The Meta Quest Pro vs Oculus Quest 2 dilemma is one many VR fans may soon face, following the reveal of Meta’s latest headset at Meta Connect 2022.
These are very different devices, though. The new Meta Quest Pro is a mixed reality-focused device designed to bring business into the metaverse, and provide people with a premium virtual reality experience in the company’s comfiest and most powerful headset yet. The Oculus Quest 2, meanwhile, is much more affordable, though less feature-filled.
If you’re weighing up the Meta Quest Pro vs Oculus Quest 2 decision, we’re here to help by highlighting the pros and cons of each. Read on and find out how they differ and which might be best for you.
Meta Quest Pro vs Oculus Quest 2: Price and availability
The Oculus Quest 2 is currently on sale in the US, UK, and Australia for $400 / £400 / AU$630 for its 128GB model, and $500 / £500 / AU$790 for its 256GB model. The headsets used to be around $100 / £100 / AU$ 150 cheaper, but Meta increased the price of its Quest 2 in July 2022 due to rising production costs.
You’ll have to pay a lot more for the Meta Quest Pro, though; it costs $1,500 / £1,500 / AU$2,450 for 256GB of storage space. At the time of writing Meta doesn’t offer a Quest Pro model with a different amount of storage, so this is the cheapest you can buy it for.
The Meta Quest Pro might cost a lot, but it comes with all two controllers, a charging base and all of these cables (Image credit: Meta)
If price is the most important factor, then clearly the Oculus Quest 2 is the best choice, but if you’re happy to pay up for a higher-powered, more feature-packed, and comfier device then you might find the Quest Pro is good value for money.
Meta Quest Pro vs Oculus Quest 2: Design
The Oculus Quest 2 is an all-white plastic headset with all of its key components housed in a box that sits on your face – held to it by an elastic strap that goes around the side and over the top of your head.
To achieve a more comfortable and secure fit, the all-black Meta Quest Pro substitutes the Quest 2’s elastic strap for a plastic one that has additional padding, houses the battery, and which uses an easy-to-reach wheel to tighten and loosen the tape.
Because the battery is placed in the strap, this means that the weight of the Quest Pro is better distributed around your head, rather than being front-loaded like with the Quest 2. While testing the Quest Pro we noticed that even though it’s 219g heavier than the Quest 2 at 722g, it actually feels lighter due to this design change.
The Meta Quest Pro will bring your real world office into the metaverse (Image credit: Meta)
Another major change between the headsets is how they sit on your face. The Quest 2 is designed to cover your eyes and completely obscure the real world from view, so that you can immerse yourself in VR. The Quest Pro, on the other hand, intentionally gives you a good view of the world around you, leaving space between your head and the headset at the sides and underneath.
We noticed this design was perfectly suited to mixed reality experiences – which want to blend real and virtual together – but we’re worried that the best VR games will suffer from reduced immersion. Meta told us you will be able to purchase an add-on that creates a VR headset-like seal around your eyes, but it’s a shame that it isn’t included for free with the expensive Meta Quest Pro.
Meta Quest Pro vs Oculus Quest 2: Specs
The Meta Quest Pro wouldn’t live up to its ‘Pro’ name if it lagged behind its predecessor. The premium hardware boasts 12GB of RAM (double the Quest 2’s 6GB), a Snapdragon XR2+ chip that’s 50% more powerful than the chip in the Quest 2, and 256GB of storage space – the Quest 2 offers 128GB or 256GB if you pay extra.
Meta’s newer headset also uses two Mini-LED display panels (one per eye) that are each 1800 x 1920 pixels – offering 37% more pixels per inch and 10% more pixels per degree than the Quest 2. Though the displays only have a max refresh rate of 90Hz, the Oculus Quest 2’s displays can reach up to 120Hz for supported titles.
Meta Quest Pro vs Oculus Quest 2: Battery life
Oddly, the Oculus Quest 2 has the superior battery life of the two devices, coming in with an average time between charges of 2 to 3 hours, while the Meta Quest Pro only boasts 1.5 to 2 hours. Plus, if you purchase the Quest 2’s Elite Strap with battery add-on you can stretch its battery life by another hour or so, giving it an even greater edge over the Quest Pro.
Oddly, the Oculus Quest 2 has a longer battery life than the more expensive model (Image credit: Shutterstock / Boumen Japet)
While Meta says that people don’t yet spend a long time in VR right now – and those that do want to spend their whole working day immersed can plug their Meta Quest Pro in – the new model’s reduced battery life is still something of a disappointment . The Quest 2’s superior battery life therefore gives it the edge here.
Meta Quest Pro vs Oculus Quest 2: Software and features
In terms of software, all the apps and games available on the Oculus Quest 2 will also be usable on the Meta Quest Pro – including all of the best Oculus Quest 2 games we’ve tested.
What’s more, the Quest 2 and Quest Pro may be super productive, with both platforms getting a whole suite of new programs including Microsoft 365 and Xbox streaming in VR (for people with an active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription).
Plus, the Meta Quest Pro shares all of the Oculus Quest 2’s features, though it gets a few extras of its own. Full color passthrough allows users to see the real world in full color while wearing the Quest Pro and playing a mixed reality experience; the Quest 2 can only provide grainy black and white passthrough. The Quest Pro also boasts face tracking which will allow your virtual avatars to be more expressive, and eye tracking – which could be used to allow VR games to use the headset’s processors more efficiently.
The Meta Quest Pro can do everything the Oculus Quest 2 can do, and more (Image credit: Shutterstock / Boumen Japet)
Meta Quest Pro vs Oculus Quest 2: Initial conclusion
In terms of raw performance, features and comfort, the Meta Quest Pro is clearly a better headset than the Oculus Quest 2. But its battery life is somewhat abysmal, and its price is roughly four times that of the Quest 2.
Plus, due to the Quest Pro’s more open design, VR experiences might not feel as immersive as they would on a more standard VR headset.
Because of these factors, people on a budget – or those who aren’t bothered about mixed reality and instead want to just play the games – will likely prefer the Quest 2. Sure, it lags behind Meta’s new hardware in several ways, but it’s still a really solid device in its own right.
But if you’re now not convinced by either option, check out our picks for the best VR headsets to see if a different device is a better fit for you.
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