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Meta, formerly Oculus and Facebook, just announced a new high-end virtual reality headset. Dubbed the Meta Quest Pro, this $1,500 (USD) piece of hardware is the company's "most advanced headset yet."
Set to release on October 25, the Meta Quest Pro is not a device aimed at gamers. In fact, it's not really aimed at anybody but businesses and professionals. That could, at least in this case, account for the reason why the hardware is priced as high as it is. Whether or not you are a business or business person, you can go ahead and pre-order the Quest Pro right now ahead of the 25th.
Despite this not being for you, there is a question as to whether or not this new headset includes some fresh technologies that could at least partially justify the price. The answer is a very clear "yes." First off, the lenses in the Quest Pro are 40% thinner compared to the Quest 2. Meta says these lenses, created "by folding light inside the optical module," allows for "75% greater contrast with 1.3x larger color gamut." These are Meta's marketing words here, so maybe don't read too much into them until reviews start to go up. The lenses also include local dimming areas and quantum dot technology.
The passthrough capabilities of the Quest 2 have been drastically improved with the Quest Pro. Meta says that the mixed reality offering on the Pro offers full color views of the outside world at a resolution that is over four times higher than what you saw with the Quest 2. The ability to change the interpupillary distance (IPD) is included with the Quest Pro in order to match the width of your eyes.
Perhaps the biggest boon for the Quest Pro is the addition of full-foveated rendering. This is a technology that sharpens images just where you are looking. The areas around the focal point are blurred, kind of like how actual looking with your eyes is done. This should cut down on the resources needed because the areas outside the focus can be rendered at lower resolutions or with lower quality. The upcoming PlayStation VR2 will also make use of foveated rendering when that is released.
The Quest Pro also tracks facial expressions. This will allow for your virtual avatar, presumably within Meta's own Horizon platform, to mimic your expressions like smiles, winks, raised eyebrows, and presumably disgust when someone hits you with all three of those at once in VR. The Quest Pro controllers, named Touch, each include three cameras and a Snapdragon 662 mobile CPU. They also include "TruTouch haptic feedback, and precision pinch" abilities. The batteries in the controllers are now rechargeable instead of using disposable batteries. The controllers, if purchased separately, will run you $299 and can be used with the Quest 2.
The headset itself includes 10 sensors, spatial audio, 256GB of internal storage, 12GB of RAM, and a Snapdragon XR2+ processor that "delivers 50% more power for better performance." I assume this is in comparison to the Quest 2, but Meta did not specify as such on the product page.
Your $1,500 will get you the following items included in the box:
- Meta Quest Pro Headset
- 2 Meta Quest Touch Pro Controllers
- Charging Dock
- USB-C Power Adapter
- Controller Charge Cable
- Charging Cable
- 2 Stylus Tips
- 2 Partial Light Blockers (L & R)
- Cable Clip
- Protective Cover
- Cleaning Cloth
- 2 Wrist Straps​
Sites like The Verge, spent some hands-on time with the Meta Quest Pro recently. They have a very lengthy writeup about their experiences with the device, along with details on how this device can be utilized in a work environment. They also note some of the device's shortcomings and why it may not be the top pick when it comes to virtual workplace productivity.
(The) Meta Quest Pro’s battery life sounds very bad. I was told the headset would last between one and two hours on a single charge, then take around two hours to recharge, either on the dock or with a cable. (My demo was held at a series of separate stations with multiple Quest Pros, so I didn’t experience the limits firsthand.) That’s a little more than half the time you’d get with a Quest 2, which lasts two to three hours. The back-mounted battery isn’t easily removable like the Vive Focus 3’s, so you can’t just swap it out and keep going.
This narrows the Quest Pro’s flexibility as an enterprise device. HTC, Magic Leap, and other enterprise companies tend to emphasize how long their products will last — offering either comparatively long-lasting batteries or swappable ones. You can plug the Quest Pro headset in if you’re sitting at a desk using Workrooms, but a lot of business VR and AR involves walking around physical space, and the Quest Pro might only allow that for limited stretches.
Meta has inked deals with Microsoft, Accenture, and other companies to promote the Quest Pro as a simulation training device, a 3D design tool, or a virtual meeting room, among other uses. But I don’t have a great sense of its value there because my experiences mainly involved casual games and pure tech demos.​
This narrows the Quest Pro’s flexibility as an enterprise device. HTC, Magic Leap, and other enterprise companies tend to emphasize how long their products will last — offering either comparatively long-lasting batteries or swappable ones. You can plug the Quest Pro headset in if you’re sitting at a desk using Workrooms, but a lot of business VR and AR involves walking around physical space, and the Quest Pro might only allow that for limited stretches.
Meta has inked deals with Microsoft, Accenture, and other companies to promote the Quest Pro as a simulation training device, a 3D design tool, or a virtual meeting room, among other uses. But I don’t have a great sense of its value there because my experiences mainly involved casual games and pure tech demos.​
