: Is this the ‘Oculus Pro’?
It’s not yet clear whether this mysterious Project Cambria is in fact the long-rumored ‘Oculus Pro’ headset, but judging by the similarities between recentleaked informationsurrounding a new Oculus headset and what was shown at Facebook Connect, we’re fairly confident that it is.
Quest Pro / Seacliff [thread]found by Samulia in the Seacliff firmware pic.twitter.com/0pGODx2HCpOctober 24, 2021
Dubbed a showcase for ‘Seacliff firmware,’ the above video seems to include a device similar in design to Project Cambria, one being used to try on different outfits for a player’s avatar.
Given the general push towards the increased use of avatars in the company’s ambitious ‘metaverse’ project at Facebook Connect, too, we’re confident that this video – leaked in advance of the event but not actually shown – is indeed making reference to Project Cambria.
We’ll have to wait for more details on the company’s brand new VR headset, but it’s clear that Facebook’s unexpectedly-named Project Cambria aims to push the boundaries for mixed reality technology.
Axel is TechRadar’s UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site’s Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.
Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.
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