MARK Zuckerberg has unveiled a brand new virtual reality headset that can track your eyes and face.
The high-end Meta Quest Pro is the latest set of VR goggles to come out of Facebook’s parent company – and I’ve already tried it.
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For months, we’ve been hearing about a secretive new gadget at Meta HQ called Project Cambria.
Now it’s official: the Meta Quest Pro headset was announced at today’s Meta Connect.
It’s a step up from the $399/£399 Meta Quest 2, coming in at a lofty $1,499/£1,499.
But I spent some time using it last week, and it certainly does a lot to get to that price point.
For a start, it’s a virtual reality headset – so you get access to all of the sci-fi apps and games you’d expect.
Do business in a virtual office with Horizon Workrooms, swing lightsabers to dance music in Beat Saber, and go on a robot holiday in Vacation Simulator.
The roster of content available in VR is constantly growing and improving, so there’s plenty to enjoy.
These are the building blocks of the metaverse touted by Mark Zuckerberg – an endless set of connected worlds and experiences inside which you can live, work and play.
The whole experience is extremely immersive, but that was the case with the old Meta Quest 2.
Out with the old
So what’s new with the Meta Quest Pro? There’s a brand new design.
It’s much more visually impressive with a glossy black exterior and a new balanced form factor.
The battery has moved into the back and the lens system in the front has shrunken, so it’s no longer a weighty block strapped to your forehead.
Cushioned pads at the front and the back add to this boosted comfort. It feels far better to wear than the Quest 2.
The sides are more open so you can see the room around you. It’s supposed to help with the VR experience, but you can use accessories to close it off if you like.
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There’s also a new camera system that allows for a full-colour passthrough mode, so you can see what’s going on in-front of you.
On the Meta Quest 2, the passthrough was a poor-quality greyscale.
This means you can now get a great mixed reality experience, blending the real world with computer images.
It also allows for some cool mixed-reality experiences. Some demo footage I saw showed a virtual robot climbing real-world walls and ceilings, dodging objects as it moved.
Eye, eye!
Powering the Meta Quest Pro is a Snapdragon XR2+ chip that offers a large performance boost – Meta says expect 50% more power.
The lenses have been greatly improved.
The new optical stack uses thin “pancake optics” that fold light over, massively shrinking the front of the headset.
Colours are richer, contrast is improved, and resolution is boosted too.
And there’s a new eye-tracking system that knows where you’re looking, allowing the headset to boost resolution in the exact area you’re eyeballing.
That’s in addition to a new face-tracking system.
It uses a series of sensors to monitor the movements of your face, which can then be used to control the face of your virtual metaverse avatar.
It’s eerily impressive, and managed to sync even the most minor of my facial movements to an avatar. I was genuinely shocked by how accurate it was.
Now you’re probably panicking at the idea that Meta might be monitoring your face forevermore.
Thankfully there’s a privacy system built-in that means the face-tracking is off by default, and the data remains on the headset – before being deleted after processing.
It’s not shared with Meta or third-party apps, so you can grin and wink in relative safety.
Holding on
The controllers have been redesigned – now also in a black finish – and are fully rechargeable.
Both the headset and controllers sit on a dock included in the box to power up.
The headset will get about one to two hours of use, while the controllers will last between two to three hours.
And a full recharge takes about two hours.
One of the big improvements is that the Quest Pro controllers are self-tracking.
That means they don’t rely on optics, and can be tracked even when they’re behind your head.
This worked really well in practice during my demo session, and will come in very handy for games: think archery, swordfighting and dance simulators.
They feel and look great – much more premium than the Quest 2 offerings.
And you can even attach stylus tips (included in the box) that let you use the controllers as markers on virtual whiteboards.
Virtually real?
It’s hard to say exactly how good the Meta Quest Pro is until we try out a proper review unit.
But with an early go, it seems fantastic – there are huge improvements versus the Quest 2.
Sadly the price is nearly four times higher than a Quest 2.
That puts it out of reach for most buyers, and that’s probably fine.
After all, the Quest 2 is fantastic – and the Quest Pro is really aimed at early adopters, geeks, professional users and people with a bit of cash to spare.
We’d also expect to see much of the tech inside the Quest Pro eventually trickle down to the regular Quest series – namely Quest 3 and 4, which Meta admitted are in the pipeline during our briefing.
The Meta Quest Pro is available on October 25 for $1,499/£1,499.
Inside the box you’ll get the headset, Meta Quest Touch Pro controllers, stylus tips, partial light blockers and a charging dock.
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
