Due to display technology limitations, it has proven to be difficult to bring productivity to virtual reality.
This new high-end solution from the world's most popular headset manufacturer incorporates two major changes to help with visual clarity, pancake lens, and mini-LED back lighting, but will that really be enough to replace your physical monitors? We know what we know.
Some people have gotten early previews of the Meta Quest Pro, which hasn't started shipping to consumers. A few developers have been using early development units for quite some time to get their apps ready, and a group of tech journalists was given a brief time to experience Meta's most expensive headset. Some demo units in Best Buy stores are limited to mixed reality apps.
The glimpse of what to expect won't be as revealing as the hands-on with the Quest Pro that ships next week. It's important to know what to expect before shelling out a large amount of money for a high-quality monitor.
The head of content at Immersed described the text clarity as incredible and shared the view from the headset via a mobile device. He said that he reached for the Meta headset when he needed to use more than one monitor.
My #mixedreality 4 screen setup using @ImmersedVR. 🔥 The #Meta #QuestPro has incredible text clarity. Mind you, this is through a phone camera lens (it doesn’t do it justice). #MetaQuestPro #vr #ar #mr pic.twitter.com/VvgaEsJN9r
— joshkuri.eth (@jkurikeshu) October 17, 2022
There is a Creative Director that works for Meta. He has been using the Quest Pro as a virtual monitor while on the road and he says it is fun to read text with it.
Reading text on the Quest Pro is a joy, whether using Immersed or Guy’s app. Been using mine as a virtual monitor on the road while my team has been developing for it.
— ANDRÉ ΞLIJAH (@AndreElijah) October 16, 2022
Noah Rayburn felt good enough about the Quest Pro to take it on a trip to replace his laptop.
Taking Quest Pro as a laptop replacement on my trip to LA. Turns out Quest Pro fits in a quest 2 carry case (a bit tight, but seems fine)
— Noah Rayburn (@FileCorruptedGM) October 20, 2022
The journalists went hands-on with the pro. It is possible to read even small type with ease, according to CNN, but small text in a search appeared fuzzy.
Consumers that have been to a Meta Store or Best Buy are impressed with what they see. Mountain_Bar_4823 said the screen was the best they had ever seen in virtual reality. This is significant because they own a lot of things. They said the resolution of the HP G2 was greater than that of the Quest Pro and that it was even sharper.
The display didn't require head movement to see clearly, even at the edges of the screen.
When the resolution per eye is 18001920, it's hard to understand how good it can be. It is well known that a 2K monitor is not as sharp as a 4K one. It is easy to forget that a display that is a little over an inch from your eyes is protected from light. That changes something.
Technology experts have described the display as easy to read. It's possible that the density of the screen is a factor. The screen resolution of the iPhone 14 Pro is only 25561179 and it is so densely packed that it cannot be seen by the naked eye.
The chart above shows the position of the virtual reality industry earlier this year. The average size of most virtual reality headsets is 600PPI. The display of Meta's two-year-old Quest 2 should be sharper than the one of the iPhone 14 Pro, but it is magnified and brought closer to the eye.
If you were able to focus on the iPhone when it was less than 8 cm from your eye, it would have the same visual sharpness as if everything else was the same. You would need a magnifying glass to enlarge the view, but it would give you a good idea of how well the display is done.
The screen of the Quest 2 isn't as sharp as it could be because it uses a lens that distorts and blurs the edges. According to Meta, the Quest Pro has a 37% greater density, a 25% improvement in clarity in the center, and 50% better edge sharpness. The screen density and clarity should be very impressive. Early reports suggest that that holds up in reality.
If you want to increase text size without the loss you would experience on a laptop, you can use virtual displays. It may be an ideal multi-monitor arrangement at a desk, but portable enough to take from room to room or even on the road. We won't make a final decision until we've had time to review the software.
The color pass-through camera of the Quest Pro is better than the one of the Quest 2, but it still isn't as crisp and clear. It is clear that you are looking through a camera even with great alignment and tracking, even if you have color. When you bring up text on the display or connect your laptop to expand the view, it doesn't matter.
You don't need to use the pass-through feature when using virtual monitors. Up to three virtual screens can be seen.
The images are close to your eye and focused by the pancake lens without any smudges, glare from windows, backlighting problems, or off-center dimming that you might experience with an actual monitor.
The main advantage of having more screens is that you don't have to set up two or three large monitors. If you do most of your work in one place, it might not be worth the extra expense. When compared to a high refresh rate gaming display, the Quest Pro may not be the right choice for you.
If you like the idea of traveling around with a multiscreen device that packs into a small space and is good for productivity, the Metaquest Pro might be ideal.
It has good potential as a stand-alone device, and with a laptop, it could be a way to get the best of both worlds.
When we review the headset ourselves, we will know for certain, but for now, the virtual screens seem closer to replicating real monitors than we thought.
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