Tech
Meta slashes prices for Quest headsets to boost VR use – RFI English
Issued on: 04/03/2023 – 00:40
San Francisco (AFP) – Meta on Friday slashed prices of its Quest headsets in an attempt to entice more people into its gear and into the virtual worlds Mark Zuckerberg has heralded as the future of the internet.
The tech giant cut the price of recently launched Quest Pro virtual reality (VR) headsets by a third to $1,000, and the price of its most expensive consumer-market Quest 2 model by $70 to $430, it announced in a blog post.
“Our goal has always been to create hardware that’s affordable for as many people as possible to take advantage of all that VR has to offer,” Meta said in the post.
The lower price for Meta Quest 2 will take effect internationally on Sunday. The reduced Quest Pro price will start Sunday as well in Canada and the United States, and be applied internationally on March 15, according to the company.
More than a year after rebranding itself from Facebook to Meta, the social network titan is striving to make the metaverse a routine part of daily life.
But analysts say the company has toned down the hype a bit as it struggles to reach its goal of creating an interactive virtual world that it sees as the next phase of online activity.
Meta in October unveiled the Quest Pro version of its virtual reality headset tailored for working professionals.
The headset makes it possible to view not only virtual worlds but also the real environment of the user, thanks to high-resolution outward-facing cameras.
“The moment that they begin to break into a smile or when they raise their eyebrow… your avatar should be able to express all of that and more,” Meta chief Zuckerberg said at the company’s annual conference focused on virtual reality.
Meta said it is partnering with Microsoft and others to combine popular business and productivity software with Quest Pro.
Meta’s Reality Labs unit has lost billions of dollars on what Zuckerberg has described as a long-term investment in becoming a metaverse company.
Microsoft, Sony, and HTC are among the tech firms investing heavily in the metaverse, and Apple is rumored to be planning to release its own virtual reality headset.
© 2023 AFP
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People attend a keynote address event during the 2022 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC22) at the Apple Park in Cupertino, California, the United States, June 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)
Free for all developers, WWDC23 will spotlight the latest iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS advancements. The event will also provide them with unique access to Apple engineers, as well as insight into new technologies and tools.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 29 (Xinhua) — Apple announced on Wednesday the company will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in an online format June 5-9, with an opportunity for developers and students to celebrate in person on the opening day at Apple Park, in the western U.S. state of California.
Free for all developers, WWDC23 will spotlight the latest iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS advancements. The event will also provide them with unique access to Apple engineers, as well as insight into new technologies and tools.
This year’s online program will include sessions, one-on-one labs, and opportunities to engage with Apple engineers and other developers.
WWDC23 is also an opportunity to support student developers through the Swift Student Challenge, one of many Apple programs that seek to elevate developers and learners of all ages who love to code. With the help of Swift Playgrounds, students can create an app playground on a topic of their choice, according to Apple.
“WWDC is one of our favorite times of the year at Apple because it’s an opportunity to connect with the talented developers from around the globe who make this community so extraordinary,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. ■
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The City of Pointe-Claire presents the candidates for the District 1 – Cedar/Le Village by-election that will take place on April 23.
Lois BUTLER
Claude COUSINEAU
Teodor DAIEV
Linda DE WITT
François GIASSON
Jeremy SEARLE
Your elected municipal officers are essential players, responsible for making decisions in the interest of the population they represent. Anyone on the list of electors for District 1 can vote. It is the voter’s responsibility to ensure that they are registered.
During the month of March, a notice of registration indicating the names of the persons registered on the list of electors at each address was sent by mail. If your name does not appear on this list, you must go to the board of revisors to proceed with your registration. The board of revisors will meet on April 3 and 4 at City Hall (451 Saint-Jean Boulevard).
For more information, visit the 2023 By-elections page of our website.
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