Oculus Quest 2 is only five months old, but Facebook may already be thinking about an enhanced version: Oculus Quest Pro.
The company’s vice president of Virtual and Augmented Reality, Andrew Bosworth, suggested existence during an Instagram AMA (Ask Me Anything) session about all things Oculus. Responding to a comment from a user requesting a $ 600 headset with improved specifications, Bosworth replied “Quest Pro, huh? Interesting ”, before winking at the camera, UploadVR reports.
It is a far cry from an official announcement, let alone a complete list of Oculus Quest Pro specs, but at least it suggests that this is something Facebook is thinking about.
While Oculus Quest 2 is by far the most convenient way to play brilliant VR titles like Beat Saber and Superhot – thanks to its all-in-one design, without the need for a PC or standalone cameras – in terms of power, it still is on the weak side. The Snapdragon XR2 chip that powers it is a significant improvement on the original Quest, but Qualcomm says that its Snapdragon 888 (as found on the Samsung Galaxy S21) has a GPU that is 35% more powerful.
Of course, part of the appeal of the Oculus Quest family is the headset’s ability to play more demanding titles through the Oculus Link cable and a gaming PC, so its limited specifications didn’t get in the way of everyone. Still, the prospect of a Pro version is just as exciting, assuming that developers feel compelled to update their existing Oculus titles to take advantage of any theoretical advantages.
This was not the only interesting revelation from the AMA. When asked about the possibility of eye tracking in Quest, Bosworth said the technology is “something we will fit into some future headset”, adding that it can “dramatically improve performance by just rendering things that are in the field of view of the fovea. “
Perhaps inevitably, Bosworth was also asked about the newly announced PSVR 2. “I am certainly happy that they are making one,” he said. “PSVR was a tremendous success and it was a great place for our developers to make money, and I hope PSVR 2 is, too.”
In fact, the fact that two companies the size of Facebook and Sony seem committed to the future of VR is a great insurance policy for developers, and the best VR games have already appeared on PS4 and Oculus Quest. VR experiences like Beat Saber, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, Pistol Whip, Arizona Sunshine, Job Simulator, Rec Room and Superhot were hits on both platforms.