Facebook Connect Conference Returns This October

Ready for another round of major VR announcements? The highly-anticipated developer conference returns on October 28th.

The 2021 Facebook Connect conference is set to kick off on October 28th. Similar to 2020, this year’s virtual event will be hosted remotely via Facebook Live, offering big-name keynotes, exciting announcements, and a plethora of other Oculus-related content to enjoy.

Originally referred to as ‘Oculus Connect’, the annual AR/VR event was renamed ‘Facebook Connect’ last year as part of Facebook’s Corporate Rebranding. Taking place over the course of several days, the conference is meant to shine a spotlight on major developments in the Oculus ecosystem as well as the company’s future ambitions. Last year, for example, we received big updates on over 15 games for Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift headsets.

As for what’s in store for this year’s conference, the sky’s the limit. Over the past couple of months, we’ve received numerous updates from the company, who’ve teased everything from a potential Quest Pro headset to its proprietary “non-AR” smart glasses. And while it’s impossible to know for sure what we’ll see in the coming months, we can always make a few predictions based on recent happenings.

One thing I’d definitely like to see is an update on Facebook Horizon. Originally announced in September 2019, Facebook Horizon is a social VR space developed by Facebook specifically for Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift headsets. This past March, the company began teasing a new avatar system coming first to the social platform. These new and improved characters feature more expressive facial movements and hand gestures.

In addition to Facebook Horizon, the upcoming event could be the perfect time to provide some long-awaited details regarding the rumored Oculus Quest Pro. During a conversation this past April between Facebook Vice President Andrew Bosworth and Oculus Consulting Technical Officer John Carmack, the two execs discussed the possibility of a new-and-improved Oculus Quest 2.

“People are also asking about the Quest 3, which doesn’t exist yet, and everyone who is listening to us who is a reporter there isn’t a Quest 3, there’s only a Quest 2, but I did hint at an AMA earlier this year about Quest Pro because we do have a lot of things in development where we want to introduce new functionality to the headset along the kinds that people theorize that we would want to introduce, and that’s a little ways off still. It’s still not gonna happen this year,” said Bosworth during the conversation.

Facebook Connect 2021 kicks off October 28th on Facebook Live. No word yet on an official schedule.

Feature Image Credit: Facebook, Oculus

Source: https://vrscout.com/news/facebook-connect-conference-returns-this-october/