Meta Quest Pro Hits Store Shelves

Storefronts and stockrooms opened sales of the Meta Quest Pro on Tuesday for immediate purchase, offering customers a firsthand experience with the novel enterprise device.

Still thinking about the sleek new #Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 1 powered @Meta Quest Pro. Who’s getting one?

— Snapdragon (@Snapdragon) October 24, 2022

Meta Quest fans can now leverage the cutting-edge headset for their productivity and creativity needs in the age of immersive, web3-based content with the following specifications,

• Snapdragon XR2+ processor for standalone computing power
• Pancake optics for clearer images and lighter form factor
• Inward-facing cameras for enhanced hand, face, and eye-tracking
• Stylus features for Quest Pro controllers for drawing and editing
• TruTouch haptics to interact with virtual content
• Meta has included light partitions for fully immersive VR experiences
• Full-colour passthrough via Meta’s Presence Platform
• 75 percent greater contrast compared to the Quest 2
• Movement software development kit (SDK) for full-motion avatar control

Storefronts across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and France have begun selling the device to customers.

The headset currently retails for £1,499 and offers a trove of upgraded features compared to the Quest 2 for enhanced productivity, avatar building, hand and eye-tracking, and cross-compatible integrations.

Stores such as Best Buy have offered in-store demos of the headset to entice potential buyers and showcase some of its key features.

Meta Quest Ecosystem Growth

The news comes after the Meta Quest ecosystem reported rapid growth two years after it debuted at the Connect event in 2020, leading to the world’s first mainstream VR device.

According to the Menlo Park, California-based firm’s Developer State of the Union address, the Quest ecosystem has earned more than $1.5 billion USD from gaming and application purchases on the Quest Store.

The App Lab has also surpassed 2,000 apps and 400 on the official store, with nearly one in three bagging millions in sales.

33 hit titles on the Meta’s Quest Store have also reached $10 million in earnings, up 11 from the previous year, with apps grossing $5 million doubling to 55 compared to 2021.

Some of the top-selling titles from the Quest Store include,

• Bonelab, the fastest-selling app in Meta Quest history
• Resident Evil 4, which sold $2 million in 24 hours
• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners earned $50 million on the Quest Store, double compared to all platforms combined
• Zenith: The Last City earned its first $1 million in 24 hours and Blade & Sorcery: Nomad in two days.

Meta, ByteDance Headset Rivalry

Shortly after Meta Platforms revealed its Quest Pro, Pico Interactive, now a subsidy of Chinese tech giant ByteDance, unveiled the Pico 4 and later, Pico 4 Enterprise editions of its next-generation headsets.

The competition is likely to appeal to users based on pricing points, with the Quest Pro and Pico 4 Enterprise selling for roughly £1,499 and £900, respectively.

According to reports, the Quest Pro will have overall better specs and the Pico 4 Enterprise sharper resolutions per eye. Meta’s latest enterprise headset will also integrate Microsoft and Zoom’s collaborative tools, providing workers access Office 365’s productivity suite of applications.

Both suites will offer their exclusive avatar and world-building platforms. Pico will launch its Pico Worlds platform next year to compete directly with Meta’s Horizon Worlds, reports found.