An Honest Review of the Underwhelming Meta Quest Pro

Meta’s Quest Pro Targets Business & Professional Users

Meta launched a new virtual and augmented reality headset in October 2022 marketed for professionals. In our Meta Quest Pro review, we’ll discuss both the hardware and software, and we’ll analyze how it stacks up to the other VR/AR headsets on the market today. 

Price Point Designed for Businesses

Starting at $1,499 in the US and €1,799 in the EU, the cost of the new headset indicates that Meta expects its users to invest pretty heavily into the device. Since it claims to be designed for enterprise-level use cases, the high price tag isn’t a huge shock. UPDATE AS OF NOVEMBER 2023: For more casual users, we recommend trying out the Quest 3. 

Comfortable Hardware Allows for Long Periods of Use

While the headset certainly has its drawbacks, we’ll admit that we appreciated the comfort of the hardware design. The Quest Pro felt slightly better to wear than the Quest 2, which would again align with Meta’s target of business professional users. 

The new controllers also feature a few upgrades. They have been designed without tracking rings, and instead feature built-in camera tracking. We also appreciate the haptic feedback and more stable hand tracking. 

Disappointing AR/MR Features

The Quest Pro features an augmented reality mode called Mixed Reality, but it leaves much to be desired. Based on Meta’s marketing, we expected an actual Mixed Reality headset with depth sensors (that were promised but taken out of the headset just before shipping). Without depth sensors, you do not have environmental mapping.  Without environmental mapping, you do not have good AR/MR.

The Quest Pro also features face tracking and improved image quality, but reviewers who hoped for a positive augmented reality experience criticize the cumbersome manual setup of the room required for mixed reality and the lack of high-quality software. 

Summary of DAS Labs’ Quest Pro Review

The Quest Pro is comfortable to use, but its performance is not so great, the color passthrough is poor in quality, and it has poor battery life. We’re hopeful that the Quest 3, expected to be released in 2023, offers a better experience. Right now, the market is anticipating a more powerful chip at a lower price.