Meta Quest Pro review

The Meta Quest Professional is Meta’s magnum opus, the results of years of inside R&D and funding into VR and MR – that’s digital actuality and combined actuality.

It’s a high-end headset for VR and MR lovers with a high-end price ticket to match, sporting options together with face- and eye-tracking, full-colour passthrough for combined actuality, improved hand monitoring and the perfect efficiency of any standalone VR headset in the marketplace proper now.

The query is, is it value upgrading from the Meta Quest 2 or do you have to await the Meta Quest 3 subsequent yr? The reply isn’t so simple as you may anticipate… 

Design & Construct

• Streamlined type issue
• Extremely compact HMD
• Can get uncomfortable over longer classes

Meta (Fb’s mother or father firm) has been clear from the beginning that the Meta Quest Professional is a unique beast completely from the usual Quest 2 (previously Oculus), and that’s most evident from the design of the headset.

It’s an entire departure from the form, materials and color scheme of the usual Quest 2, with a a lot smaller head-mounted show (HMD) and a inflexible head strap with a crank adjustment system much like that of Meta’s elective Quest 2 Elite Strap.

The gray color scheme of the Quest 2 has been swapped for an all-black affair, full with a shiny entrance that homes the brand new color passthrough cameras. It appears modern, however the entrance can develop into a little bit of a fingerprint magnet over time.

The HMD actually is a marvel of engineering, coming in at lower than half the width of the Quest 2 at 196mm for a way more compact type issue on the face. That’s all the way down to a mixture of a brand new pancake lens system that’s a lot thinner than the usual Fresnel-based lens system and Meta shifting the battery to the rear of the headset for higher weight distribution – significantly vital contemplating the Quest Professional weighs 772g, in comparison with the Quest 2’s 503g.

The improved match and higher weight distribution ought to translate to a extra snug expertise when donning the headset, and whereas that’s the case with shorter bursts, the headset can nonetheless develop into uncomfortable over longer intervals of use.

I’ve observed a build-up of stress on the brow on two of the longer VR classes throughout my week and a bit with the headset that grew to become so uncomfortable that I needed to cease utilizing the headset for some time. That may be alleviated by loosening the crank on the rear of the headset, however then the headset turns into free and strikes barely throughout use.

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That additionally occurred after operating the Quest Professional’s built-in match checker, utilising the face- and eye-tracking to verify that I used to be sporting the headset appropriately. It’s potential that others might have a extra snug expertise, however for me, the Quest Professional is healthier suited to shorter stints in VR.

Match and luxury apart, the Quest Professional sports activities an impressively vast IPD (inter pupillary distance) adjustment of 55-75mm, which comfortably beats the 56-70mm of the Quest 2 and 62-72mm of the competing Pico 4 and will accommodate most individuals.

The IPD adjustment system is rather more granular than the Quest 2 with its three presets, and the Quest Professional can precisely measure your IPD utilizing inward-facing cameras, although you continue to have to maneuver the lenses your self to get the correct match.

Show & Audio

• New pancake lens system improves optics
• No decision bump, however issues look clearer than Quest 2
• Spectacular spatial audio assist

The visuals are little question a spotlight of the Quest Professional, boasting spectacular readability, even in direction of the sting of the body the place Fresnel-based methods just like the Quest 2 start to fall over. That’s as a result of the Quest Professional sports activities a brand new pancake lens system that enables the headset to be rather more compact than the usual Quest whereas offering improved optics.

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Apparently, the pancake optics appear to have a notable affect on total picture constancy with none actual improve to total decision, with the Quest Professional sporting an analogous 1800 x 1920 decision per eye as the usual Quest 2 regardless of wanting a lot clearer and extra vibrant total. The Mini-LED backlighting does additionally assist, offering a a lot brighter show with improved dynamic vary.

It’s significantly attention-grabbing to notice because the entry-level Quest 2 competitor, the Pico 4, has each a pancake lens system and better decision shows at 2160 x 2160 per eye whereas costing simply £379 (round $400). If picture high quality is what’s most vital to you, there may very well be a less expensive choice that might fit your wants.  

No matter decision specifics, there’s no noticeable display door impact with the power to obviously learn textual content in VR with out having to be proper in entrance of it. That’s a boon not just for VR video games, however working in digital actuality too.

The show is capped at 90Hz refresh charge instead of the experimental 120Hz of the Quest 2, however most individuals will wrestle to note the distinction in on a regular basis use.

The audio efficiency is equally as spectacular regardless of no devoted built-in headphones. As a substitute, the Quest Professional makes use of the identical downward-firing speaker system because the Quest 2, which needs to be positive for each social VR and most VR video games. I definitely had no complaints throughout my time with the headset.

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The spatial audio is especially efficient contemplating the setup, with voices from buddies in VRChat sounding like they have been coming from behind me as they approached.

I’m left wanting extra within the bass division, which may very well be a dealbreaker for VR music titles like Beat Saber, however there’s at all times received the choice of plugging in a pair of headphones through the three.5mm headphone jack for improved audio efficiency and extra privateness too.

Controllers

• Utterly redesigned controllers
• Monitoring doesn’t depend on the headset
• Extra compact, simpler to make use of

With the redesigned Quest Professional comes redesigned Quest Professional controllers, and so they actually are an enormous enchancment on the usual Quest providing.

The very first thing I observed is that they’re rather more compact, becoming comfortably into the palm of my hand with easy accessibility to all of the buttons and triggers. The button structure is actually the identical as that of the Quest 2, permitting for simple cross-headset compatibility with video games and apps, with a brand new inward slanted space to relaxation your thumbs when not in use.

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The massive change, as you may’ve observed, is the removing of the monitoring ring. This lets you carry your arms nearer collectively than ever earlier than in VR (with out hand monitoring anyway!) with out bumping the 2 giant rings into each other. Paired with improved haptic suggestions to raised simulate the texture of no matter you’re holding or doing in VR, it’s a way more pure, immersive expertise.

In fact, the usual Quest controllers don’t function rings only for the enjoyable of it, they’re used to trace the placement of the controllers by the headset. The Quest Professional controllers, however, boast a brand-new monitoring system that doesn’t depend on the headset to trace their location.

That is executed utilizing a smattering of small cameras throughout the controllers that, when mixed with the Snapdragon 662 chipset present in every controller, can compute its place on the fly with true 1:1 accuracy. That implies that there are not any useless spots when monitoring, regardless of the place the controllers are relative to the headset.

The liberty that controller-based monitoring provides is relieving, particularly when enjoying VR video games like Blade and Sorcery: Nomad the place you battle towards human NPCs with swords, shields and magic powers (it’s an ideal sport that I absolutely suggest in case you haven’t checked it out!). Whereas I sometimes lose monitoring with the Quest 2 controllers, particularly when reaching behind me to get my weapons, I didn’t expertise that when with the Quest Professional controllers.

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They’re additionally ideally suited for fast-paced VR video games like Beat Saber the place response occasions are essential. To not blow my very own trumpet, however I’ve managed to get a couple of excellent SS runs on Exhausting issue throughout my week or so with the Quest Professional, and I solely ever achieved one on the usual Quest 2 over 2 years of enjoying on and off.

The Quest Professional controllers are additionally suitable with Quest 2 and can be offered individually for these trying to improve, although at $300/£300 a pop, I’m undecided what number of will go for it.

Good Options & Specs

• First headset to make use of the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 1
• Eye- and face-tracking
• Combined actuality assist through full color passthrough

The Meta Quest Professional is the primary VR headset in the marketplace to function Qualcomm’s up to date Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 1 chipset alongside a boosted 12GB of RAM, and meaning important enhancements.

That features assist for 8K@60fps 360-degree video, improved head, hand and controller monitoring and a brand new picture processing pipeline that helps full-colour passthrough (one of many headset’s predominant options) with simply 10ms of latency, ideally suited for combined actuality functions – however extra on that in a bit.

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In fact, there’s additionally a lift in pure brute energy, with Meta and Qualcomm suggesting a 50% increase to processing energy and 30% improved thermal efficiency that’ll preserve it operating optimally for longer intervals.

That’s onerous to quantify in use, as the usual XR2 is each a good chipset and the chipset most VR devs have tailor-made their video games for, so there aren’t many (or any, actually) titles that may benefit from the additional energy proper now, but it surely definitely futureproofs the headset.

What’s equally, or presumably much more, thrilling are the additions of face and eye-tracking tech. A primary for a Meta headset, the Quest Professional can map your gaze and facial features and use this knowledge in VR apps like Horizon Workrooms to offer a way more lifelike social expertise in digital actuality.

The brand new tech means these you talk with will be capable of choose up on smaller nuances of human communication, like smirks when joking, a sarcastic wink or wide-open eyes and mouth when a colleague says one thing stunning throughout a piece assembly. 

When mixed with the hand-tracking already obtainable on the Quest headsets, it’s an enormous leap ahead for social VR and collaboration, serving to make digital communication really feel extra pure, lifelike and easily extra memorable than observing an expressionless avatar. 

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Nevertheless, this isn’t performance that you just’ll straight profit from more often than not. The folks you work together with can even want a Quest Professional to correctly emulate their facial expressions and gaze, and chances are high there gained’t be many with such a excessive price ticket, however I’m positive your VR buddies will recognize the brand new tech.

On a much less thrilling however nonetheless vital notice, the Quest Professional comes with a boosted 256GB of storage as commonplace, permitting you to put in every kind of VR video games and MR apps with out having to fret about operating out of area. With some titles like Medal of Honor: Above and Past coming in at a whopping 44GB, the additional capability is appreciated.

There’s additionally assist for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, although the headset nonetheless can’t be used with Bluetooth headphones, not like the competing Pico 4 headset.

The MR/VR expertise

• Combined actuality is thrilling, however not many apps use it in the intervening time
• Nonetheless must manually map your room for MR
• VR expertise is similar to Quest 2, besides with out full mild blocker

Whereas the Meta Quest Professional is simply as succesful because the Quest 2 in the case of VR (digital actuality), the Professional mannequin holds the higher hand in the case of combined actuality, often known as MR (combined actuality).

That’s powered primarily by upgraded full-colour cameras mounted onto the entrance of the headset that boasts 4x the pixels of the usual Quest. That not solely means you’ll be capable of see your setting in color for the primary time, but it surely’s of a a lot greater high quality than the Quest 2.

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It’s additionally stereo passthrough, utilizing the enter from two cameras to offer a way of depth when the passthrough digicam is activated, and it’s notably higher than the single-camera Pico 4. In actual fact, it’s clear sufficient that I walked from my lounge to my bed room, together with going up a flight of stairs, with out feeling the necessity to take the headset off. There’s just a little little bit of warping in locations that may look just a little off, but it surely’s not sufficient to distract from the general expertise on provide.

With that in thoughts, the Quest Professional is finest positioned to supply a high-end combined actuality expertise, mixing the true and digital worlds. Relying on the app, this may take a little bit of setup, although. Apps like I Anticipate You To Die: House Candy House require you to map the partitions in your room, whereas the MR view in Horizon Workrooms requires you to first map your desk and laptop computer/keyboard (if suitable) – however the outcomes are sometimes value it.

MR feels snug, partly all the way down to the open periphery design of the headset that allows you to see the true world in your periphery to assist mix the 2 collectively. It lets you keep grounded in the true world whereas experiencing the magic of MR. Admittedly, there isn’t plenty of MR content material proper now, however that ought to change within the coming months.

Past color passthrough and MR, the Quest Professional is tailor-made to work and collaboration, and Meta has timed an replace to Horizon Workrooms to coincide with its launch.

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As a part of the replace, now you can sit in a digital workplace and mirror your PC or Mac show inside VR, or increase your present workplace setup for MR, ideally suited if you wish to swap issues up a bit when working from residence.

The flexibility to sit down at an empty desk, put a headset on and work throughout three giant digital displays whereas nonetheless having the ability to see the room is an absolute deal with, particularly for these with restricted area at residence. It’s an ideal introduction to MR and a style of what’s to come back.

VR-wise, the Quest Professional performs precisely as you’d anticipate, with top-tier efficiency throughout every kind of titles from Beat Saber to Bone Lab, although the magnetic side-blockers supplied with the headset let mild in from the underside of the headset. For a totally immersed expertise, you’ll must buy the elective full mild blocker.

Battery Life & Charging

• 1.5 to 2 hours of battery life
• May be prolonged by disabling face- and eye-tracking
• Charged through handy contact charging pad

Apparently, battery life is one space the place Meta’s Quest 2 outdoes the Quest Professional. As commonplace, the common Quest 2 can formally final round 2-3 hours, whereas the Quest Professional can solely formally final round 1.5-2 hours earlier than it’ll want a top-up.

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I discovered that largely true to life in use, often squeezing round 90 minutes of use out of the headset earlier than being warned about low battery, and generally I even received near the two-hour mark. That’ll be positive for most individuals, particularly contemplating Meta pitches this as a headset you’ll use little and infrequently for work functions, but it surely gained’t satiate the wants of hardcore VR avid gamers that spend money on the headset.

There’s a caveat to all this, nonetheless. Battery life might be improved to match the Quest 2, extending use to round three hours, however you’ll need to disable each the face and eye monitoring to take action. That’s helpful if you wish to sport in VR, however given the collaborative and social focus of the Quest Professional, and the truth that these are two of the headset’s key options, it’s not the right resolution.

Meta says that you could plug the headset in if you wish to use the headset for longer intervals, resembling when working at a desk in VR utilizing Workrooms or Digital Desktop. This requires the included 2m USB-C cable, which gained’t do a lot for VR avid gamers.

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The charging course of is a painless one although; in addition to connecting the headset to a USB-C cable through the port on the left aspect, you’ve received the choice of merely inserting the headset and controllers onto a charging pad that comes with the Quest Professional. It’ll cost all three concurrently through the included 20W energy brick, ensuring it’s at all times able to go when wanted.

Value & Availability

With all that high-end tech, the Meta Quest Professional is a high-end product with a price ticket to match – although the precise $1,499/£1,499 price ticket can nonetheless be a shock, coming in at just below 4x the value of the $399/£399 Meta Quest 2 and comfortably greater than any standalone VR headset in the marketplace in 2022.

In actual fact, it’s costlier than the high-end Vive Professional 2, although you’ll want a beefy gaming PC to run Vive’s VR headset.

If the temptation of recent VR tech is an excessive amount of to withstand, the Meta Quest Professional is in the stores from Meta itself alongside key retailers like Greatest Purchase within the US and Amazon within the UK. We cowl the place to purchase the Meta Quest Professional in additional element individually for these .

In the event you’re curious how the Meta Quest Professional compares to different headsets obtainable, check out our number of the perfect VR headsets.  

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Verdict

The Quest Professional is a formidable little bit of {hardware}, giving us a great have a look at what to anticipate from future Meta VR headsets together with the Quest 3. The face- and eye-tracking capabilities are thrilling, bringing a brand new stage of human communication to social VR apps and collaboration, and the full-colour passthrough will get me excited for the way forward for combined actuality.

There’s additionally the brand new open-periphery design, full with a way more compact HMD and extra centrally balanced weight distribution than the Quest 2, although it will possibly develop into uncomfortable to make use of over longer intervals in my expertise.

The expertise is additional complimented by the brand new Quest Professional controllers that carry improved monitoring and higher haptics in a smaller type issue, and the magnetic mild blocker equipment that snap into place on the headset once you wish to expertise a extra immersive VR expertise.

The one actual barrier is the value tag, coming in at a cool $1500/£1500 that places it firmly out of the grasp of on a regular basis customers. It’s arguably extra tailor-made in direction of early adopters that wish to expertise the most recent in VR than those who wish to play Beat Saber each once in a while.

The query is, is it value upgrading from the Quest 2? It relies upon actually. The face- and eye-tracking are cool options, however contemplating the extremely excessive price ticket for the headset, you’ll actually have to be positive you’ll get use out of them.

Color passthrough does make the headset extra tempting for these desirous about combined actuality, but when your focus is solely VR, the longer battery life and full mild blockers of the Quest 2 will serve you higher (and cheaper).  

Specs

• Show Panels: 2 x LCD panels with Mini LED backlight
• 1800 x 1920 pixels per eye
• 72/90Hz
• Subject of view: 106° horizontal and 96° vertical
• IPD vary: 55mm-75mm
• Snapdragon XR2+ Platform
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB storage
• Wi-Fi 6E
• Bluetooth 5.2
• Monitoring/Sensors: 10 superior VR/MR sensors to assist 6 levels of freedom inside-out SLAM monitoring, in addition to color combined actuality and eye/face monitoring
• Built-in audio system and microphone; additionally suitable with 3.5mm earphones through twin left/proper jacks
• 1-2 hours of battery life
• 2m charging cable can be utilized to offer additional energy throughout use. Full cost in 2 hours
• Charging base included
• 265mm (L) x 127mm (H) x 196mm (W) (265mm size assumes minimal strap setting)
• 722g