Whereas Meta’s Quest Professional is without doubt one of the finest VR headsets out there, it by no means reached its full potential as a laptop computer alternative for spatial computing. Meta hasn’t given up on making a work-centric resolution, and rumors counsel a Meta Quest Professional 2 continues to be in growth. Right here’s what we all know thus far about Meta’s reply to Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional.
Meta Quest Professional 2 launch date hypothesis
It’s tough to make a strong prediction on when Meta will launch the Quest Professional 2. Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth made it clear in an Instagram AMA that Meta is frequently prototyping new VR headsets to search out out what’s doable with present expertise. That offers Meta extra flexibility than producers that analysis for years earlier than doing {hardware} testing.
If Meta is happy with the efficiency of the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 and LG can ship sufficient micro-OLED shows, the Quest Professional 2 might arrive as early as this October at Meta Join 2024.
Boz additionally stated Meta is engaged on working system refinements. {Hardware} is vital however until the Quest Professional 2 has vital OS enhancements, a desktop net browser, and extra of the apps required for productiveness, it should nonetheless want to connect with a pc to get work carried out.
We’ve seen some good advances in the previous couple of Quest updates that sign surge in exercise from Meta’s Quest and Actuality Labs growth groups. Hopefully, that shall be mirrored in a Quest Professional 2 that may really substitute a laptop computer.
If any of the {hardware} parts or software program progress are delayed, it appears extra doubtless that the Quest Professional 2 will launch in 2025. Within the meantime, we will nonetheless sit up for the potential for a Quest 3 Lite or Quest 3s arriving this fall.
Partnership with LG
In January, information broke that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited LG headquarters to debate a partnership with this main show producer. Since Meta gave up on devices like Portal, its tablet-like video chat gadget, this actually solely leaves two choices for the collaboration: VR headsets or AR glasses.
The identical report instructed the gadget in query is an XR headset that can use micro-OLED shows. The unique Quest used OLED screens, however the shows had been comparatively low decision and restricted to a 72Hz refresh charge. Beginning with the Quest 2, Meta moved to LCD shows, which lowered the price of sharper, quicker shows, enhancing VR gaming and unlocking the potential of utilizing VR for work. It’s vital to notice that LG has already introduced its plans to create its personal mixed-reality headset later this 12 months.
Current advances make micro-OLED a compelling choice once more. Apple selected this show kind for the ultra-premium Imaginative and prescient Professional and so did Sony for its PlayStation VR2.
In Zuckerberg’s scathing, however insightful overview of Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional, he identified a number of shortcomings, together with movement blur, whereas admitting the display screen sharpness was very nice.
Meta might comply with the instance set by these main tech corporations, assembly Apple’s problem by upgrading the Quest Professional 2 with high-resolution micro-OLED panels. If LG can create micro-OLED shows which can be brighter than the Imaginative and prescient Professional’s to assist cut back movement blur and show persistence.
Excessive efficiency
Meta introduced a multiyear partnership with Qualcomm to assist advance its Snapdragon XR processors and enhance the capabilities of the Quest platform and Meta sensible glasses. The end result gave us the superior Quest 3 and the unimaginable Ray-Ban Meta Sensible Glasses. That is only the start.
Qualcomm has already introduced a quicker variant of the chip used within the Quest 3. The Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 can assist 4 occasions as many 4K screens with sufficient CPU and GPU efficiency to deal with the additional load with out lag. This enhanced chip can entry as much as 12 monitoring cameras, enabling superior eye- and hand-tracking.
We already know Samsung, HTC, and Immersed have chosen this highly effective Qualcomm chip for his or her upcoming XR headsets. The one query is whether or not Meta will do the identical or get early entry to a yet-to-be-announced Snapdragon XR2 Gen 3 to present the Quest Professional 2 a bonus in pace and effectivity.
Every new technology of chip expertise unlocks extra design decisions for producers to shift the stability to lighter and thinner expertise or to push for greater efficiency and longer battery life.
The Quest 3 already has spectacular pace however can’t compete with the Imaginative and prescient Professional’s desktop-class M2 chip. If Meta can match the Quest 3’s weight with considerably efficiency and picture high quality whereas sustaining the design benefits of the Quest Professional, it will likely be an intriguing VR headset that might earn extra respect than the first-generation gadget.
AI in VR
As I discussed in my latest rundown of expectations for the Meta Quest 4, AI might play a serious position in Meta’s future VR plans. This goes deeper than the textual content and picture magic of ChatGPT. A VR headset removes all the restrictions of actuality.
Meta AI already supercharges the Ray-Ban Sensible Glasses, offering picture recognition for identification and translation, answering questions on present occasions, and providing the advantages of generative chat in a slim and light-weight pair of sun shades.
As spectacular as that’s, think about what’s doable in an atmosphere that’s solely managed by the pc. The whole lot you see and listen to in VR passes via the machine. With AI-enhancement, something is feasible. Inside motive, your needs might develop into your actuality.
A couple of examples will assist illustrate what I imply. Meta has already demonstrated real looking VR avatars, as seen in Shunsuke Saito submit on X, which can be extra convincing than the Imaginative and prescient Professional’s newest FaceTime Personas. What’s been holding Meta’s expertise again is a scarcity of efficiency. That’s altering quickly as chips get quicker and AI turns into subtle sufficient to make complicated rendering simpler.
📢 Take a look at 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗰 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀!
Our newest codec avatars utilizing 3D Gaussians generalize to novel lighting (OLAT, envmap) with *all-frequency* reflection (see video for hair and eye reflection) in real-time! https://t.co/hmO0she2t6 pic.twitter.com/xv0pQLIzjq— Shunsuke Saito (@psyth91) December 7, 2023
One thing much like Meta’s Codec Avatars ought to arrive with the launch of the Quest Professional 2, and that date may not be too far-off.
What is going to keep the identical
Whereas Apple felt VR controllers had been pointless, choosing pinch gestures to manage the Imaginative and prescient Professional, Meta doesn’t see a battle with supporting each hand-tracking and movement controllers. The Quest Professional’s controllers are already spectacular.
The Quest Professional has probably the greatest designs of any VR headset. The one actual situation is the burden and the fastened curve of the brow pad. I’m hoping for a lighter Quest Professional 2 with a couple of choices for the top pad.
The charging dock is one other nice instance of what Meta bought proper with the unique Quest Professional. Boz says he’s nonetheless a fan of the Quest Professional and shared some comparable ideas in an Instagram AMA about why he nonetheless makes use of his Quest Professional in addition to the Quest 3.
