Support NeoGAF

[Fatal Chuck Yeager]

Sauce: https://mixed-news.com/en/meta-quest-pro-canceled/

Meta launched the Quest Pro last year as a professional XR headset. And it did have some merits. These included a semi-open design for mixed reality applications, great Touch Pro controllers, and most importantly, the best lenses in a standalone VR/AR headset to date.


However, compromises in other areas meant that the headset was more of a "mixed bag" than a top-of-the-line headset. For example, the colored but low-quality pass-through and the heavy XR headset's rather uncomfortable head mount were problematic. Moreover, the starting price was around $1,500.


A few months later, Meta lowered the price by $500 to $1,000. Shortly thereafter, the Quest 3 was announced, promising significant improvements. It was foreseeable that the Quest Pro would not have a long life.

Quest Pro will probably not get a successor​

According to The Information, Meta told its suppliers earlier this year that it would not be ordering any new components for the Quest Pro. Accordingly, manufacturer Goertek will only build Quest Pro headsets as long as the current material supply allows.


This means that the Quest Pro will be discontinued.


The report also indicates that Meta probably shut down the entire Pro line. "Meta has also suspended development of a second-generation Quest Pro", The Information reads. Apparently, Meta wants to concentrate on the less expensive headsets of the Quest series, which will get its next version with the Quest 3 in October. In March, a roadmap leak suggested that a successor to Quest Pro might support realistic codec avatars in the distant future.

My concern about this is that this may indicate that in order to succeed in the market you have to race to the bottom. Which usually doesn't work very well when that happens. This could just be a Meta exclusive problem but it does point in the direction that demand may only come if there's price deterioration.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

 

[Slicker than your average]

They're skipping VR and preparing their full cyborg product.

 

[Kilau]

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

With Apple's "pro" offering come up next year for the high-end productivity person, Quest Pro doesn't compare favorably. Might as well go full-pro and pay the high price for the Apple if you're looking for a work related machine as the Quest Pro tried to be.

Quest/Meta tried to get into the social and metaverse aspects but those failed, so their best bet is to remain purely an entertainment device. And the Quest 2/3 price range is the maximum for that if you want to target a wide range of consumers / families.

 

[JonSnowball]

VR is the same as 3DTV and motion controls. A trend, a passing trend, something that'll be niche at best or whispers amongst the immersive porn fandom at worst. Anyway, if anyone can source me some good shrooms that'd be great - I'm trying to convince myself Squadrons in VR is real.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Some people in this thread seem to be reading this headline incorrectly as something like "Meta leaves VR"

They're doubling down on their next gaming device, Quest 3, and dropping the whole "pro" concept. By no means are they exiting... if anything, they're going full force betting that the gaming side of VR will be its success.

 

[GHG]

They are staying away from enterprise for now, there's not a huge amount of money in it at the moment, as evidenced by Microsoft's recent moves as well.

Apple are about to find out the hard way.

 

[simpatico]

Seems like VR in general might be going the way of 3D TVs. It's been on the vine for a while and is still so far from ripe. I think tech isn't there until the goggles are at least 1/4 the current mass and wireless.

 

[Sleepwalker]

"Meta will stop making VR devices aimed at corporate and productivity to remain focused on entertainment"

ITT: VR is doomed, derp 3d tv derp motion controls

 

[Diddy X]

Here we are years later and VR is still niche market and it's not novelty anymore. I think Apple's headset will decide wether it finally takes off or it dies off.

 

[StereoVsn]

They are staying away from enterprise for now, there's not a huge amount of money in it at the moment, as evidenced by Microsoft's recent moves as well.

Apple are about to find out the hard way.

MS is just terrible at supporting Hololens plus their tech is a bit long in the tooth. Corporations will pay those prices but the expectations are for proper support and a bit better tech.

 

[DR3AM]

RIP (PS)VR(2)

 

[Buggy Loop]

That’s what made Quest 2 a success, business will have the money to buy Varjo or Apple vision and the likes.

But this is an indication that Apple will wipe the floor with everyone else the day they have the non-pro headset @ ~iphone'ish prices. They'll nail down the AR, the entertainment (they have tentacles in all of the entertainment branches, hard to beat Apple TV) and if they approach gaming devs, they can be very dangerous. Meta's in danger for long term.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

VR is the same as 3DTV and motion controls. A trend, a passing trend, something that'll be niche at best or whispers amongst the immersive porn fandom at worst. Anyway, if anyone can source me some good shrooms that'd be great - I'm trying to convince myself Squadrons in VR is real.

Meta has lost $10 billion on VR stuff two years in a row. VR is dead and niche. Let's see if Apple and their $3000 VR glasses can be the last hope.

If I was a company and had an addiction to keep VR going no matter what, I'd do the Apple route. It's not like the game quality has really improved. It's still demo/indie quality stuff. And unless Apple's VR set is so powerful and devs make AAA games out of it, it'll probably be more Beat Saber and Job Sim games, but with an Apple logo attached to it.

So might as well sell it for a lot and get those hardcore VR gamers paying a couple grand each than trying for mass appeal at $500.

That old Meta article even said half the people quit after 6 months. So if thats the case, you might as well get whichever gamers are left quitting after half a year at $3000 and big profit margins than making hardly anything off them at $500.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Meta has lost $10 billion on VR stuff two years in a row. VR is dead and niche. Let's see if Apple and their $3000 VR glasses can be the last hope.

To be clear, Meta lost a fortune because of its braindead bet on the scam of "metaverse" / NFT content. Those technologies were a colossal failure in every possible way. But Meta's own pivot and actions show that VR itself--when sold for gaming / entertainment and removed from that metaverse trash--is actually showing significant traction.

 

[Reallink]

Quest Pro bombed cause it was an overclocked Quest 2 with some $3 burner phone cameras glued on, it was a guanteed failure. The Vision Pro is a larger leap over Quest Pro than Quest Pro was over the decade old developer kits. No idea what they were thinking releasing that trash for $1500, criminal levels of mismanagement at Facebook.

 

[Puscifer]

Now just make it work on PC without workarounds, I want to give VR a try but I'm not going 800-1000 in or using virtual desktop to do it. Good piece of hardware but they can kick rocks if they think I want their software

 

[Crayon]

On one hand the quest 3 is a much better deal. On the other hand, 299 is what sold quest 2 and quest 3 is 499. Anyone interested in VR should be watching closely.

And anyone who just wants to troll VR 2016 style is invited too, I guess.

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

Sauce https://mixed-news.com/en/meta-quest-pro-canceled/

Ketchup / Mayonnaise please !

 

[Guerilla Munch]

I fired up my Quest 2 today for the first time in at least 6 months and was greeted with yet another system refresh that made me sign up for a Meta account, using my Facebook account, which I was previously forced to link with my Oculus account. I didn't even feel like using it after jumping through all those unwanted hoops for a third time.

Quest's problems are entirely due to mismanagement. Zuck is the biggest and most unlikable dork on the planet and doesn't have a cool bone in his lizard body, and the constant identity crisis of the Quest platform is a reflection of that. I can't wait until another big tech company releases a wireless headset so I can drop this ecosystem for good.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Quest's problems are entirely due to mismanagement. Zuck is the biggest and most unlikable dork on the planet and doesn't have a cool bone in his lizard body, and the constant intensity crisis of the Quest platform is a reflection of that. I can't wait until another big tech company releases a wireless headset so I can drop this ecosystem for good.

I love the Quest 2 but agree that I'd rather it was owned by anyone other than Meta.

If only Oculus could split off and become its own company, and bring back Palmer Lucky.

 

[jroc74]

"Meta will stop making VR devices aimed at corporate and productivity to remain focused on entertainment"

ITT: VR is doomed, derp 3d tv derp motion controls

And to think ppl laughed, still laugh at PSVR2 and its price.

 

[ReBurn]

Quest Pro bombed cause it was an overclocked Quest 2 with some $3 burner phone cameras glued on, it was a guanteed failure. The Vision Pro is a larger leap over Quest Pro than Quest Pro was over the decade old developer kits. No idea what they were thinking releasing that trash for $1500, criminal levels of mismanagement at Facebook.

It bombed because there's no market for professional VR/AR devices. Meta was hoping that corporations would buy them based on AR gimmicks but it's a pain in the ass to try to do work with a bulky 500g thing strapped to your head. They're cool in concept but they're not practical.

I think Apple will be more successful in the corporate arena because of the Apple vibe. Companies are just going to want the Apple one to use as a set piece. But Meta is the nerdy cousin to Apple's cool uncle. Nobody wants Zuckerberg crap on the table.

 

[gothmog]

That company rename looking real smart right now.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

VR is a neat gimmick. Was never going to replace traditional controller and screen gaming set-up. Cost of entry is much too high and there is almost nothing software-wise to make the investment worthwhile. At least the bleak picture is becoming more and more clear as the months go by.

 

[LordOfChaos]

Well, Quest 3 has the same chip as the Pro, and the Pro exclusive features aren't used much in software since the cheaper models are way more popular

They'd be best served focusing on the 2 and 3 I suppose, and I believe the roadmap leak said they wanted an even cheaper model next year

Apple will probably take the share of anything remotely high end, Meta will probably remain the lower end leader

 

[GHG]

Now just make it work on PC without workarounds, I want to give VR a try but I'm not going 800-1000 in or using virtual desktop to do it. Good piece of hardware but they can kick rocks if they think I want their software

The Quest 2 works on PC without "workarounds". You literally just have to install the Oculus app on your PC, connect your headset and off you go.

Well, Quest 3 has the same chip as the Pro, and the Pro exclusive features aren't used much in software since the cheaper models are way more popular

Same pancake lenses as well apparently.

 

[Danknugz]

should have just let oculusbdonits own thing instead of flooding the market with a bunch of half ass headsets and little to no software support (boring ass sterile games like population one, meta horizons or whatever it's called, best sabre etc)

 

[Puscifer]

The Quest 2 works on PC without "workarounds". You literally just have to install the Oculus app on your PC, connect your headset and off you go.



Same pancake lenses as well apparently.

So do all of these ridiculous tutorials about needing virtual desktops are just wrong, old or didn't update? I wanna play Alyx.

 

[Sleepwalker]

So do all of these ridiculous tutorials about needing virtual desktops are just wrong, old or didn't update? I wanna play Alyx.

That's for people who dont wanna use the oculus app so they buy a different app to tailor the experience, oculus app is more than fine from my experience.

 

[GHG]

So do all of these ridiculous tutorials about needing virtual desktops are just wrong, old or didn't update? I wanna play Alyx.

Wrong and old.

Once you've done the initial setup you can turn on the Quest 2 and be in HL Alyx easily within a minute. Its literally 4 button presses as well:

• Select quest link from the quest home interface.
• Select "desktop" to see my PC desktop
• Open Steam VR
• Select HL Alyx from the SteamVR home

That can be cut down even further since you don't even have to open steam VR before opening HL Alyx but I like to do so in case any of my friends come online while I'm playing so I can just easily invite them to my Steam VR home space.

Short and sweet video that cuts out the crap:

 

[Puscifer]

Wrong and old.

Once you've done the initial setup you can turn on the Quest 2 and be in HL Alyx easily within a minute. Its literally 4 button presses as well:

• Select quest link from the quest home interface.
• Select "desktop" to see my PC desktop
• Open Steam VR
• Select HL Alyx from the SteamVR home

That can be cut down even further since you don't even have to open steam VR before opening HL Alyx but I like to do so in case any of my friends come online while I'm playing so I can justeasily invite them to my Steam VR home space.

Short and sweet video that cuts out the crap:

You've likely sold me on this, I'm going to do more research on it when I'm back home (currently on vacation with the family) but this is way better than the solutions I was finding. No Facebook, though, right?

 

[GHG]

You've likely sold me on this, I'm going to do more research on it when I'm back home (currently on vacation with the family) but this is way better than the solutions I was finding. No Facebook, though, right?

I think they recently removed the requirement for a FB account but you will have to double check. I set mine up ages ago with a burner account (my actual FB account has been deactivated and deleted since ~2009 and my only Instagram accounts are corporate for my businesses) and never had any problems.

Drop me a note if you get stuck anywhere, overall it's really easy to get set up and use provided you have a good enough PC to run VR games.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Canceling the Pro models, not the consumer ones.

 

[Danknugz]

Wrong and old.

Once you've done the initial setup you can turn on the Quest 2 and be in HL Alyx easily within a minute. Its literally 4 button presses as well:

• Select quest link from the quest home interface.
• Select "desktop" to see my PC desktop
• Open Steam VR
• Select HL Alyx from the SteamVR home

That can be cut down even further since you don't even have to open steam VR before opening HL Alyx but I like to do so in case any of my friends come online while I'm playing so I can just easily invite them to my Steam VR home space.

Short and sweet video that cuts out the crap:

is it running steam VR natively though or is it running both oculus dash and steam VR on top of it?

i also ran steam VR on my rift CV1 but it still had to run all the oculus bloatware in the background.

 

[Ozriel]

Good.
It was such an overpriced product overall.

At least, some of the cool tech made its way to the Quest 3. Looking forward to that this year

 

[DrFigs]

I forgot i had a quest until just now

 

[adamsapple]

How soon before they cancel the consumer grade model.

 

[GHG]

is it running steam VR natively though or is it running both oculus dash and steam VR on top of it?

i also ran steam VR on my rift CV1 but it still had to run all the oculus bloatware in the background.

There is no way to not have the Quest 2's built in interface running (which runs on the hardware of the headset) so I'm not really understanding the question.

A lot has changed since the CV1 but if you watch the video accompanying the post you quoted you'll get an understanding of what's running and what isn't.

How soon before they cancel the consumer grade model.

They have a subscription service, you ought to be more supportive.

 

[adamsapple]

They have a subscription service, you ought to be more supportive.

I'm impartial to the subscription model, I just see VR as a disposable gimmick at the moment.

 

[Dream-Knife]

VR is done tbh.

 

[GHG]

I'm impartial to sub services, I just see VR as a disposable gimmick at the moment.

 

[sinnergy]

VR is the 3D for games. Inconvenient, only few master it.

 

[THE DUCK]

Not a great sign for VR in general when the market leader in the field starts dropping high end skus.

 

[willothedog]

where is the report this 'story' is based on?

 

[Danknugz]

There is no way to not have the Quest 2's built in interface running (which runs on the hardware of the headset) so I'm not really understanding the question.

A lot has changed since the CV1 but if you watch the video accompanying the post you quoted you'll get an understanding of what's running and what isn't.



They have a subscription service, you ought to be more supportive.

ah that's right i forgot it was primarily a stand alone device. my question was whether it can run steam VR in its native mode without some kind of abstraction layer on top of the existing oculus software which runs in the background. it always was super annoying to have to run oculus dash just so facebook could spam you and try and keep you contained within their environment, without respecting your intelligence and thinking you're not going to know any better.

sadly, and this is what everyone was so concerned about at the beginning when facebook bought oculus. it seems like oculus/facebook care more about containing you within their matrix and forcing you to buy shit, instead of respecting the fact that you already paid so much for the device and allowing you to use it like any other device on a PC, treating you like an adult without forcing you to run spammy bloated crap in the background and trying to get you to believe that it's necessary when it's clearly still possible to run games using ONLY steam VR as we've seen with just about every other headset.

everyone says you can use oculus link but then they fail to mention you've got run all the bloatware still along with it, also oculus link is compressed isn't it?

 

[GHG]

ah that's right i forgot it was primarily a stand alone device. my question was whether it can run steam VR in its native mode without some kind of abstraction layer on top of the existing oculus software which runs in the background. it always was super annoying to have to run oculus dash just so facebook could spam you and try and keep you contained within their environment, without respecting your intelligence and thinking you're not going to know any better.

sadly, and this is what everyone was so concerned about at the beginning when facebook bought oculus. it seems like oculus/facebook care more about containing you within their matrix and forcing you to buy shit, instead of respecting the fact that you already paid so much for the device and allowing you to use it like any other device on a PC, treating you like an adult without forcing you to run spammy bloated crap in the background and trying to get you to believe that it's necessary when it's clearly still possible to run games using ONLY steam VR as we've seen with just about every other headset.

You don't get any of what you've just described on the quest 2 while running PC games to it via link. None at all.

In fact, you don't even get any of that when running games natively on the quest 2 either.

If your beef is with being tied to the Oculus ecosystem in any way then you'd be better served purchasing a headset from a different manufacturer. But then outside of getting valves own headset you're not going to get "only being able to run Steam VR and nothing else" as an experience. WMR was the same, Pico is the same (I also have a Pico 4).

 

[Sleepwalker]

Wait a few years for the Xbox headset and revisit this convo.

 

[GHG]

Wait a few years for the Xbox headset and revisit this convo.

Oh don't worry, it's so blatant. I see them.