Meta Quest looks set to get AI before the Apple Vision Pro

Meta is looking to add some extra value to its Quest headsets by folding in some of the AI features that it already offers in its Ray-Ban smart glasses. 

It'll add the experimental AI assistant that powers some handy features in its smart glasses, letting Meta Quest 3 and other Quest users see how they like it and ask queries with just their voices. This will roll out starting in August, and will apparently replace the existing voice control system, putting it in the driving seat if you ask for directions or any other information. 

An AR-powered part of the feature will let people ask their VR headset what they're looking at, letting it access the pass-through feed to analyse the world around them and respond with some interpretation. 

The features will probably put to the test the question of how much people use their headsets while out and about, rather than just at home – and doubtless will provide Facebook with a whole heap of useful training data for its model. 

This comes against the backdrop of new reports indicating that the Apple Vision Pro, despite being a radically advanced bit of technology, apparently won't be in line to get any Apple Intelligence features this year.

No AI for Vision Pro?

The mixed-reality headset should in theory be capable of at least some AI features, given that it runs on an M2 chip, which is powerful enough. However, some observers are speculating that the chip has much less headroom for extra features because of how demanding the Vision Pro is to actually run, which could account for Apple's struggle to add AI features in.

That's per a report by John Gruber, a known analyst, but it's been pushed back on by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who seemingly has heard indications that Vision Pro will eventually get some Apple Intelligence fun. 

So, if you want a mixed-reality headset with AI features that will definitely arrive sooner rather than later, it might be another score to Meta, with Apple seemingly taking a slower route.