“Meta Quest Pro” hands-on-equipped with facial expression tracking, price suddenly high – DeathInTown

Meta’s new virtual reality (VR) headset is priced at $1,499.99 (226,000 yen in Japan). In order to accept that reality, I mentioned the price earlier. For those who bought “Meta Quest 2” as a way to experience the Metaverse for the first time and are used to the price range of 300 to 400 dollars (about 44,000 to 59,000 yen), the price may be shocking. Announced at the company’s Meta Connect conference on October 11th, Meta Quest Pro will be available on October 25th. I recently had the opportunity to try out the Meta Quest Pro during a visit to Meta’s Reality Labs Research headquarters in Redmond, Wash. The VR headset was designed as a home headset for the general public. not a thing

Meta Quest Pro and controller
Courtesy Scott Stein/CNET

In fact, after an hour or two of use, it reminded me of Microsoft’s business-focused HoloLens 2, rather than the many consumer VR headsets I’ve worn. rice field. At $1,499.99, the Meta Quest Pro’s price tag seems steep at first, but it’s well within the typical price range for business augmented reality (AR) and VR headsets.

Think of the Quest Pro as the child of the marriage of the HoloLens 2 and Quest 2. The Quest Pro, like the Quest 2, is still a standalone VR headset, but its function is much more than using cameras and depth sensors to scan the real world and overlay virtual objects on top of it. do not have. The mixed reality (MR) experience created by the Quest Pro feels like the AR experience created by Magic Leap or HoloLens, but with see-through lenses that project ghostly 3D images overlaid. Instead, the display shows a color video of the wearer’s surroundings while also incorporating VR (the Quest 2 headset also has some of these features, but the camera is black and white and the image quality is much grainier. ). The new controller is smaller, has better haptic technology and more accurate tracking. The controller itself also has a camera.

The Quest Pro headset has a more powerful processor (Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon XR2+, which claims up to 50% more performance than the Quest 2), eye tracking and facial expression tracking. Over time, Meta plans to use these features to improve graphics and create more sensitive VR avatars that can smile, frown, and actually make eye contact (such composites). More reality-delivering headsets are coming, and Qualcomm said in a statement that more headsets using the Snapdragon XR2+ platform are coming in 2022.)

When I slipped the slimmer headset over my face, I was first impressed by how well it fit over my glasses. She also never blocked the outside world from her peripheral vision. It’s the same in VR when virtual objects are superimposed on the world around you. It was similar to AR experiences on smartphones, but in full 3D. Using the Quest Pro’s improved controller, I was able to reach out and move different objects. When one of the demonstrations ended, someone nearby called out to me, “Welcome home.” Interestingly, however, the Quest Pro’s MR didn’t feel like I went from one room to another. Instead of being taken into virtual space, it feels like a virtual object has come to you.

I’ve tried a lot of weird facial expressions while wearing it.
Courtesy: Meta