Consumers know what a company means when it says "pro" at the end of a device name. A few top-of-the-line features for enthusiast users who want the best experience can be found in the iPad and AirPods models.
The most expensive model of the same product will usually cost between 25 to 60 percent more than the Pro model. In the tech world, the biggest Pro-version outliers barely top a 100 percent increase over their non- Pro progenitors.
The Meta Quest Pro isn't the same product as the previous "Pro" products. The Meta Quest 2, which sold well for its still- young market segment, costs $400 at launch, but the new Meta headset costs more than $1,000. If you compare the Quest Pro to the $300 Meta was asking for, the premium will increase to 400 percent.
Sky-high expectations for the new device are set by the price increase. A product that costs nearly four times as much as its predecessor needs to offer some truly unique and luxury features that early adopter feel they can't live without. This upgrade should make people wonder how they ever felt satisfied with the old model in the first place.
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It's not the case here. The ability to read a user's facial expressions feels too experimental for a marquee product. There are improvements in comfort and screen clarity here, but they are not as significant as we would have expected.
We were left wondering who this product is for after a few days with a retail unit.
| Headset specs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quest Pro | Quest 2 | |
| Weight | 722 g | 503 g |
| Resolution (per eye) | 1800×1920 | 1800×1920 |
| Refresh rate | 90 Hz | 90 Hz |
| Field of view (H) | 106 degrees | 104 degrees |
| Field of view (V) | 96 degrees | 98 degrees |
| Processor | Snapdragon XR2+ | Snapdragon XR2 |
| RAM | 12GB | 6GB |
| Internal storage | 256GB | 128GB |
After opening your package, putting a Quest Pro on your head feels better than wearing any of the previous ones. The flimsy strap that held the headsets to your face has been replaced with two semi-spherical cushions, one that sits on your forehead and the other that tightens to the back of your skull with an easy to use dial.
Instead of resting heavily above the bridge of your nose, the Quest Pro display hovers just in front of your face and can be adjusted with its own dial. With the bulk of the weight resting on the forehead, the unit feels more secure and balanced than before.
The ideal of wearing it all day isn't achieved by the Quest Pro. Around the one-hour mark, the headset's 722 grams start to appear on your forehead, especially as you move your eyebrows. I wasn't tearing the headset off in pain after 60 minutes or anything, and it was definitely preferable to the more significant pinch around the eyes and nose of previous Quest headsets.
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