I adore the Meta Quest Pro, but what I really want is an Oculus Quest 3
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I can’t put the Meta Quest Pro down. Ever since I first put the headset on to test it, I’ve been blown away by its performance, and my Quest 2 – once the best of the gadgets I own – is now gathering dust as I ignore it in favor of this new champion from VR. But even as I sit here, impatient and eager for the Quest Pro on its charging dock, I know the real truth of the situation: I’m not in love with the Meta Quest Pro. I’m in love with the Oculus Quest 3 hidden inside.
The Meta Quest Pro is an ultra-premium upgrade of Meta’s Oculus Quest 2. The old white plastic-covered front-heavy design has been replaced with a sleek black shell with better weight distribution and padding for added comfort. Internally, the Quest Pro also boasts improved specs with its all-new Snapdragon XR2 Plus chip, offering 50% sustained power over the Quest 2’s normal XR2, and a pair of mini LED display panels. Each screen offers 1800 x 1920 pixels per eye, offering 37% more pixels per inch and 10% more pixels per degree than the panels in the Quest 2.
If that wasn’t enough, the Quest Pro features upgraded controllers, which are rechargeable and use cameras for more accurate tracking, as well as all-new capabilities like color pass-through, hand-tracking, and eye-tracking.
The end result is a package that blows the Quest 2 out of the water. But there’s a catch: the Pro costs a lot more than the Quest 2, and it doesn’t offer enough bang for the buck.
Too much of a good thing
Meta’s souped-up headset costs $1,500 / £1,500 / AU$2,450 – almost four times more than the base Quest 2 at $400 / £400 / AU$630. Even if you compare the Pro to the more expensive 256GB Quest 2 model , which costs $500 / £500 / AU$790, the price difference is no less impossible to ignore.
A price hike is to be expected considering the plethora of upgrades the Quest Pro has over its predecessor, but what makes the price a heavy pill is that the headset’s most unique features feel like a gimmick right now.
Face tracking is interesting, but if you don’t spend a lot of time in Horizon Worlds or other Horizon apps, it’s not that useful. Plus, while eye tracking has really impressed me, all it can really do right now is make sure I’m wearing my headset properly and guide me through how to adjust it. Color pass-thru also suffers from a lack of meaningful mixed-reality experiences – most apps that use it offer fine VR-only options.
I expect Meta and its collaborators to make a case for why users should be concerned about face tracking and color pass-through in the coming year, but right now the only real benefits it offers are the better chip and display. And while the improvements are noticeable, they’re not worth paying an extra $1,000 / £1,000 / AU$1,820 for the Quest 2.
And this is where the Quest 3 comes into play.
The Quest 3 is the VR headset for me
Meta (and a leaked design) has suggested that the Quest 3 will be an improvement over the existing Quest 2, but won’t have quite as many features as the Quest Pro – most likely without face/eye tracking and with a simpler pass-through functionality. Instead, we will most likely see it only pack a powerful chip and a better screen than its predecessor.
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In addition, the Quest 3 will likely be sold at a more budget-friendly price. Meta has previously explained that the regular Quest line is aimed at more casual VR fans, while the Quest Pro models are for prosumers and professionals after a next-level experience (and willing to pay the higher entry cost required ).
But I’m not looking for a next-level tracking and mixed reality experience. I just want a device that can make the best Oculus Quest 2 games run better. So if the Quest 3 can match the Quest Pro in the way that matters most to me – i.e. a Meta Quest Pro with the eye and facial recognition capabilities omitted – and it retails for $500 or less (around £500 / AU$790) then it’s an absolute must to get a VR headset when it launches.
We won’t know what Meta has in store until later this year, when it unveils the Quest 3 at Meta Connect 2023 (schedule around October), but I’m already counting down the days. If you can’t wait, Meta’s Quest 2 will definitely serve you well – as will the Quest Pro if you can afford it – but given how close we are to Quest 3’s announcement, I strongly advise you to wait, unless you get an incredible Quest 2 deal like the one from Black Friday 2022. Judging by the performance of the Pro, the Quest 3 looks like the Quest 2 successor I really want.