Meta announced that Connect, its annual XR developer conference, will have an “in-person presence” this year, marking the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in late 2019.
Connect is set to take place on September 27th and 28th at Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California—an entirely new occurrence in itself, since the company traditionally held its in-person Connects at off-site venues, including the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose and Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles.
Registration for the in-person experience is “limited,” Meta says, with attendees having access to demo experiences, networking events, and more. Meta says to expect in-depth looks at new products, such as the upcoming Quest 3, the latest in AI and XR innovation, developer updates, and an exploration of “how the metaverse is coming to life.”
The company says the event will also be livestreamed, which will include a keynote by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the Developer State of the Union, and breakout sessions covering “a range of topics related to AI and virtual, mixed, and augmented reality.”
Slated to arrive sometime in late 2023, the $500 Quest 3 signifies the company’s next big consumer ambitions following its decidedly pricey Quest Pro headset released late last year, now priced at $1,000 after a tactical $500 price slash.
We’re hoping to get an eye-full of Quest 3 there and hear more about precise launch details; Connect 2023 could even be an opportune moment to launch the headset. The event should give us a good idea of how much ‘gas’ Meta intends to use to push the upcoming headset, which, like Quest Pro and Apple Vision Pro, is a mixed reality headset that includes color passthrough and augmented reality capabilities.
The company says it will share more on specific developer talks in the near future. In the meantime, keep an eye on the Connect website for more information.