Meta Quest Pro Vs. Meta Quest 2: The Major Differences Explained
It has been one year since Facebook rebranded itself as Meta, an announcement that was made at Meta Connect 2021, an annual conference targeting developers, creators, and tech enthusiasts interested in Facebook's vision of the metaverse. Aside from undergoing a major rebranding exercise, last year's event saw Meta launch the Meta Quest 2, a VR budget-oriented VR headset originally branded as the Oculus Quest 2. The same event also saw Meta tease its next-gen high-end standalone headset codenamed Project Cambria. Slated for release this year, Project Cambria finally received an official name at the 2022 edition of Meta Connect after Meta rechristened it as the Meta Quest Pro.
As evident from the pricing strategy, the $399 Meta Quest 2 slots into the category of an entry-level VR headset. It is interesting to note, however, that the Meta Quest 2 had an initial price tag was $299 before it received a $100 price hike earlier in 2022. This is in complete contrast to the brand new super expensive Meta Quest Pro, a high-end VR headset loaded with features. With its $1,500 price tag, the Meta Quest Pro is almost four times more costly than the Meta Quest 2. Nevertheless, despite these VR headsets targeting different audiences, people seem to be very interested in knowing the significant differences between the two.
Meta Quest Pro vs. Meta Quest 2: How different is the hardware?
A glance at the spec sheet of the two products gives us an idea about the differences between the Meta Quest Pro and the Meta Quest 2. Beginning with the design, it is amply evident that the two headsets look very different from each other, with the Quest 2 being significantly smaller in size. In addition, while the Quest 2 came powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2 chip, the more powerful Meta Quest Pro gets a refreshed iteration of the same chip dubbed the Snapdragon XR2+. The new hardware is said to be capable of handling 50% higher sustained power compared to the outgoing chipset.
In addition, while the Quest 2 gets 128GB and 256GB internal storage options, the Quest Pro comes in a single 256GB variant. A major upgrade is also seen in the amount of memory, with the Quest Pro getting twice the amount of RAM (12GB) as the Quest 2 (6GB). The Quest Pro also packs a higher display resolution and uses dual QLED panels as opposed to the single LCD setup on the Quest 2. Being the physically larger machine between the two, the Meta Quest Pro accommodates a much larger 5,000 mAh battery compared to the 3,640 mAh battery found in the Quest 2. The controllers used on both headsets also look quite different.
Meta has confirmed that it will sell the Meta Quest Pro alongside the Quest 2 model. Given the massive price difference between the two products, it would be interesting to see how many takers the company finds for the super-expensive Pro model.