Metaverse: Meta shifts focus to hardware development
Meta is sticking with its VR division and plans to invest more in new hardware in the future. Smart glasses sales have more than tripled in the meantime.
Meta's current VR flagship, the Meta Quest 3.
(Image: Meta)
After announcing another record quarter, Mark Zuckerberg discussed the future direction of the Reality Labs division, which develops VR headsets and smart glasses. The CEO avoided the M-word.
In the coming years, the company aims to focus on making virtual reality profitable, with the majority of future investments flowing into smart glasses and wearables. Efforts surrounding the metaverse will primarily be continued on mobile platforms.
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According to CFO Susan Li, despite job cuts, the company remains “optimistic” about the future of VR and intends to invest more in the development of new headsets. This statement aligns with a report indicating that Meta has two new devices in development and is focusing more consistently on quality.
In December, Meta admitted that hardware and user experience have not yet reached the maturity required for significant growth in the VR market. The next devices are expected to be pricier, as Meta no longer wishes to subsidize its hardware as heavily.
Smart Glasses: The “Ultimate Incarnation” of Meta's AI Vision
Investments in Reality Labs remain high, reaching a record of nearly 7 billion US dollars in the fourth quarter of 2025. In the same period, Meta generated nearly one billion US dollars in revenue from VR headsets and smart glasses, a decrease of 12 percent compared to the previous year.
For 2026, Meta expects losses to remain at the current level. They are not expected to be gradually reduced until 2027. However, the company emphasizes that this development may not be linear, as unforeseen changes to the product roadmap or unexpected market developments could influence these plans.
Against the backdrop of enormous investments in AI infrastructure, Mark Zuckerberg once again affirmed that he sees smart glasses as the crucial hardware vehicle for artificial intelligence, even calling the category the “ultimate incarnation” of Meta's AI vision.
Although the company tripled its smart glasses sales last year, they are still considered a future market given the massive losses of Reality Labs. Nevertheless, Zuckerberg remains confident: “It's hard to imagine a world in a few years where most of the glasses people wear aren't AI glasses.”
(dahe)
