Meta terminates La Jolla program

Meta has reportedly terminated its development program for a high-end mixed reality headset, code-named La Jolla, which was planned to be a high-end headset to compete with Apple's Vision Pro and was expected to be available in 2027.

Meta launched the La Jolla program last November, but ultimately decided to terminate the program mainly because of the high production cost of the MicroOLED displays required for the La Jolla headset device.Meta originally hoped to keep the cost of the headset device under $1,000, but despite repeated attempts to reduce the cost of the MicroOLED displays, the cost of production has always been too high. But despite numerous attempts to reduce costs, the MicroOLED displays have remained too expensive to produce.

Why did Meta insist on lowering the price?

Apple's previous Vision Pro was priced at $3,500 and received a lukewarm response from the market, indicating that consumer interest in high-priced headset devices is tepid. The market originally expected Vision Pro to sell between 600,000 and 800,000 units in 2024, but according to IDC's research data, Vision Pro has averaged fewer than 100,000 units per quarter this year, and total sales for the year are likely to be less than 500,000 units.

Meta's $1,500 high-end headset device, the Meta Quest Pro, which launches in late 2022, has faced similar issues, with sales failing to meet expectations. These precedents suggest that market acceptance of higher-priced headset devices remains limited, prompting Meta's decision to abandon its La Jolla premium headset program without being able to lower its price.