Meta Quest Pro: Here’s everything you need to know about the AR/VR headset
Meta revealed its new Virtual Reality headset called Quest Pro during its Connect Event, formerly codenamed Project Cambria. For those unaware, the Quest Pro is a big upgrade over its predecessor – Quest 2, which was launched back in 2020.
Meta’s latest headset will most likely compete with Apple’s rumoured AR/VR headset. The company says it is designed for creators and professionals alike.
Right now, Meta is marketing the Quest Pro as a handy tool for working remotely, but that might change in the near future. Here, we will take a look at everything the latest virtual reality headset from Meta has to offer.
Meta Quest Pro specs
The recently announced Meta Quest Pro is powered the Snapdragon XR2-Plus processor and is backed 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The screen has a resolution of 1800 x 1920 pixels per eye and offers 90 Hz refresh rate.
Improved Display
Compared to the Quest 2, Meta’s latest virtual reality headset sports a shaper LCD display. Instead of opting for Fresnel lenses, the Quest Pro features a new optical stack and comes with several layers of thin pancake lenses.
This means that the new headset is able to reduce the depth of the module almost half while improving the overall image quality. The new LCD displays make use of local dimming and quantum dot technology to produce sharper and brighter colours. Meta says it has developed a custom dimming solution that controls more than 500 independent LED lights, which the company claims increases the contrast over 75 per cent.
Meta Quest Pro offers 37 per cent more pixels per inch and ten per cent pixels per degree compared to the Meta Quest 2. Moreover, users can now enjoy 25 per cent increased full-field visual sharpness in the center of the screen and will notice a 50 per cent in the peripheral region. Also, the colour gamut is now 1.3x larger compared to its predecessor.
New Sensor stack
It comes with a brand-new sensor stack. The new headset has high-resolution outward-facing cameras, which the company says are able to capture four times more details compared to the Quest 2. The mixed reality headset can now show the outside world in full colours and features a ‘stereoscopic mixed reality Passthrough’ which combines multiple images from the cameras and offers a much more natural 3D view of the user’s environment.
Meta has also included the ability to track hand and eye movements. Mark Zuckerberg says the Quest Pro can track one’s facial expressions and replicate them in the virtual world.
Updated Design
Thanks to the pancake lenses, the Quest Pro is the slimmest device Meta has ever made. According to the company, the Quest Pro ‘features a continuous lens spacing adjustment mechanism, accommodating inter-pupillary dances (IPDs) between 55mm and 75mm’.
It also comes with an eye relief dial that allows users to stay in the virtual more for more time and lets you adjust the dance of the lens from your eyes. What’s interesting is that the Quest Pro comes has an open periphery design which lets users easily switch between real and virtual worlds.
For those who want a more immersive experience, the Quest Pro comes with magnetic partial light blockers. But those looking to a Full VR experience might have a few more months when Meta makes the full blockers available.
New Controllers
The Quest Pro comes with Quest Touch Pro controllers which have three built-in sensors that lets them track their position in 3D space. Meta says the new controllers are more ergonomic and have upgraded haptics. It also comes with rechargeable batteries. Another thing to note is that the new controllers are also compatible with the older Quest 2.
Battery life and price
While you can use the headset while it’s on charge, the Quest Pro offers around one to two hours of battery life. Meta says that a full charge will take somewhere around two hours. Currently available for pre-order, the Meta Quest Pro is priced at $1,500 (approx. 1,23,000)
