Today we are testing another remarkable product. The Meta Quest Pro, as it is called, is a bridge of sorts between consumer devices and powerful tools for strictly professional and corporate use. It was released at the end of last year, and its exclusivity was based on a price tag of not inconsiderable £7,000 and a long waiting time, as is often the case with new technological flavours.
Unboxing:
Moving on to the box, Meta has made an effort in terms of design, as we are greeted by packaging that is interesting to the eye, with a whole host of accessories waiting inside.
Let's start with the cables first
Charging cable for controllers
i Goggle charging cable
Of course, we also have the nail of the show which is Questa Pro and the controllers.
The manufacturer includes a docking station for simultaneous charging of the entire setup.
And, in addition, there is a protective case for the front of the goggles plus seals to regulate the light reaching us, useful on sunny days. Of course, there was also a warranty card as well as a microfibre pad to keep the set clean, along with a small cable clip.
Device presentation:
A device straight out of a Sci-Fi film. With the Quest 2, it looks like a product of another brand. It is slimmer and lighter. The 'Power' button has been relocated, which may confuse most on first contact with the goggles. The cameras on the front alone reveal to us that this is not the first better VR headset. That's right, we have as many as (10) sensors and cameras here , a good portion of which track our facial expressions, which is also one of Questa Pro's new features.
Device guts:
Going further, a Pancake lens similar to the one fitted to the Pico 4 is used here, which improves the clarity of vision, resulting in a better VR experience. The resolution per eye is 1800×1920 pixels, which is similar to the screen resolution found in the Questa 2. However, it is worth noting another parameter called PPD (pixel density per degree) which describes the resolution of the screens in VR goggles much more accurately. In the case of the Questa Pro, we have 22 PPD here, which is 10% more pixels per degree than its big brother. In addition, a more vivid colour palette thanks to improved contrast and an image displayed at 90Hz and a field of view of 106 degrees is a considerable improvement. Added to this is the powerful Snapdragon XR2 processor paired with 12 GB Ram.
First run:
On launching the headset, we set the eye span, which now has a greater range of movement. Everything is thankfully the same old way as we have become accustomed to with the brand's previous devices.
How to wear:
What immediately jumps to mind is that the goggles somehow lie differently... yes... the cushions at the front push hard against the forehead, where on the Quest 2/1 they simply surrounded the whole face. Nonetheless, the balance of weight has been shifted to the rear via the battery ratio, which improves the goggle's feel and saves a loaded forehead.
Docking station:
Overall the docking station does its job, although you have to feel the dock to initiate the charging process, the fun fact is that you won't use the station when the overlay is attached to the goggles, they simply won't go into the dock. Something at the expense of something... although the idea of charging in this form is ingenious.
Passthrough:
as to the passthrough system allowing the use of mixed reality already known from previous incarnations of Quest. Until now, the system only allowed us to see a black and white image from the cameras installed in the headset. Now, for the first time, we have the ability to see this image in colour. This allows us to play the game in a completely new way, by placing virtual objects, characters and the rest of the game's scenery in our home, office or any other physical location we find ourselves in. It looks insane and feels like something you always see in Sci-Fi movies, where the HUD appears in front of you and you sip your coffee while sitting comfortably in your favourite chair. The possibility of this functionality is brilliantly illustrated by The World Beyond app created by Meta as a demo version of this option. Games that use mixed reality include I Expect You to Die and Cubism. Mixed reality mode is also available and used in work apps such as Immersed, Horizon Workrooms or Arkio. The potential of Questa Pro and mixed reality works perfectly in these applications.
Facets:
What else do these goggles have that is unusual about them?
For the first time, Face Tracking has been used to bring our facial expressions into the VR world. Now, at last, we can use body language, and as we know well ourselves, non-verbal speech is a big part of interacting with people. This works brilliantly and is a big advantage of Questa Pro. It comes in handy in social networking applications, virtual meetings and even at work, where talking to another person is crucial. In addition, we also have the option to use our own hands as controllers, which works great, but still has some hiccups and there are times when the goggles don't understand what the author of the gesture meant, so for activities that require more precision we would still recommend using traditional controllers.
Battery:
This brings us to the issue of the battery, which lasts for 2.5 hours of non-stop use, but with the above-mentioned features switched off, the operating time will increase slightly. There is always the option of buying an external powerbank.
Play/use/screen:
The speakers do not disappoint, they are an improvement on what we knew before. Audiophiles can already rub their hands together. Moving on to the apps, there is indeed some slight difference between the Quest 2 and Pro screens. Contrast and refresh rates differ slightly. Keep in mind that game developers will gradually update their titles for the Quest Pro, and thus the immersion of the game and the quality of what we see on screen will improve. Eye-tracking, or eye-tracking, allows app developers to render only the real-time image the user is currently looking at. In other words, this will enable a much more realistic image to be created and shown in even better quality using the same processor. As this is a completely new feature, we will have to wait for developers to exploit its potential in new VR applications and games.
To sum up:
Quest Pro is a bit like an investment in the future. We are buying goggles that will only get the expected support from developers in the form of improved games and apps some time in the future. The device itself is a bit of a compromise. We get new features, an interesting design, great speakers with slightly better image quality. There's also a Docking Station... but sometimes it's just easier for us to plug in a regular cable and not worry if we've plugged the goggles into the dock properly. The high price of the Questa Pro does not allow us to recommend it as an alternative to the Questa 2 or Pico 4 for casual or more hardcore VR gamers. From their perspective, the money that will be spent on these goggles will not bring them enough of an improvement in their daily gameplay. On the other hand, where the Quest Pro shows its strengths - face tracking, eye-tracking functionality and mixed reality colour mode - allows us to conclude that it is a very interesting solution for any company looking to start implementing VR and AR solutions into their business processes. We are thinking here of professions such as architects or the industrial or training industry. Also, developers of VR/AR applications and also of mixed reality content in the broadest sense should consider purchasing these glasses. This will allow them to use and test the functionality in their new projects. All new features are being further developed and will also be implemented into Quest 3, which will respond to market demand for ordinary consumers. This confirms that Quest Pro was tasked with blazing an innovation trail and did it really well.
