Apple, Meta, Google Shift Focus Back to Metaverse in 2025

• Big Tech firms walked back some metaverse projects in 2024, but haven’t given up on the concept.
• Apple is rumored to be developing a new lightweight version of its Vision headset to compete with Meta.
• Meanwhile, Google is more focused on the software side of things.

Despite a run of metaverse flops and retreats in 2024, Big Tech firms remain committed to virtual and augmented reality (V/AR).

An example is Apple’s Vision headsets. Despite disappointing sales of the Vision Pro, the company is reportedly working on a follow-up device with a thinner, lighter design.

Google and Meta have also refocused their metaverse strategies, looking to move past the hype and deliver products that actually sell.

Apple Working on “Vision Air” Headset

When Apple launched the Vision Pro in February 2024, it was meant to signal the coming of age of V/AR technology.

But instead of mainstream adoption, the headsets mostly generated ridicule and mass returns.

Common complaints included that the Vision Pro caused motion sickness and that it was too heavy to wear for extended periods.

Rather than abandon the project, Apple is reportedly developing a thinner, lighter Vision Air.

Big Tech Headset Rivalry

For Apple, shaving a hundred grams or more off the weight of its headsets would bring the rumored Vision model in line with Meta’s Quest 3.

While neither company reports exact sales numbers, by most accounts, Meta has significantly outpaced Apple in V/AR headset sales.

Apple reportedly ceased production of the Vision Pro at the end of 2024 amid weak demand.

In contrast, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that Quest 3 sales were “outpacing our expectations.”

Meta’s comparative success in the headset market may have more to do with Quest’s significantly lower price point than with how heavy the devices are.

However, if Apple stays true to the “Air” branding precedent, the new lightweight model could also be cheaper than its bulky predecessor.

Meta’s Refocuses A/VR Strategy

Like Apple, Meta is also rumored to be developing the next generation of its headset line, with a Quest 4 and Quest Pro 2 apparently in the works.

Elsewhere, however, the company has retreated from the metaverse.

In August 2024, the firm shuttered its AR studio, Meta Spark. Meanwhile, CTO Andrew Bosworth recently suggested that 2025 would be a make-or-break year for Reality Labs, the Meta unit that develops Quest and other A/VR products.

The general takeaway from Zuckerberg’s metaverse adventure is that Meta has been moderately successful in the hardware space, but less so in building the virtual experiences headsets are designed to deliver.

For example, despite billions spent on development and marketing, the company’s flagship metaverse game, Horizon Worlds, has significantly fewer users than other similar platforms.

Rendering Virtual Worlds

Although Meta has failed to deliver a viable virtual world of its own, the concept continues to attract attention.

Infinite Reality, a startup that creates digital worlds and immersive environments, recently closed a $3 billion funding round.

Meanwhile, Google is developing Android XR , an extended reality (XR) operating system for headsets and smart glasses.

Since discontinuing Google Glass, the firm has avoided A/VR hardware and has instead focused on metaverse software.

Playing to its strength in advertising technology, Google partnered with Roblox to offer “immersive ads” for the world’s most popular virtual experiences.

While Meta and Apple are vying to take consumers to the metaverse, Google and world-building developers like Infinite Reality may ultimately determine what they see once they arrive.