• by Todd Wasserman , Staff Writer, September 19, 2022

Last year around this time, Facebook changed its name to Meta and announced a change in strategic focus from a social network to become the unifier of disparate digital worlds to the metaverse.

Though the change will likely take a decade or so to pull off, it’s worth looking at the progress that Meta has made in the last year. Here are some highlights from just the past few weeks:

Meta will debut a new VR headset in October. Last month, Zuckerberg told Joe Rogan that Meta will introduce a new VR headset in October, according to CNBC. Though he didn’t say, the device is likely the rumored Project Cambria headset that will retail for about $800.

In early September, the company bought a Berlin startup. Meta bought Lofelt, which is developing net-generation haptic technology for VR.

The FTC is trying to block a Meta acquisition. Meta is trying to buy Within Unlimited, which makes a VR fitness app called Supernatural. The FTC says that Meta is trying to buy rivals rather than compete with them.

The head of Meta’s VR platform left in August. Vivek Sharma left to pursue outside opportunities. Vishal Shah took Sharma’s place.

Zuckerberg updated his avatar after it was roundly criticized. Zuckerberg initially posted screenshots of his avatar in August, but after they were criticized, he promised “major updates to Horizon and avatar graphics” in his posts. Zuckerberg later acknowledged that "I know the photo I posted earlier this week was pretty basic — it was taken very quickly to celebrate a launch.”

So far, it’s a mixed bag for Meta. The company’s vision remains far off from fulfillment, and Meta so far has had trouble claiming any outright wins. Still it has a chance to redeem itself with the launch of its new VR headset in a few weeks.