The Meta Quest Pro is scheduled to hit the market on the 25th of this month and is priced at $1,500. The retail package includes the headset, Quest Touch Pro grip, charging dock, pressure-sensitive pen tip (grip accessory), and a partial hood (a full hood is also available). The developer claims that Meta Quest Pro is the first portable device to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ platform, with significant improvements in computing power and power efficiency.
The optical system has been improved by replacing the Fresnel lens with a Pancake lens, reducing the thickness of the optical module (TTL) by 40%, while providing a clear and sharp visual effect. Due to the multiple folding of the light path, the Pancake lens is less efficient, so the development team chose a customized quantum dot LCD module with 500-zone backlight control to improve the contrast ratio by 75% and color gamut by 1.3 times (compared to Quest 2).
Quest Pro’s external camera has four times the pixel density of Quest 2, allowing for full-color perspective and providing users with a powerful AR experience. Also, to make it easier for users to switch back and forth between the virtual and real worlds, Quest Pro features an open design that allows users to add a magnetic partial hood to the device when focusing on the VR world (an isolated full hood will be available as an accessory at the end of the year).
The new Quest Touch Pro grip is backward compatible with Quest 2 and can be purchased separately for $300. The new grip has a built-in three-axis independent sensor that provides omnidirectional 360-degree spatial positioning even when the headset is out of view.
To alleviate users’ concerns, Quest Pro disables facial tracking and eye tracking by default. If users choose to turn on these features, the biometric data read will only be stored locally and will not be shared with Meta or third parties.
Meta announced that the Quest Pro will co-exist with the Quest 2, and that the company will continue to provide technical support and content updates for the latter, which is currently available with the following accessories.
Full visor ($50, available November 22nd): an isolated visor that quickly attaches to the Quest Pro headset.
Portable charging dock ($80, available the same day): charges the grip and any Quest headset using the USB-C port.
Incase’s Quest Pro Carrying Case ($120, on sale the same day): stores the device itself and accessories, and provides lightweight protection.
Quest Pro VR earbuds ($50, available on the same day): isolate background noise and work with an isolated blackout mask to create a peak moment of social death for the user.
