A rumor surfaced in September 2023 that Meta and LG were to partner and deliver a competing Vision Pro Headset at a lower price point. In February 2024, a meeting between Meta's Zuckerberg and LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan in Korea (Pictured above) took place to advance their original agreement to collaborate on creating an MX/MR headset. The goal was to deliver a US$2,000 headset for 2025.

While rumors this weekend suggested that LG terminated the project with Meta, LG this morning confirmed that while they will continue with the project, the pace of development will tightly controlled at a slower pace.  

The project is intended to bring together Meta's mixed reality platform, already popularized through the Quest headset series, and content from LG's TV business. LG Electronics' manufacturing capabilities and global sales network were also expected to create a win-win effect. Cho had expected products resulting from the collaboration to hit the market as early as 2025.

Analysts suggest that Apple missing their project sales goals has dampened enthusiasm for the project until more content is available for Spatial Computing headsets.

Yet is that the only possible reason for putting the brakes on the project?  

The timing of LG's announcement is quite interesting. Last week we reported that LG showcased their new 4000PPI+ WOLED+CF OLEDos Display for Future XR Headsets at a US Display show. Today's Vision Pro offers 3,386PPI from Sony. If LG is looking for a chance at providing Apple with future Vision Pro displays, then working with Meta isn't likely to cut it with Apple.

Was LG's move to slow down the Meta project due to a possible conflict of interest with Apple? Only time will tell.