The $1,499 Quest Pro is a work-ready VR solution

At Meta Connect 2022, the company officially unveiled the Meta Quest Pro, a high-end VR headset designed specifically for businesses and professionals. The mixed-reality device is made for "collaboration and creativity," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg and, at $1,499, it's certainly an upgrade from the $399 Quest 2.

Here's why Meta says it's worth the money:

Mixed reality and eye-tracking

Meta is hoping that the Quest Pro's new mixed-reality and eye-tracking capabilities will increase social presence, productivity, and collaboration within a virtual work environment. With the Pro, you'll be able to set up multiple virtual screens around you while using a physical keyboard and mouse to type and navigate. While you have the headset on, full color passthrough technology makes it possible to overlay those screens on top of a view of your actual apartment, house, or office.

The Quest Pro features an "open periphery design," which is a fancy way of saying that openings on the side will let you see the real world around you as you traipse through a virtual one. The Pro does come with removable magnetic light blockers for a more immersive experience, and a full light blocker will be available for $49.99 on Nov. 22.

The Quest Pro's pancake lenses make it 40 percent thinner than the Quest 2, while delivering clearer visuals. Two LCD displays deliver richer, more vivid colors for 75 percent more contrast than the Quest 2. The Pro also packs 37 percent more pixels per inch and 10 greater pixels per degree than the Meta Quest 2.

Meta hopes that eye tracking and its new Natural Facial Expressions for avatars will allow users to appear more lifelike in virtual environments. Those settings are turned off by default within the Quest Pro and Meta claims that privacy is foremost here — images of your eyes and face are deleted. What's more, Meta says it can't access those images and does not provide them to third party appx.

Like the Quest 2, the Pro has a lens spacing adjustment to accommodate varying inter-pupillary distances (IPDs). But the Pro offers a wider range of 55mm to 75mm, while the Quest 2 only accommodates 58mm to 72mm. You'll also be able to adjust the the lens distance from your eyes with an "eye relief dial."

Self-tracking controllers

The new Meta Quest Touch Pro controllers have an upgraded ergonomic design and haptic capabilities through the company's TruTouch Haptics system. The biggest change is the controllers' three built-in sensors, which track their movement independent of the headset to enable a 360-degree range of motion. You can also add a stylus to the bottom of the controllers, transforming them into writing utensils for Horizon Workrooms and other apps.

The batteries will be rechargeable via a charging dock and a 45W USB-C power adapter is included with a Meta Quest Pro purchase. A standalone pair of controllers will also be available for $299.99 USD later this year, so you that can use them with your Quest 2.

They track themselves now! Credit: Meta

Battery, storage, and more

The Quest Pro is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ platform, which is optimized for VR. It offers 50 percent more power as compared to the Meta Quest 2 and has a better cooling ability. A new curved-cell battery sits at the rear of the headset and has the added benefit of improving balance and comfort for users.

In terms of configuration options, it seems there's only one Pro model which packs 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for games, apps, and other media. Each Quest Pro comes with two Touch Pro controllers, stylus tips, partial light blockers, and a charging dock in the box.

Additional accessories include a compact charging dock ($79.99 USD, out Oct. 25), a full light blocker ($49.99 USD, out Nov. 22), VR earphones ($49.99 USD, out Oct. 25) and a carrying case ($119.95 USD, out Oct. 25).

Where to buy the Quest Pro

The $1,499.99 Meta Quest Pro is available for pre-order now and will hit store shelves on Oct. 25 in the U.S., UK, Canada, and France.