Zuckerberg swings for the fences with Meta Quest Pro VR/AR headset - New Atlas

In Meta's ongoing quest to marque the nebulous "metaverse" a virtual reality, it has already released 2 of the astir astonishing all-in-one, untethered VR headsets we've ever seen. Now, conscionable the Meta Quest Pro, a next-level headset with nary disbursal spared.

Unconfirmed rumors are rife that Apple, the world's richest company, is readying a full-frontal battle connected the user VR/AR marketplace with a acceptable of highly costly Apple Glasses expected to aboveground successful 2023. But for the moment, the abstraction belongs to 1 man, who has much oregon little tried to Leeroy Jenkins virtual world into the lounge rooms of the unwashed masses. Mark Zuckerberg, done his acquisition of Oculus, has had awesome standalone VR headsets connected the marketplace for respective years now, alongside a increasing – if inactive somewhat underwhelming – room of contented and experiences.

The Meta (nee Oculus) Quest 2 is inactive a super-neat all-in-one untethered VR acquisition connected a budget, adjacent aft caller terms hikes. But Zuckerberg has pushed astir of his Facebook nest ovum into the halfway of the table, reorienting and adjacent renaming the company astir his metaverse aspirations. Meta has been moving tirelessly to support its presumption astatine the extremity of the spear, arsenic evidenced by all the VR headset prototypes it showed disconnected earlier this year.

And now, it's released its adjacent product: the Meta Quest Pro. At astir 4 times the terms of the Quest 2, this happening incorporates galore of the innovations we saw connected those prototypes backmost successful June. The "holocake" pancake optics strategy makes a immense quality to the wide size of the headset, making it slimmer and sleeker than ever before. The Quest Pro isn't overmuch bigger than a acceptable of skis goggles, though the backmost strap is bulkier, arsenic that's wherever the artillery battalion present lives to support the happening balanced connected your noggin.

Meta says the visuals are notably sharper, clearer and much colorful, with a 37% summation successful pixel density resulting successful 1800 x 1920 (3.5-megapixel) displays for each eye. The tract of presumption is reportedly substantially wider some vertically and horizontally, astatine 106° H x 96° V, up from the Quest 2's ~89° H x 93° V, and that'll marque it a considerably much immersive headset.

The outer cameras get an tremendous 4X leap successful resolution, due to the fact that Meta is committing to making the Quest Pro a full-color, high-res augmented world headset incorporating imaginativeness from the existent world. Having felt however earthy it is to locomotion astir the location successful the chunky, achromatic and achromatic camera imaginativeness delivered by the Quest and Quest 2, I person nary uncertainty this volition enactment beautifully. The caller headset besides leaves your outer ocular periphery unfastened to the extracurricular world, which volition assistance halt you from lasting connected your dog's process arsenic you saber immoderate superior beat. You tin artifact this disconnected with a magnetic snap-on surface if Rover's asking for trouble.

The cameras besides constituent backmost astatine you; 1 caller strategy volition way your oculus question to alteration foveated rendering, which volition render things toward the halfway of your imaginativeness with higher accuracy, and driblet disconnected toward the periphery to chopped down connected processing powerfulness without making a noticeable ocular difference. Another volition way your facial expressions with precocious accuracy, truthful your metaverse avatar tin beryllium overmuch much animated and lifelike. These features volition beryllium turned disconnected by default – aft all, the magnitude of highly idiosyncratic accusation that tin beryllium derived from your oculus movements is perfectly staggering. Meta swears it has nary involvement successful utilizing this oregon your facial images against you, and the information for these features, erstwhile switched on, volition beryllium processed locally connected the headset, deleted consecutive distant and ne'er sent successful to the institution oregon immoderate different 3rd party.

In bid to tally each this upgraded gear, the Quest 2 gets a processor upgrade successful the signifier of the caller Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+, which promises to woody with vigor better, portion delivering much than 50% much processing power. RAM is bumped up to 12 GB, and onboard retention to 256 GB. Even the manus controllers get an upgrade arsenic well; they're notably chunkier, with their ain on-board Snapdragon processors and autarkic ocular systems truthful they tin way themselves successful 3D abstraction careless of which mode you're looking. That's if you're utilizing them; the Quest 2 is already susceptible of immoderate incredibly awesome hand-tracking for controller-free use.

As you tin spot successful the video above, Meta is pushing hard to person the Quest Pro utilized successful collaborative concern and productivity applications, and its precocious AR capabilities volition surely bring the thought of virtual desktop screens person to reality, since you'll beryllium capable to spot your existent surroundings, and adjacent the keys connected a existent keyboard arsenic you work. But it'll besides play thing that'll tally connected a Quest 2.

Meta says the regular Quest bid headsets aren't going anywhere, and volition stay the company's consumer-level line, portion the Pro headsets volition springiness aboriginal adopters entree to caller features that'll yet filter down to the cheaper cogwheel if radical usage them enough.

At US$1,499, it's a beauteous hefty concern successful what are inactive the aboriginal days of VR/AR, but it looks similar a beauteous immense upgrade. Either way, rumor has it Apple's going to complaint adjacent more, and that would surely look to beryllium the Apple way. The Meta Quest Pro volition beryllium disposable from October 25. Check retired a video below.

Source: Meta