Aiming to persuade creators and working professionals to adopt its vision for an immersive digital future, Meta Platforms Inc. introduced its newest virtual reality headset recently.
The company’s newest product in a range that we formerly knew as Oculus is the Meta Quest Pro. The Quest Pro has several technological improvements over the Quest 2 headset, which the company released in late 2020.
The new headset will cost $1,500, three times as much as the Quest 2. This price increase is partially due to the company’s focus on more serious working professionals. To reach a wider audience, Facebook parent company Meta hopes to dispel the myth that virtual reality is primarily the domain of gamers with the new device. The Quest 2 headset from Meta has reportedly sold 15 million units.
Some of the Quest Pro’s new features are designed with this professional audience in mind and would be especially helpful for those taking virtual reality meetings while working remotely. The device has face and eye-tracking capabilities that enable users to give avatars personalities, making virtual reality conversations feel personal.
It also incorporates what Meta refers to as a ‘full-color mixed reality experience,’ which uses cameras on the outside of the headset to enable users to see the surroundings while wearing it and superimpose graphics on top of it. This mixed reality element is also included in Quest 2, but it is only available in monochrome.
Meta is also releasing new ‘self-tracking’ controllers along with its new headset. According to Meta’s blog post on the product, each controller includes built-in sensors that can ‘track their position in 3D space independent of the headset.’
The Quest Pro has been the subject of months of tease from Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and many of the device’s specifics leaked before the presentation at the company’s annual Connect conference.
In addition to partnering with Microsoft Corp. to offer Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 office productivity tools on the new devices, Meta is promoting the Quest Pro as a crucial tool for remote working.
The Quest Pro goes on sale starting Tuesday, and Meta will begin shipping it on Oct. 25.
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