Technologies

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.

Meta Quest Pro

$1,000 at Meta

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 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 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

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”