Facebook has already confirmed that an Oculus Quest Pro will come much sooner than a Quest 3. While that may seem like bad news to some, the current Quest 2 sits at the top of our best VR headset list, meaning that a pro model would surely dominate the space.
While we love the Oculus Quest 2, there are ways it could be improved. It’s an effective entry-level headset, but more processing power and longer battery life would be welcome to turn the Quest 2 into a gaming device to rival what Valve and Vive produce.
Oculus has already hinted that this Pro headset is in the works, so this is more than just a VR fantasy. If you want to stay up to speed with what we’ve heard so far, check out the full breakdown of the Oculus Quest Pro news and rumors below.
Latest Oculus Quest Pro news (updated October 25)
- New leaked promos show off what might be our first look at the Oculus Quest Pro, including what appears to be body and facial tracking controls.
Oculus Quest Pro release date
From the vague answers given by Oculus itself, we originally guessed that the release date for the Oculus Quest Pro 2 will be 2022 at the earliest.
We know that something is coming after Andrew Bosworth, head of Facebook Reality Labs, said the intriguing phrase: “Quest Pro, huh? Interesting” in response to a question about an enhanced Quest 2 in a recent Instagram AMA.
Bosworth said in a later Q&A session on Twitter that this hypothetical headset wouldn’t arrive this year, so potential customers would be better off buying a Quest 2 for the time being.
However newly-leaked promo videos showcasing a brand new headset, and the impending Facebook Connect on October 28, suggests we may have something to look forward to after all. That said nothing is for certain until Facebook makes it official, so we’re going to have to wait and see what the Connect event actually involves.
Oculus Quest Pro price speculation
The Oculus Quest 2 costs $300, which is an excellent price for a VR headset. The Pro version would probably cost more than that however.
In the Instagram AMA where Bosworth first gave credence to the idea of a Quest Pro, the question he was responding to mentioned a $600 price point. That would be a smart price point for Oculus to aim for, since it’s still cheaper than the $900 HTC Vive Cosmos Elite or the $1,000 Valve Index. However that part of the question didn’t get a response from Bosworth, so we can’t treat this figure as certain.
Oculus Quest Pro headset
The Oculus Quest 2 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2, which offers an 1832 x 1920 resolution for each eye. It runs off of 6GB RAM and either 64GB or 256GB storage, depending on which version you get.
Oculus is clear that the Pro model wouldn’t be a complete overhaul of the Quest 2. Responding to questions in a Twitter Q&A session alongside Oculus chief technical officer John Carmack, Bosworth said “There isn’t a Quest 3, there’s only the Quest 2,”
He continued “But I did hint at an AMA earlier this year about Quest Pro because we do have a lot of things in development where we want to introduce new functionality to the headset along the kinds that people theorize that we would want to introduce, and that’s a little ways off still.”
The Oculus Quest Pro 2 would be expected to offer higher performance, which is easier said than done when you’re trying to fit everything into the headset itself. It would still be unable to compete with a PC-linked headset for overall quality, but there are places it can improve.
It would be brilliant if it could offer a higher 144Hz refresh rate like the Index does, but the 120Hz the Quest 2 already offers is good already. Larger batteries would also be welcome, letting users play for longer than three or so hours at a time.
As for design, the latest leak suggests a bit of a change compared to the Oculus Quest 2. That includes a more goggle-inspired design, loss of the top strap, and a pad that rests against the forehead and looks pretty similar to the one on the PSVR.
Oculus Quest Pro controller
There’s little wrong with the Quest 2’s controllers. The handsets are easy to understand, smartly designed and offer good feedback when used in-game.
When it comes to the Oculus Quest 2 Pro’s controllers however, it would be nice if it included rechargeable batteries, instead of AA batteries like the current Quest 2 controllers do. Enhanced haptics would also be a good improvement, considering how both the Vive and Valve VR systems offer much more impressive feedback than Oculus does.
Our wish may be granted, since the newly-leaked promo materials involve a user taking Oculus controllers out of what appears to be either a dock or a wireless charging station. That suggests you won’t be needing a spare supply of removeable batteries to keep yourself going.
The promos also seem to confirm users will be able to control the headset without using a controller. In other words the lingering rumors that the Oculus Quest could come with body tracking features look a lot more likely, meaning you might not have to use the controllers all the time.
Oculus Quest Pro: what we want to see
A competitive price
More processing power seems like a given for the Oculus Quest 2 Pro. However the greater concern is how much it will cost to buy this amped-up headset. Oculus currently sells some of the cheapest ways into true VR, and while the thought of a $1,000-plus product might be tempting, it seems a better idea
Improved displays
Better performance needs better displays to help render it. This would ideally take the form of a higher refresh rate, a higher resolution and an upgrade from LCD panels to OLED ones. Even one or two of these would be welcome however, and help shore up some of the existing Quest 2’s weaknesses.
Rechargeable controllers
This is perhaps less critical than the other features we’ve mentioned, but being able to recharge the controllers via USB instead of having to keep a stock of AA batteries on hand would be a big quality-of-life upgrade for the Oculus Quest 2 Pro.
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