If you ignore the price, the just-announced Meta Quest Pro (opens in new tab) may be the new best VR headset. It is a high-end version of the Meta Quest 2 for professionals: Meta advertises it by envisioning headset-wearing creatives holding meetings in VR or standing in an unfurnished office building and pointing to mixed-reality blueprints . Personally, I would just play games on it. The only problem is that it costs $1,500.

Not much more expensive than Microsoft's HoloLens, which is also business-oriented and starts at $3,500, but much more expensive than most VR gaming systems; the $999 Valve Index is already expensive.

The Quest Pro certainly looks sophisticated, employing what Meta calls a "patented pancake lens" technology, and we like the straightforward naming. At the same time, the images produced by Quest Pro should be significantly improved: 1832x1920 resolution per eye and a 90 Hz refresh rate are the same as Quest 2, but Meta promises higher contrast, sharper images, and 1.3 times the color range.

Since the Quest headset is an all-in-one device, there is no need to connect it to a PC unless you are going to play a graphically demanding game like Half-Life Alyx. even PC Gamer has to admit that wireless VR is ideal. the Quest 2 has 6GB RAM and a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 CPU and GPU to run games like SuperHot VR and Beat Saber. The upgraded Quest Pro uses 12GB RAM and the new Snapdragon XR2 Plus platform, which according to Meta is "50% more powerful. "While we don't expect to run Half-Life Alyx on this machine, we are curious to see what it can do. I'm interested to see what it can do.

Quest Pro also offers a better view of the real world around you for mixed reality (4x the resolution compared to Quest 2, plus color), facial expression tracking ("smiles, raised eyebrows, winks, etc."), a new self-tracking Touch Pro controller (ie, headset can be carried on the back without losing sight of the controller). The controller will be sold separately (open in new tab) for $300 later this year if you want to use it with the Quest 2.

If everything works as advertised (our friends at Tom's Guide were impressed with the demo (opens in new tab)), it seems like a great headset, but it's probably too expensive to recommend for gaming; compared to the $800 HTC Vive Pro 2 and $999 Valve Index, the Quest 2 is clearly a practical and affordable option, and that remains true even after Meta raised the price of both Quest 2 models by $100. Currently, the 128GB Quest 2 costs $399 and the 256GB model costs $499.

There are a few other drawbacks: the Quest Pro's battery life is shorter than the Quest 2's, only 1-2 hours according to Tom's Guide. The Quest Pro also captures ambient light, so you can see where you are going. A "partial-shade" attachment is included, but a "full-shade" attachment will be sold separately later this year.

The success or failure of the Quest Pro, priced at $1,500, will depend on whether architects and engineers actually find it useful for hanging in an empty loft and projecting diagrams into the space between them. This product was created to contribute to the vision behind Facebook's "Metaverse" rebranding, not to play Bonelab (open in new tab). And the only gamers who would buy this product would be those who have already spent thousands of dollars on a custom F1 racing car simulation rig. And probably a few Star Citizen players. For the rest of us, a $1500 gaming PC would be much more exciting than an enterprise-grade VR headset. If you're going to connect to a PC to play Half-Life Alyx anyway, the much less expensive Meta Quest 2 will provide a great experience.

The Quest Pro is available for pre-order now (opens in new tab), and Meta says it will begin shipping later this month.