The Meta Quest pro is on its way – here’s how to pre-order the new Oculus headset in the UK

This is the company’s first mixed-reality headset, but it costs a huge amount of money

The lenses are thinner and the headset features a battery on the back of the head strap (The Independent)

Mark Zuckerberg couldn’t scream it any louder if he tried. The metaverse is coming, OK, and you better get prepared. On Tuesday, Meta’s CEO announced the launch of its latest virtual-reality headset at its annual Meta Connect event, and it looks like it’s going to push all the technical boundaries of virtual reality and augmented reality to their limits.

The Meta Quest pro, which the company has been teasing for months, is Meta’s latest VR headset and the first in the company’s new line of high-end VR and mixed-reality devices. And when Meta says ‘high-end’, it means it.

The premium headset costs £1,499.99 – that’s almost four times as much as the Meta Quest 2 (£398, Amazon.co.uk), which launched in 2020 as the Oculus Quest 2, and received a controversial £100 price hike in August this year.

While there was no mention of the Meta Quest 3 (or Oculus Quest 3) headset at the Meta Connect event, Zuckerberg confirmed in an interview with Stratechery that a follow-up is being worked on and will cost between $300 and $500 (roughly £200 to £475).

As for the Meta Quest pro, it has a thinner design, features high-resolution sensors for mixed-reality experiences and can track your eye movements and facial expressions. The device is available to pre-order now and will launch on 25 October. Below, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the latest VR headset and where you can pre-order it.

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Meta Quest pro: £1,499, Currys.co.uk – pre-order now, available 25 October

(Meta)

The Meta Quest pro is a mixed-reality device rather than a full virtual-reality headset, essentially combining augmented reality and virtual reality into one single unit. There are thinner pancake optic lenses on the front, a curved battery goes around the head strap at the back, to act as a counterweight, and the new controllers can track movement by themselves for more seamless 360-degree action. Additional improvements have also been made to haptic feedback.

Inside, you’ll find 10 virtual-reality and mixed-reality sensors spread out throughout the headset. It also features a new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Plus chip, said to be 50 per cent more powerful compared with the XR2 on the Quest 2, with a boost of up to 30 per cent in thermal management. It also features 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. With the Meta Quest pro, it appears you’ll be able to see your surroundings while your headset is still on, with AR images superimposed onto your environment.

The device comes with a charging dock, but you can also pre-order a compact charging dock (£89.99, Meta.com), which can charge the controller and headset. You can also pre-order a full-light blocker (£49.99, Meta.com) for more immersive viewing, and VR earphones built for the Meta Quest pro (£49.99, Meta.com). Who knows, maybe we’ll soon have a full haptic suit à la Ready Player One.

Apple and Google are both reportedly working on mixed-reality headsets, but Meta looks to have beaten both companies to the punch. But expect the mixed-reality space to get busy over the next few years.

• Pre-order now from Currys: £1,499
• Pre-order now from Meta: £1,499.99
• Pre-order now from Amazon: £1,499.99
• Pre-order now from Argos: £1,499.99

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If you’re looking for discounts on technology or videogames, try one of these codes:

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For more on virtual reality, we’ve rounded up the best VR headsets for truly immersive gaming