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Meta Quest Pro, Half a Year Later: Caught Between Quest 2 and Quest 3

After I tested the PSVR 2, the Quest Pro seems even more of an enigma, but it may tell us something about the upcoming Quest 3 VR headset.

The Quest 2 headset from Meta succeeded as a self-contained mainstream device for VR gaming. Following that, Meta ambitiously aimed for a lot more with the Quest Pro, a $1,500 headset built around a questionable metaverse strategy. The Pro, already on sale for $500 less than its launch price, felt mistargeted as a pro device, built for a future of work in the metaverse that isn’t here yet… and may never be.

In the almost six months since the Quest Pro came out, the PlayStation VR 2 emerged as another very different headset contender with similarly excellent visuals and eye-tracking. The PlayStation 5-tethered VR headset has absolutely no ambitions at all to be a work device. It just wants to play games in whatever room your PS5 lives in. Meanwhile, Apple is expected to announce its own mixed reality headset in just a few months.

There’s more. The economy has only gotten worse, and Meta’s laid off thousands of people in the last few months. Spending $1,000 on a VR headset is nothing anyone really wants to do, unless it’s somehow able to be some amazing device that can deliver lots of uses all in one. Meta is trying to make the Quest platform that multiuse thing, but it’s still best at one genre: gaming.

However, there are threads to the future. VR headsets can be amazing workout devices. Social experiences in VR can be impressive, transporting and meaningful. Already on hand are 3D art tools and simulation tools that elevate VR to incredibly professional uses. You can cast multiple monitors from your computer and use your VR headset as your magic desktop, but your patience and mileage for that may seriously vary.

The eye-tracking, face-tracking Quest Pro, packing an impressively high-res display, seems like an evolutionary step toward whatever smaller glasses-like things come later. And with software and bridges to computers and phones that will be far more refined. Meta wasn’t wrong with the Quest Pro, in theory, but it was way too early.

Read more: Working on the Quest Pro

By all means, don’t get the Quest Pro. The Meta Quest 3 is expected by the end of this year, and it could very well have a better processor and many of the same features at (perhaps) a lower price. Also, if you’re curious about expensive, bleeding-edge, possibly work-oriented VR devices, Apple’s expected to have its own contender in 2023, too. HTC’s even smaller Vive XR Elite is more portable, and although it doesn’t work with my glasses, it could maybe be a more practically sized travel headset for some. And if you’re looking to elevate your VR gaming beyond the Quest 2, the PlayStation VR 2 is your best bet for its promising graphics and features, even if it is tethered by a cable.

But I’ve started using the Quest Pro more recently, and some things still really stand out.

Wow, the display, and even the audio

The PlayStation VR 2 has a richer and brighter HDR OLED display, but the Quest Pro has the crispest and clearest display of nearly any VR headset I’ve ever used. Meta’s shrunken-down lens system, called pancake optics, combined with a bright LCD display ends up making a notable difference over the Quest 2. I’m appreciating once again how clear text looks, how vivid games appear and how simply clear it all is. It’s not perfect, but if price was no object this would be the ideal display for everyday use. The lenses don’t have any ribbed lines, either, unlike the PlayStation VR 2’s Fresnel lenses and several other VR headsets. I appreciate that it fits over my glasses, as always, even though the headset fit isn’t as loose and forgiving as that of the PSVR 2.

I also appreciate the audio, surprisingly. After using the PSVR 2’s earbuds, which have to be inserted every time, I’m enjoying all over again how Meta’s headsets just project sound from the headbands with no separate headphones needed at all. The Quest Pro’s audio sounds better than the PSVR 2’s earbuds, to my ears, even though the audio is open air and I can hear everything else in the room too. Its blend of VR sound and the everyday world feels like the sort of challenge future AR glasses and mixed reality headsets are going to have to solve, and Meta’s one of the few doing it as well as it can be done right now.

Bending down while using the Quest ProBending down while using the Quest Pro

I moved around a lot with the Quest Pro in a demo last fall. It’s much easier to be mobile in it than on something tethered.

Meta

It’s refreshingly relaxed and wireless

Slipping the headset on over my eyes has always felt like putting on a pair of magic lenses. I think of this, the way they rest over my glasses, the way I can casually walk around the room playing Walkabout Mini Golf and not feel worried about bumping into anything. I appreciate the heightened room awareness, partly because I can see the room around the sides of the headset. Also, with its smaller controllers and naturally wireless self-contained design, I just enjoy slipping into it.

It’s also bulky

At the same time, wow, the Quest Pro is awkwardly shaped. It’s big and has a large headband, and needs its own special charger dock to charge up its headset and the controllers. It just feels like a delicate sports car you need to put back carefully in the garage every time. That’s unlike the Quest 2, which is smaller overall despite its larger front, can be tucked more easily into a carrying case, and doesn’t have the same glossy visor design. Also, because I need to charge the Pro every time I use it, it also seems more complicated to store than the also-large (but light) PSVR 2, which can simply be tucked on a shelf.

Meta Quest Pro virtual reality headsetMeta Quest Pro virtual reality headset

The Quest Pro (left) is smaller in some ways than the Quest 2 (right). But that stiff headband makes it hard to pack down into a bag.

Scott Stein/CNET

Meta never advanced the software enough

The Quest Pro really is just a Quest in terms of apps and OS, so much so that you may wonder why it’s even needed as an upgrade. Backward compatibility is a great thing, but there was an opportunity here to rethink the interface, push mixed reality more and create a truly new class of apps. There are Quest Pro-optimized apps that use the color passthrough cameras and mixed reality features (and eye and face tracking) to different effects, but most of these extras feel tacked on, not quite necessary, gimmicky. 

Eye and face tracking aren’t integral to Meta right now, which may be a huge relief to those seeing these sensors as doorways to a whole unsettling level of observational data collecting or more targeted advertising. But that also means the way these technologies are used doesn’t feel necessary, either, unless you’re an aspiring Quest developer who wants to make eye and face tracking apps. When I’ve tried eye and face tracking to animate my avatars, it’s had mixed results, and it sometimes made my virtual self look weirder. Meta can already use AI to help animate avatars based on voice cues, and those work well enough. 

The PSVR 2, by comparison, uses its unique features more fully. Eye tracking is already used extensively in many launch games for foveated rendering that improves graphics results, and some games use eye tracking for controls, too.

There’s also a big gap between the phones we use and the VR/AR headsets of the moment. Qualcomm is trying to bridge this gap, and Apple, Google and Samsung will likely try to do the same. Meta has its own phone app that works with the Quest 2 and Quest Pro, but it’s not been rethought for Pro users at all. I don’t feel like I can output my VR work any more easily or intuitively, and I don’t feel like I can use apps or software I rely on all the time in easy, logical ways on the Quest Pro. When will it feel like a true extension of my laptop or my phone? I don’t know.

Meta did add an experimental hand tracking feature called Direct Touch that allows for your fingers to «press» buttons by pressing them in-air, or to press keys on hovering virtual keyboards. This more direct interaction mimics what Microsoft has already done on the HoloLens 2. Still, it’s not reliable enough to use for actual writing, and still feels a little awkward. The Quest Pro is still, mostly, best used with the controllers.

There are plenty of creative and work tools on the Quest Pro, but nearly all of these are things you can also use on the Quest 2, minus those eye tracking and better-looking mixed reality options.

The Quest 3 should get many of the Quest Pro’s features

Expect Meta’s next headset to adopt many of the Quest Pro’s best qualities: the color passthrough cameras and mixed reality capabilities, the smaller lens system and crisper visuals, and on top of that, likely a faster, better processor. The Quest 3 may not have eye tracking, but you probably won’t need that, anyway. It may also come with controllers similar to the Pro’s, or at least work with them. (I like how the Pro controllers are smaller, but I also don’t like how they need more frequent charging.)

The Quest 3 is expected to cost somewhere around $500, and if that’s true, it’ll be half the price of the Quest Pro. Even though I appreciate the Pro’s high-quality visuals and fit, there’s absolutely no reason you should buy one, even at its currently lower but still expensive $1,000 price. 

The future is not just about VR: it’s about smaller glasses-like devices that will eventually be wearable all day, and in the meantime will work as mixed reality goggles at home. Meta’s hardware is moving on that path, but in early 2023, VR is still largely for gaming, and the Quest Pro is not a headset made for gamers, and that should tell you all you need to know.  

Technologies

Why Are Switch 2 Games So Expensive? Trump’s Tariffs May Not Be Sole Factor

It still comes down to money.

Wednesday’s reveal of the Switch 2 had a lot of buzz from Nintendo surrounding its successor to the Switch. One shocking bit, though, was the high price of its games. There’s a lot of confusion, especially with news of President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on many trading partners, including Japan. 

After the Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo released the full details of the upcoming console and games on its website. The price of Mario Kart World shocked gamers and led to some disdain, as the $80 MSRP was $10 more than what most new games cost today. This led many to wonder if this would be a new normal for game prices due to Trump’s tariffs or if Nintendo was just being greedy. The answer, however, might be something completely different. 

Are Nintendo Switch 2 game prices hiking?

To start, some details need to be cleared up. Some people have posted on social media that the price of Nintendo’s Switch 2 games, at least in the US, will be $90. That is incorrect, as of right now. 

One X user posted Switch 2 EU prices for Mario Kart World, which start at 80 euros for a digital version and 90 euros for the physical copy. Typically, US and EU games match in price, which caused some to assume that this pricing would be the case for the US. 

US retailers, however, already posted their Switch 2 game prices, and Nintendo-published games are listed at $80.

Will Trump’s tariffs cause the Switch 2 to cost more?

As for Trump’s tariffs, that is unlikely to be a driver of this price bump. Tariffs are not applied to digital goods, and when the prices were published, there were no tariffs on Japan. Plus, games are similarly expensive in other countries like Canada and the UK.

With that cleared up, why are Nintendo games on the Switch 2 so expensive? One likely reason is game storage. 

Read More: All the Nintendo Games You Can Update to Switch 2 for Free

The Switch 2 uses what Nintendo calls game-key cards, which are Switch 2 cartridges that don’t have all the game data on the cartridge itself. This helps save on production costs as storage is expensive. The original Switch cartridges went up to 32GB of storage, which doesn’t seem like a lot these days, with some games taking up 100GB or more of storage, but this is for the original Switch. Only a few games, like The Witcher 3, went above 32GB because the graphics for the Switch weren’t on the high end like with a PC, PS5 or Xbox Series console, where a Witcher 3 install size starts at 50GB

Switch 2 games are going to be bigger in size — there is little doubt about it. CD Projekt Red confirmed it would put its Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on one 64GB cartridge, and there will likely be other games to surpass that 64GB. With the max size of the cartridge doubling in size, it adds to the price of the physical card, as not only does storage have to be bigger, but they will need to transfer data faster. That can get more expensive for physical copies, unlike optical discs, which are still the same price whether it has 20GB or 100GB on the disc. 

What does all this mean for gamers?

This leads to a dilemma for publishers: Put the entire game on the physical card and sell it at a loss, increase the price of the physical copy with the full game on it or use the game-key card to have a card with minimal storage, requiring gamers to download the entire game.

Read More: The 17 Best Nintendo Switch Games Right Now

It appears that Nintendo went with door No. 2. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, knowing the company. Anyone who wants to save money on games knows that Nintendo will seldom bring the price down of its own games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, for example, is 8 years old and is still full price on Nintendo’s website

According to an industry analysis from Niko Partners, this new pricing could become the new normal in a couple of years when it comes to physical cartridges.

«While there has been some sticker shock regarding the price of games increasing from $60 to $70 or $80, these price points are set to become industry standard over the next two years, especially so for Nintendo first-party games,» Niko Partners said in a statement Wednesday. «One reason for the higher price is the increased cost of the new and faster Game Cards themselves, with higher capacities being more expensive to manufacture than a PS5 Blu-ray disc.»

Nintendo didn’t respond to a request for comment about the higher price of its games. 

That said, this doesn’t explain the lower price of Donkey Kong Bananza, which comes out in July; that’s listed on Nintendo’s site for $70. This could mean the game isn’t using a larger storage card, but that can’t be said for sure until the game comes out. It’s unclear how things will change in the future.

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Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-orders in US Delayed Due to Trump’s Tariffs

The Switch 2 launch is still happening on June 5, and preorders outside the US seem unchanged.

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders in the US were to start April 9, but it appears those plans have changed due to the new tariffs imposed this week by President Donald Trump. It’s unclear if this means Nintendo will also have to increase the price of the Switch successor, which currently starts at $450. 

Nintendo said Friday that it’s delaying Switch 2 preorders in the US, but its June release date is unaffected. 

«Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,» the company said in a statement. «Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.»

Nintendo didn’t indicate if preorder dates outside the US would change, but Eurogamer reports that preorders are live at various retailers in the UK.

A tariff of 24% has been applied by the US to goods from Japan. Were that rate to be applied directly to the Switch 2’s announced price, it would rise to $558, but it would be up to Nintendo how much of the tariff it will pass on to consumers.

This is a developing story.

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Technologies

Twelve South’s Foldable Wireless Charger for iPhone and Apple Watch Is Up to 27% Off at Amazon

This handy accessory makes it easier to travel with your Apple gear and stay charged wherever you go.

Whether you’re traveling for business or off on a wonderful family vacation, charging your stuff shouldn’t be something you have to worry about. Taking extra chargers and cables can be a pain, and they all take up space in your bag. But the handy Twelve South Butterfly SE charger is a compact alternative that can wirelessly charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch at the same time. And it’s available with up to 27% off right now at Amazon.

That top line discount applies to the pink version, though the white model is only $7 more and other colors are seeing 15% off the usual $100 price tag if you have a strong preference. It’s not clear how long the discounts will last, though. 

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The charger itself offers a way to wirelessly charge a iPhone and Apple Watch from a single AC outlet, and you can even charge your AirPods when your phone is done, too. And because this is a Qi2 charger you’ll get a full 15 watts of wireless charging for compatible devices — including the best iPhones.

When you’re not using the Butterfly SE, it folds up so it can be slid into a pocket, bag or luggage without taking up too much space. It really is the perfect partner for people who like to travel light.

Unfortunately, this charger doesn’t come with an AC adapter in the box, so you’ll need to provide your own. Make sure it’s rated for 20 watts or more. If you need to buy one, Apple’s 20-watt USB-C charger is just $15 right now.

Why this deal matters

We all carry multiple devices around with us these days. Anything that can make charging them more convenient is a win in our books, especially when you’re traveling. This charger takes up little space when it isn’t being used and charges quickly when it is.

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