NEWSTECHNOLOGY

Meta Quest Goes Pro

After much anticipation and speculation, it has finally been confirmed that Meta is indeed working on a Quest Pro and is likely to be announcing and releasing it in the not-too-distant future.

Originally known under its codename Project Cambria, the Quest Pro has been revealed by Bloomberg, concealed in the code of Meta’s Oculus iPhone app. Dataminer Steve Moser happened upon a line of code containing the phrase “Pair Meta Quest Pro controller,” and shared it with Bloomberg. The publication also notes that Quest Pro will likely sit around the $1000 price point and prove a significant step up from Meta’s mega-selling Quest 2.

Code found revealing the name Quest Pro
Code found in the Oculus iPhone app by Steve Moser revealed the name “Quest Pro.” [Image: Steve Moser]

Behind the Blur

Meta Quest Pro Design Secret
The design of Meta’s Quest Pro is still a closely held secret. [Image: Meta]

Notable upgrades from Quest 2 include a more powerful graphics processing engine, higher screen resolution, improved controllers, boosted onboard storage, and advanced eye and hand tracking. External cameras will also enable users to see their environment in a way that leaves Quest 2’s monochrome passthrough in the dust. In April, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo declared what he was then calling “Quest 3” would have a 2.48” mini-LED display with 2160×2160 per-eye resolution as well as dual-element pancake lenses. Kuo also predicted the next Quest would be released in the latter half of 2022.

Mark Zuckerberg himself demoed the blurred-out Quest Pro (under the Cambria codename) and took the experience to Twitter in May. At the time, we only knew the device as Cambria, but its newly revealed “Quest Pro” moniker guarantees that it will be aimed above your average VR user in an attempt to secure a professional-level market share. The fact that Zuckerberg used “Cambria” to literally play ball with an animated AR critter may not be a demonstration of the device’s intended “Pro” use and instead another dose of the social media magnate’s tongue-in-cheek humor.