Meta Unveils New High-End 'Meta Quest Pro' VR Headset [Video]

Meta has officially unveiled a new high-end 'Meta Quest Pro' virtual reality headset. The device was previously known by the codename 'Project Cambria'.

Meta Quest Pro is the first in a new line of advanced headsets built to expand the possibilities of virtual and mixed reality. Its pancake lenses fold light over several times, reducing the size of the headset while showing sharper visuals. A new, curved battery on the back helps make Meta Quest Pro a more balanced and ergonomic headset overall.

Meta Quest Pro is the first-ever device powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+platform, which is optimized for VR to run at 50% more power than Meta Quest 2 with better thermal dissipation, resulting in significantly better performance. Each Meta Quest Pro comes with 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and 10 high-res sensors (five inside the headset and five outside) that help enhance a variety of immersive experiences.

Here's a look at some of the key features highlighted by Meta...

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Next-Generation Optics
VR is all about the visuals, and Meta Quest Pro features several big improvements over Meta Quest 2. Meta Quest Pro’s entirely new optical stack replaces the Fresnel lenses in Meta Quest 2 with thin pancake optics that fold light several times over, reducing the depth of the optical module by 40% while providing clear and sharp visuals. The two LCD displays use local dimming and quantum dot technology to provide richer and more vivid colors. Our custom local dimming tech, powered by specialized backlight hardware and accompanying software algorithms, can control more than 500 individual LED blocks independently, giving the displays 75% more contrast.

Meta Quest Pro also has 37% more pixels per inch and 10% greater pixels per degree than Meta Quest 2, making everything from reading text to playing games look better. Additionally, there’s a 25% improvement in full-field visual sharpness in the center view, 50% improvement in the peripheral region, and 1.3X larger color gamut than Meta Quest 2.





Full-Color Mixed Reality
Meta Quest Pro has an all-new sensor architecture with high-res outward-facing cameras that capture 4X the pixels as Meta Quest 2’s external cameras, unlocking a high-definition, full-color mixed reality experience. On Meta Quest 2, Passthrough lets you see the world outside your device in black and white. But with Meta Quest Pro, you can view your physical environment in full color. This helps developers create more robust mixed reality experiences using our Presence Platform suite of tools. Meta Quest Pro features stereoscopic mixed reality Passthrough, which combines multiple sensor views to create a natural view of the world in 3D. Compared to monoscopic passthrough solutions, this results in a higher quality and more comfortable experience with better depth perception and fewer visual distortions for both close-up and room-scale mixed reality scenarios.

Mixed reality on Meta Quest Pro lets you combine your physical environment with virtual elements in a realistic way, leading to enhanced social presence, productivity, and collaboration. Instead of being confined to the dimensions of your desk, you can set up a big virtual workspace with multiple screens spread all around you while still using your physical keyboard and mouse in productivity apps like Immersed. Or if you’re a furniture designer, you can create detailed 3D models with other people in real time using Arkio and Gravity Sketch, and then see how they look in your actual living room. And with Presence Platform’s Scene understanding and Shared Spatial Anchors, developers can build virtual objects that interact with your physical space—even in co-located experiences where two or more people can play or work together in VR while in the same physical space. Check out our Presence Platform update blog post to learn more.

A Sleek New Design
Thanks to its pancake lenses and the curved-cell battery that sits at the back of the headset, Meta Quest Pro is the slimmest and most balanced VR device we’ve ever made. It feels great when you put it on, letting you easily focus on next-level VR experiences instead of the headset fit. Meta Quest Pro features a continuous lens spacing adjustment mechanism, accommodating inter-pupillary distances (IPDs) between 55mm and 75mm (a larger range than Meta Quest 2, which accommodates IPDs between 58mm and 72mm). The headset also lets you adjust the lens distance from your eyes with a new eye relief dial to optimize fit, face tracking, and viewing experience. This enables a more diverse range of people to fine-tune the headset to their liking.

Meta Quest Pro is designed with an open periphery, letting you use your peripheral vision to stay present in your environment while you multitask between the real and virtual worlds. If you want to be more immersed while using Meta Quest Pro, you can snap on the magnetic partial light blockers that are included in the box. For a more traditional VR experience, you also have the option to purchase full light blocker attachments when they release later this year.




Self-Tracking Controllers
You might’ve noticed that Meta Quest Pro’s controllers look a bit different from the ones that ship with Meta Quest 2—these are our brand new Meta Quest Touch Pro controllers! They come with a major new feature: Three built-in sensors in each controller track their position in 3D space independent of the headset, giving you a full 360-degree range of motion. This ensures stable tracking across all of your VR apps.

The controllers have been re-engineered to be more ergonomic and balanced, making them feel like natural extensions of your hands. They also come with upgraded haptics using our new TruTouch Haptics system to provide a wider and more precise range of feedback, as well as rechargeable batteries. With the charging dock and 45W USB-C power adapter that are included when you buy Meta Quest Pro, you can keep both your headset and controllers charged and ready to go.

But you don’t have to own a Meta Quest Pro to take advantage of these killer new controllers, because Touch Pro controllers can also be used with Meta Quest 2. You can purchase a standalone pair for $299.99 USD starting later this year.




More Natural Facial Expressions for Avatars
Whether you’re working in a virtual office in Meta Horizon Workrooms or hanging out with friends and family you can’t otherwise see in person, it’s important to have avatars that not only look like you, but can move and express themselves like you would in real life. With eye tracking and Natural Facial Expressions, Meta Quest Pro brings us a step closer to showing your authentic self in the metaverse. You’ll be able to make lasting memories in multiplayer apps like Wooorld, which makes it possible to take virtual trips across the globe, exploring 3D maps and 360° images with friends and family.

We built Meta Quest Pro’s new social presence features with privacy in mind. Both eye tracking and Natural Facial Expressions are off by default. If you choose to turn them on, images of your eyes and face stay on the headset, are deleted after processing, and are never shared with Meta or third-party apps. You can learn more about Meta Quest Pro’s privacy controls here.

Social experiences on Meta Quest Pro will only get better over time as more developers build apps that support these features with Presence Platform’s Movement SDK, which we’re also launching today.
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Pricing and Availability
Meta Quest Pro will be released on October 25. You can pre-order one at the link below for $1499.99.

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