Meta Quest Pro, we tried it in preview: this is who it is aimed at

A few days ago we got to visit the London offices of Meta to spend some time in the company of the new Meta Quest Pro, the top-of-the-range viewer that will arrive on the market in a few days. The high price is undoubtedly the biggest question mark left open since the end of the presentation, so in our preview we want to try to answer precisely this question: Who is the Meta Quest Pro for? Let’s find out together!

Before going into this aspect it is good to make a quick summary of the technical specifications of the viewer, or rather to highlight what changes compared to the Quest 2 (which we reviewed at launch) which has already been on the market for a few years. The central points of the new headset are three: the new hardware platform, the new design and the Meta Quest Touch Pro controllers.

As for the data sheet, under the body we find one Snapdragon XR2 +flanked by 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, which are used to support the work of the newthe 10 sensors dedicated to MR / VR detection functions. Added to this are the spatial audio systems and the inclusion of new generation lenses and displays compared to the previous model.

We are faced with two displays Quantum dot LCDequipped with 500 zones for local dimming and one 37% higher pixel density compared to Quest 2, the whole filtered by the new pancake lenses which can now be freely adjusted to adjust the interpupillary distance between 55 and 75 mm and to move them closer or further away so that you can also wear a pair of glasses. The new hardware also includes an update of the external cameras, which now enable the function color passthrough and have a definition 4 times higher than that of the previous model.

These innovations also have a direct impact on the design of the viewer, which is now much thinner at the front – reduced by 40% compared to Quest 2 – thanks to the use of pancake lenses. The helmet is also much more balanced as we find the battery located in the rear bandtherefore it is no longer integrated in the central body (and has an autonomy of about 2 hours depending on the type of use).

To finish this quick hardware review we mention the presence of the new controllers Meta Quest Touch Pro directly in the box, in which they introduce the greatest renewal in the user experience of the viewer since the launch. Yes, because these are equipped with 3 cameras and a Snapdragon 662 SoC that allow each controller to independently identify its position in space, therefore without having any more dead ends.

Among the other innovations we point out the adoption of new generation haptic motors that return a much more precise feedback and the possibility of installing tips at the base of the controllers in order to transform them into real virtual pens within a VR environment. The Meta Quest touch Pro are equipped with a built-in battery which guarantees about 8 hours of use and can be recharged using the base included in the package, which also allows you to recharge the viewer itself, in order to use a single cable.

But let’s move on to the user experience: what brings new the Meta Quest Pro?

It is immediately striking that the viewer is not closed on the sidesthus letting whoever is using the helmet is not completely isolated from the outside world. However, in the package we find accessories that allow you to partially close the view to improve the experience when using purely VR applications and a mask able to isolate with even more effectiveness will be sold separately.

This makes us understand right away that Meta Quest Pro is not a product designed primarily for gaming, but mainly aims to offer hardware explicitly designed for the use of augmented and mixed reality content. Meta has just confirmed to us that the intention is not to isolate the user from his real space, but to increase his potential.

In all this, the new color passthrough mode plays a fundamental role, which is very effective both in reproducing the external environment and in giving us the right sense of depth. The increased resolution of the displays helps, but we have not yet reached a level that we cannot distinguish whether we are wearing a helmet or not, however progress since Quest 2 is remarkable.

During the test we were able to test only two applications, one updated version of Horizon Workrooms And Arkioa brand new application designed for videogame architects and developers.

We don’t dwell too much on Workroomsbecause in the end it is an improvement of the experience we have already talked about here on the pages of HDblog, so let’s talk about the usual app designed to make the meetings held in virtual reality are more interactive and concrete.

The new sensors of the Meta Quest Pro allow us to let our avatar express all our facial expressions that are captured in real time, while eye tracking allows us to maintain direct eye contact with the interlocutor. These are the main novelties of the Workrooms implementation on Quest Pro to which is added the possibility of using the new Meta Quest Touch Pro controllers to write on the virtual whiteboard with a precision simply impossible for the Quest 2 controllers and to receive haptic feedback. very convincing thanks to the new motors present in the controllers.

The most interesting thing is that the new controllers can also be purchased separately to be able to use them with the Quest 2 (they cost 349.99 euros), so even the owners of a viewer of the current generation will be able to exploit its greater precisionmade possible by the new tracking system that uses the cameras placed on the controllers, and the improved vibration.

But the experience that allowed us to better understand the purpose of Meta Quest Pro was the one we experienced with the second app, Arkio.

Imagine finding yourself in a 3D environment together with one or more colleagueswhose avatars are shown to you in real time in the same space, and to be able work together on the design of a room, a house or even a citygoing to create each structure with real aspect ratio 1: 1, therefore to be able to trace a wall, to see exactly its length expressed in meters, to be able to collaborate in real time in the modeling of the environment. Here, Arkio aims to do just that, that is to become a real shared virtual architecture studio.

The advantages are enormous, especially since this makes it possible to see in real time all the effects of each single change, how it makes a certain environment and even how it is immersed in a city context, but it does not end there. Yes, because the application also uses the passthrough system to allow you to change the room you are in. For example, you need to add a wall, try to change the arrangement of furniture, and so on – the Meta Quest Pro offers the ideal tool for this kind of work.

Everything that is produced with Arkio can then be exported to the main professional applications for 3D modeling and design (including various CADs and so on), so as not to limit the experience to virtual and mixed reality, but to bring it even in a more concrete context. It is in scenarios like these that emerge all the potential that tools like the Quest Pro havebreaking free from the simple gaming sector to which the previous products of the Quest line were confined.

Of course, there remains the possibility of using the entire Quest game librarybut it is clear that the purpose of such an expensive and peculiar device is not to represent an evolution of Quest 2 (which is still the landmark for stand alone consumer VR), but to go and talk to all that public of professionals who are able to derive real added value from the collaborative working methods that virtual and augmented reality is able to offer. The 1800 euros requested therefore take on a different meaning if you look at the viewer as a professional toolplaced in direct competition with other proposals such as HoloLens, which have an even higher price.

There are still many doubts to be revealed, but this first contact with the Quest Pro (you can learn more about the specifications on the official Meta website) gave us positive sensations, always as long as we consider it in the right way, that is with a device designed for the world of professionals. Then maybe some of the specifications of the new viewer will find space on a hypothetical Meta Quest 3 that will talk to the playersbut that’s a topic for next year, at least.