Mark Zuckerberg Reveals New Quest Pro VR headset.

 

At an online developer event, Mark Zuckerberg presented the Quest Pro, a new VR headset.

Quest Pro costs $1,499 (£1,499), nearly four times as much as Meta's current headset, the Quest 2, which has a starting price of $399.

It claims slimmer lenses, a curved battery around the back of the head strap, and self-tracking controllers.

The headset also enables users to see their actual surroundings outside the screen's edge.

Unlike its predecessor, Quest Pro supports mixed reality, allowing users to view digital information overlaid on the actual world.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, called mixed reality "the next important step for VR."

The device is more suitable to "high-end, enthusiast, and possibly enterprise customers" than mass-market, according to Tuong Nguyen, a Gartner researcher.

The workplace platform Windows 365 will also be accessible on it, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, as Meta aims to position mixed reality and virtual reality as both a work tool and a form of pleasure.

The company Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is banking on the development of the metaverse, a virtual environment where users may both conduct their daily lives as avatars and explore fantastical virtual worlds.

Although several IT companies are developing their own metaverses, it will probably be years before any are realised.

There have been conflicting reviews of Meta's current virtual reality environment, Horizons, and there have also been allegations of violence and sexual assault committed by avatars there.

Andrew Bosworth, the chief technology officer, however acknowledged that "it will be a while before there are enough headsets out there."

It appeared as though the technology was being "speed tracked" into people's hands, according to Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight. 

VR Apps

At the event, there was a lot of discussion about virtual reality apps, some of which have been highly successful financially for their creators, such as the VR version of Resident Evil 4, which generated $2 million in sales in its first day.

Iron Man and Among Us were two of the brand-new VR games that were introduced, along with a future collaboration with Xbox Cloud Gaming from Microsoft. However, the long-awaited VR Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which several players had expected, received no news.

One of the most downloaded applications from the Quest store, according to Andrew Bosworth, was YouTube VR.

Vishal Shah, vice president of the Metaverse at Meta, stated that the ultimate objective for the metaverse is to feel like any other social event, big or little.