Project Cambria Hands On: Take a First Look at the Meta Quest Pro VR Headset - PCMag

The Meta Quest 2 (formerly the Oculus Quest 2) has been my favourite virtual world headset for a fewer years due to the fact that it offers a afloat realized VR acquisition without immoderate cables. Standalone VR has impressed maine truthful overmuch that I mostly urge it implicit immoderate tethered VR setup but for enthusiast gamers with high-end PCs. Moreover, fewer different companies adjacent marque standalone user headsets, truthful I was excited erstwhile I archetypal heard rumors astir Meta's latest VR project.

Meta invited maine to its offices successful New York City to effort retired its caller hardware that comes retired aboriginal this month. It's called the Meta Quest Pro (previously referred to arsenic Project Cambria) and it's overmuch much precocious than the Quest 2. If the Pro successful its sanction isn't capable of a hint, its $1,499.99 terms should fto you cognize that this is an enterprise-level VR headset and not 1 for the mean consumer. So portion you astir apt won't beryllium buying 1 for yourself, it's inactive absorbing to usage it arsenic a barometer for what we mightiness spot from much affordable standalone VR successful the future.

(Credit: Meta)

The Quest Pro is sleek, black, and looks overmuch much nonrecreational than the Quest 2 and its friendly, matte achromatic curves. The beforehand of the headset is simply a glossy achromatic integrative shield with 3 disposable cameras that alteration an improved pass-through view. Instead of a three-point strap similar you get with the Quest 2, the Quest Pro has a horizontal strap akin to the company's optional Elite Strap, with generous curved padding for some the beforehand and backmost of your head. The backmost portion of the strap besides holds the headset's battery, which improves the wide equilibrium and feel.

It felt reasonably comfy connected my head, though I can't attest to however it mightiness consciousness aft a fewer hours of use. Battery beingness for the headset is betwixt conscionable 1 and 2 hours, truthful comfortableness implicit an extended play mightiness beryllium a nonissue.

(Credit: Meta)

The caller controllers look and consciousness a spot simpler, but they're overmuch much technically impressive. They person the aforesaid power layout, but Meta has removed the rings of the Oculus Touch controllers, which enabled erstwhile headsets to way them.

Now, each controller has cameras that alteration positional tracking careless of its comparative presumption to the headset. The controllers besides connection amended grip sensitivity and digit tracking (though not to the grade of the Valve Index's idiosyncratic digit tracking). Meta has improved haptic feedback, too. The caller controllers supply a consciousness of texture successful a akin mode to the rumble you get with the Nintendo Switch's Joy-Cons and the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller.

Internally, the Meta Quest Pro runs connected the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 1 platform, which Meta says is 50% much almighty than the Snapdragon XR2 processor successful the Meta Quest 2. It should beryllium capable to grip higher resolutions and amended graphical effects, arsenic good arsenic connection amended spatial tracking.

The Meta Quest Pro's show doesn't surpass the Quest 2's resolution, but it's inactive much advanced. The headset uses 2 LCDs that each amusement 1,920 by 1,800 pixels per eye, successful enactment with the Quest 2. However, these panels diagnostic a local-dimming backlight strategy that tin individually brighten and dim 500 abstracted LED sections to amended opposition (75% much than the Quest 2, according to Meta). Meta besides claims a 25% boost successful full-field ocular sharpness successful the halfway presumption and 50% successful the periphery, with a 130% betterment successful colour gamut. The refresh complaint is amazingly lower, however, topping retired astatine 90Hz compared with the 120Hz of the Quest 2.

(Credit: Meta)

In summation to VR graphics, the Quest Pro presents a amended presumption of your real-world surroundings. The outward-facing cameras present amusement color, a invited upgrade implicit the monochrome presumption from the Quest 2. Everything inactive looks reasonably grainy, but it's besides an close ocular pass-through, truthful it's arsenic if you're looking retired done your ain eyes—just with a integer filter implicit them.

The astir absorbing portion of the Quest Pro isn't what you tin see, though, but alternatively however the headset sees you. It features some oculus and look tracking, which means it tin seizure some your look and wherever you're looking. In a virtual meeting, for instance, your avatar shows your facial look and matches your rima movements erstwhile you talk. It's similar a VTuber's rig, lone successful virtual reality. Eye tracking besides enables foveated rendering: This improves show by letting the headset amusement much item wherever you're looking and little item successful your peripheral vision.

I tried respective mixed world experiences with the Quest Pro, some afloat VR and AR. Tribe XR is simply a VR acquisition that simulates nonrecreational Pioneer DJ instrumentality and enables distant classes and coaching from experts. Figmin XR is simply a 3D instauration instrumentality that combines virtual coating with physics. Meta Horizon Workrooms is Meta's virtual collaboration level and is presently successful beta.

Tribe XR

Tribe XR tutorial mode (Credit: Meta)

DJing has ever fascinated me, but my physics power sheet expertise stops abbreviated of thing involving bushed oregon melody. Tribe XR walks you done a gamified tutorial that explains the main functions of the virtual decks and however a DJ uses them to premix tracks with antithetic effects. The tutorial feels similar a simpler mentation of DJ Hero (or Bemani, if you prefer), but connected a overmuch much analyzable and virtual power system. It directed maine to scope retired and crook knobs successful clip with ocular prompts, methodically going done assorted knobs and switches.

What makes Tribe XR look particularly impressive, however, is what radical with DJ skills tin bash with this software. It generates a virtual reproduction of a afloat DJ setup with Pioneer CDJ-3000 decks and a DJM-900 NXS2 mixer, each of which look to relation realistically. Dozens of knobs to tweak, 2 turntables to spin, and aggregate effects to furniture betwixt tracks are each astatine your virtual fingertips. And, connected the Meta Quest Pro, you tin inactive afloat spot your surroundings successful colour with the rig anchored successful beforehand of you.

Figmin XR

Figmin XR shows disconnected the comprehensiveness of the Meta Quest Pro's augmented world support. It's a Tilt Brush-powered sandbox wherever you tin make oregon import some 2D and 3D content, including premade models, Tilt Brush sketches, and voxel objects. The colour cameras of the Quest Pro again adhd to the experience, due to the fact that Figmin XR tin enactment successful a afloat augmented world situation based connected your surroundings. Not lone could I spot the league country wherever I was walked done the demo, but the walls and array had a virtual beingness implicit with physics effects. It's immersive and not disorienting.

Figmin XR marble slide (Credit: Meta)

Speaking of physics, each entity successful Figmin XR tin person 3D carnal properties, an facet that makes it peculiarly intriguing. The developers walked maine done a fewer demos, including a 3D marble descent with dozens of components connected the array successful beforehand of me. I held a virtual cupful afloat of marbles (that made the controller vibrate carefully, giving the content of idiosyncratic tiny objects rattling successful my hand), past poured them into the apical of the slide. They collided with the antithetic parts of the way and behaved realistically, rolling on until they reached different way adjacent the bottommost with abstracted carnal properties that accelerated them against gravity and changeable them up to the apical of the slide. Another demo projected a miniature play people connected the level and turned my controller into a putter. The shot seemed to behave accurately, but without immoderate value successful my manus beside the controller, I kept accidentally swinging excessively hard and sending the shot disconnected the course.

Figmin XR Minigolf (Credit: Meta)

Figmin XR feels precise overmuch similar an elaborate tech demo, but it's 1 that perchance anyone tin play with due to the fact that it's disposable connected the Quest 2 and adjacent the archetypal Quest. The colour graphics and much precocious determination mapping astir apt springiness the Quest Pro a chiseled borderline for this experience, however. It wasn't astatine each disorienting with the Quest Pro headset successful my hands-on time, but I'm not definite the aforesaid would beryllium existent of the different 2 headsets.

Finally, I got to effort retired Meta Horizon Workrooms, the astir work-focused of the experiences. Meta's mixed world collaboration and workspace level provides virtual environments wherever aggregate users tin pass and enactment remotely with each other. It generates a virtual bureau oregon league country successful the headset with familiar, easy recognizable elements similar desks, league tables, whiteboards, and adjacent lecterns for moderating discussions.

Meta Horizon Workrooms (a mock-up screenshot, not portion of my experience) (Credit: Meta)

First, I tried a reasonably ample workspace with a array successful beforehand of me. A laptop connected the array matched a machine successful the existent satellite that was paired wirelessly to the headset. I enactment down the controllers and was capable to usage the Quest Pro's hand-tracking diagnostic (which the Quest 2 besides has) for input. I had nary issues manipulating a virtual surface successful beforehand of maine oregon expanding the computer's show to 3 ample virtual windows with gestures. I didn't person a occupation utilizing my manus arsenic a rodent oregon adjacent typing connected the carnal computer's keyboard due to the fact that of the automatic pass-through view.

Although everything worked precise well, I inactive recovered the presumption of my hands portion typing a spot disturbing. My virtual avatar's simulated hands were smaller than excavation successful world and the colour equilibrium was a spot disconnected due to the fact that of the chill bureau lighting. Whenever I typed, it looked similar I was controlling big, somewhat purple monster hands.

The different large relation of Meta Horizon Workrooms is collaborative rooms. I joined a virtual league with a Meta typical who besides had a Quest Pro. We sat astatine a ample array akin to the 1 successful the carnal room, but astatine a antithetic angle. The bundle defined our seats astatine the virtual array alternatively than our carnal positions, but we could determination to antithetic chairs astatine the array without physically getting up via pop-up options. The seating locations affected however we sounded to each different due to the fact that of the headset's spatial audio—when helium sat successful beforehand of me, helium sounded similar helium was successful front, and erstwhile helium sat to my left, helium sounded similar helium was to my left. When helium reconfigured the country into a breakout league with aggregate smaller tables and changed locations, helium sounded distant. This audio constituent gives a consciousness of realism to the experience.

Another mock-up screenshot, but this is however the avatars appear (Credit: Meta)

The Quest Pro's oculus and look tracking features made the acquisition adjacent much lifelike. Our avatars were elemental 3D characters akin to Nintendo Miis, but the Quest Pro tracked our eyes and mouths arsenic we spoke. The oculus tracking was close capable that I could marque virtual oculus interaction with the representative, thing I hadn't experienced successful VR before. The headset besides watched our mouths and made the avatars talk arsenic we spoke, replicating expressions similar smiles and frowns, arsenic good arsenic much realistically conveying code than simple, puppet-like, audio-based rima animations ever could. It was a singular acquisition and, for idiosyncratic who finds oculus interaction difficult, somewhat unnerving. With the Quest Pro, anyone you're talking to knows what you're looking astatine and your level of engagement. On the agleam side, if you don't person a headset, you tin articulation a virtual workspace arsenic a floating window, with oregon without video.

Like the different 2 experiences, Meta Horizon Workrooms besides works with the Quest 2. The Quest Pro's further features truly springiness it the borderline for collaboration, though.

An Impressive Headset Mostly for Pros

From my little clip with it, I tin already accidental that the Meta Quest Pro is an unthinkable portion of kit and easy the astir awesome standalone VR headset I've seen yet. The standalone portion is important, due to the fact that I see this acold superior to tethered systems for easiness of use.

It's rather costly though—costing arsenic overmuch arsenic 1 and a fractional Valve Index units. That puts the Quest Pro squarely successful the endeavor zone, unless you're specified a VR enthusiast that you person nary occupation with paying the terms of astir 4 Quest 2 headsets to get a faster processor, colour cameras, and oculus and look tracking.

I program to instrumentality a person look astatine the Quest Pro erstwhile I tin get 1 into the laboratory for testing, truthful marque definite to cheque backmost for a afloat review. But if you can't wait, the headset is disposable for preorder present and should vessel connected Oct. 25.