Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizen South China Wu Yanzu, Xwdit sauce clue delivery! On Tuesday, Oct.12, Meta, Facebook's parent company, released Meta Quest Pro, a new virtual reality (VR) helmet priced at $1500, starting shipping on Oct.25.

Meta Quest Pro is still part of the Quest VR series, but with a new processor and screen, a major redesign of the body and controller, built-in cameras for eye and face tracking, and color video feeds for mixed reality apps.

The new helmet costs $1100 more than the Meta Quest 2, which Meta will continue to sell. Quest 2's user base loves fitness, games and other entertainment, while Quest Pro is aimed at businesses and professionals who can afford the higher prices.

Photo source: Meta official website

Quest Pro is essentially a redesigned Quest 2, but with additional features. It uses a thinner lens, which makes it 40% thinner than Quest 2.

Quest Pro also features the mobile Snapdragon chip XR2 Plus, which Meta developed with Qualcomm, which helps the device generate more advanced graphics. Meta claims that the XR2 Plus has 50% better performance than the XR2 on Quest 2.

Meta Quest Pro also features improved touch controllers with embedded sensors for better hand tracking and new lenses that improve the reading experience.

Quest Pro's motion controller has also been completely revamped. Meta's old helmet uses LED rings at the top to track the controller, while the new controller is equipped with a camera. This makes them smaller and less strange looking. Meta replaces AA batteries in the controller with built-in batteries that can be recharged on the base with the helmet.

The new headset includes a number of mixed-reality features that blend elements of the virtual world with those of the real world. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has touted it as an important feature in building a "metacverse," a digital world that people can access through VR and AR devices.

Photo source: Meta official website

Quest Pro is basically an upgraded version of Quest 2, but it has a major shortcoming, that is, battery life drops from two to three hours of Quest 2 to one to two hours. Rechargeable controllers should last longer than helmets, but they still won't last as many weeks as Quest 2's AA batteries.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also attended Meta's online launch event and discussed collaboration with the company, including bringing Microsoft's office collaboration app to Quest VR devices.

Quest devices allow people to access some of microsoft's apps, such as team, microsoft 365 office suite, and Xbox cloud gaming services. "You can play 2D games with Xbox controllers on Quest's big screen," Nadella said. Even though it's still early days, we're excited about what's coming. "

At Tuesday's launch, Zuckerberg also hinted that Apple is Meta's main competitor in VR and AR. Meta's competitors focus on tightly controlling VR platforms, locking consumers into specific operating systems, he said.

Zuckerberg explained: "In every generation of computing, there is an open ecosystem and a closed ecosystem, first Windows and Mac, then Android and iOS. Closed ecosystems focus on tight control and integration to create unique experiences and lock users in. Over time, however, most of the value eventually flows to such platforms. "

Apple hasn't released a VR headset yet and has never publicly confirmed it's working on a similar device, but analysts and media reports say it's preparing to release a VR device that can stream video from an external camera to an internal HD screen in real time, the same key feature as Quest Pro.

Meta shares fell about 4.5 percent to $127.85 in midday trading Tuesday, suggesting investors appear to be reacting fairly unenthusiastically to the new VR headset.

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