Quest Pro has dropped and shipping!
Here are the top 10 must-know announcements from Meta related to the new headset and the future of extended reality. First, the most exciting news from Meta Connect is the much-anticipated release of the Meta Quest Pro. As of October 25th, Quest Pros are shipping from Amazon. Pricing starts at $1499.
1 - Meta Quest Pro is Shipping on October 25th
The new headset’s weight-balanced design is sleek and comfortable with a tailored fit, adjustable wheel, and rigid stabilizing strap that makes the unit feel like air at 1.6 pounds, even though it’s heavier than the Quest 2. Multitask with ease with multiple, resizable screens. For example, organize tasks, watch videos, and message friends all at the same time.
2 - Meta Quest Pro Specs
The Quest Pro contains faster, more powerful hardware, including 256GB storage, 12GB RAM, ten advanced VR/MR sensors, and spatial audio. New pancake lenses, increased pixel density, local dimming, and quantum dot technology combine to deliver striking visual clarity. Magnetic light blockers allow you to move seamlessly from mixed reality to virtual reality and the charging dock allows for wireless charging of both the headset and controllers.
3 - Meta Quest Pro Mixed Reality
Meta Quest Pro’s high-resolution mixed reality passthrough technology uses full-color sensors to let you see and engage with the physical world around you with a 96° vertical and 106° horizontal field of vision. The rendering is hyper-realistic. Play Beat Saber in the real world or rapidly share ideas with your design group in augmented reality 3D through apps like Arkio and Gravity Sketch.
4 - Meta Quest Pro Controllers
Meta Quest Pro controllers feature three built-in sensors that directly translate instinctive hand gestures and detailed finger actions into VR with self-tracking in three dimensions, 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. Multi-point, advanced haptics, meaning information conveyed through touch, make virtual interactions feel natural.
5 - Windows 365 for VR
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, joined Zuckerberg at Meta Connect to announce the upcoming availability of Windows 365 and Xbox Cloud Gaming for the Quest platforms. This collaboration will allow you to stream hundreds of Xbox games through your headset and use tools like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook in virtual reality.
6 - Meta Quest for Business
In another partnership announcement, Zuckerberg expanded his vision of work in VR with Accenture’s chair and CEO Julie Sweet. Together they gave a preview of Meta Quest for Business, which will be available by subscription in 2023. The enterprise VR workspaces will feature business accounts, device management, and premium support.
7 - Ray-Ban Stories
On the augmented reality front, the development of Ray-Ban Stories is pushing ahead in partnership with Meta. You can take photos and videos, share them on Instagram, and listen to music through these Smart Glasses. Soon, Stories will release the ability to call or text so you can stay connected, hands-free. Other new styles and features include Spotify Tap Playback, new lenses, color combinations, and transition lenses for all-day use that go from clear to dark in seconds.
8 - Avatars with Legs
Legs were one of the big hits at Meta Connect this year. Mark demonstrated the full-body avatars that will be available in 2023. These new avatars use AI modeling to predict whole-body positions and the world’s largest dataset of real human motions to learn and correct errors in motion.
9 - Body Codec Avatar
Meta Quest Pro’s social experiences will improve as more developers build apps that support advanced avatar features with Presence Platform’s Movement SDK. This development kit comprises eye, face, and three-point body tracking capabilities—all of which help unlock a new dimension of presence in VR. Movement SDK avatars will mimic facial movements in real-time inward-facing sensors.
Avatars will come to life with eye and face tracking. Beyond face tracking, full-body codec avatars using multiple cameras to record life-like digital versions of people were demonstrated during Connect. No release date was announced for the full-body codec.
10 - Motor Neuron Control
Meta’s last announcement highlighted far-future development. However, the demos showed existing but unperfected technology. Electromyography uses neuro-muscular signals as direct input, allowing for an intuitive, almost frictionless interface. AI will learn and adapt to your micro movement and learn unique differences in physiologies, sizes, preferences, and expectations. Motor neuron control can completely redefine how we interact with computers. Future interfaces will be truly life-changing.
Sliicer Questions of the Week
Will you be buying a Meta Quest Pro? If not, why?
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