TL;DR
- Meta has announced the Quest Pro.
- The new headset will bring a number of upgrades compared to the Quest 2.
- It’s scheduled to be released on October 25 for $1,499.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has officially revealed its new premium mixed reality headset — the Meta Quest Pro. The headset aimed at workers and gamers alike will sell for a whopping $1,499.
Today, Meta held its Meta Connect conference where the company immediately dove into its VR projects. Near the middle of the show, the Quest Pro made its much-anticipated appearance. While it’s not the first time we’ve seen the device — someone found a test unit left in a hotel room and posted pictures online — this is the first time it has been shown in an official capacity.
Although it’s not the successor to the Quest 2 — it’s more of a premium version of the existing headset — the Quest Pro offers a number of upgrades compared to the Quest 2. In addition to a new design, the Quest Pro comes with 10 sensors (inward and outward), new pancake lenses and optics technology that slimmed the headset down by 40% according to Meta, a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Plus chip, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 90Hz refresh rate.
Also unlike the Quest 2, Meta has added high-definition color AR functionality that turns the Quest Pro from just being a VR device to being a mixed-reality device.
And it looks like the headset wasn’t the only thing to get an upgrade. The Quest Pro will have new controllers called the Meta Quest Touch Pro. These controllers will feature three cameras and a Snapdragon 662 mobile processor per controller. According to Meta, these new additions make it so the controllers can track their position, not having to rely on tracking cameras embedded in the headset.
Scheduled to release later this month on October 25, customers can begin preordering the device today. However, $1,499 is a pretty steep asking price, even with the Quest 2 getting a $100 price hike back in August. In fact, the price point puts the device more in line with what you would expect from an enterprise VR product. For a company trying to sell the idea of getting everyone into its metaverse, this particular product may not help that mission.
