meta project cambria

Alleged Quest Pro Leak Shows Meta’s Next-gen Headset in Action

October 6, 2022 From roadtovr

Immersed, a startup known for its work-focused productivity app for VR, may have jumped the gun a little early, as the company posted a short clip of what appears to be Meta’s upcoming Project Cambria mixed reality headset (aka ‘Quest Pro’).

The video, spotted in a company blogpost, appears to be demonstrating the Immersed app in action on the unreleased Quest Pro, making use of its hand tracking and mixed reality capabilities.

Here’s a copy of the GIF, which has since been removed from the post:

First putting on a Quest Pro headset, the clip shows a user toggling through three levels of immersion: a full-color augmented reality view for productivity, a fully-immersed VR view for real-time collaboration, and a mixed reality view which combines both elements by also incorporating a physical keyboard and the user’s actual hands.

Meta hasn’t publicly acknowledged the Quest Pro naming scheme yet, however after an alleged unauthorized unboxing of the headset last month has shown the supposed unit’s exterior in full replete with Quest Pro branding—basically unveiling it well ahead of Meta’s upcoming Connect developer conference due to take place October 11th.

Based on images courtesy Immersed, Zectariuz Gaming

If there was any doubt, here are still images from the video (left) and from the unauthorized unboxing of Quest Pro (right). The only notable difference between the two is the inclusion of a light-blocking facial interface in Immersed’s shot, which may come in the box or be an extra for the sake of better immersion.

We’re sure to learn more then, although it seems fairly certain we’ll not only be seeing a lot of the next-gen standalone at Connect, but maybe a chance to plonk down some cash too for the admittedly expensive headset, said to be priced “significantly” higher than $800.

When speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in late August, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg let it slip that the company’s “next device [is] coming out in October,” which could mean we’ll be seeing an official pre-order announcement there too.

And the leaks don’t stop there. While readers should take it with a grain of salt, there’s been a report of a cheaper Meta Quest 3 set to follow Quest Pro at some point next year, which includes the latter’s full-color AR passthrough and depth sensor, however omitting Quest Pro’s face and eye-tracking function.

Alleged Quest Pro Unboxing Video Apparently Leaks Meta’s Next VR Headset

September 12, 2022 From roadtovr

As rumored over the past few months, Meta’s upcoming high-end VR headset Project Cambria seems to be named Quest Pro. And an apparent unboxing video has leaked too, which gives us a good look at the company’s next VR headset and controllers.

We saw the exterior box of Meta Quest Pro pop up on Reddit over the weekend, but a new video seems to have completely blown the cover off Meta’s next VR headset. Here’s a look at the box below for reference:

The video was obtained by Spanish language PC gaming streamer Zectariuz Gaming and posted to their Facebook, showing off the headset’s exterior and controllers.

The images above, appended with the ‘Engineering Sample’ sticker, are also seen on the box in the video, suggesting that either final or very near-final versions of the hardware aren’t just in the hands of trusted developers.

Here’s a breakdown of what we see in the video if you haven’t caught our previous coverage. Meta Quest Pro is a high-end VR headset capable of AR interactions thanks to its color passthrough cameras, which are placed on the front part of the headset.

You’ll also probably notice the headset is remarkably more compact than Meta Quest 2, which is due to the inclusion of pancake lenses. Those, like the name suggests, are flatter than traditional Fresnel lenses, reducing the space between the display and lens for a slimmer, less front-heavy profile. The headset also includes eye and facial-tracking, although we don’t really get a good enough look at the inside of the headset to learn anything new here.

The controllers are also a completely new design for the company, as you’ll see they’re missing the traditional infrared optical tracking rings seen on Rift, Rift S, Quest and Quest 2. The slimmer controller is studded with its own inside-out sensors that in theory should allow for more robust tracking since they don’t need to be within the line of sight of the headset itself.

There’s still no definite word on specs or price, although that last bit of info is officially slated to be “significantly higher” than $800, solidly putting Quest Pro in the enterprise and prosumer space.

There are also rumors (still unconfirmed by Meta) on Quest Pro’s specs. The data below is courtesy Bradley Lynch of SadlyItsBradely, however since they aren’t official please take with a grain of salt:

2,160 x 2,160 MiniLED Backlit LCD Panels (2)
Custom Pancake Lenses (2)
16MP Color Camera for Color Passthrough
Eye + Face Tracking (IR Camera based)
Qualcomm XR2+ Gen 1 SoC
12GB LPDDR5 RAM
256GB SSD
WiFi 6E Support
~5000 mAh battery

There is some decidedly more solid info on release for Meta’s next headset though. Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg let it slip that its “next device [is] coming out in October,” which suggests a Quest Pro will follow in the footsteps of Quest 2 by being release during the company’s Connect developer conference, which takes place on October 11th, 2022.

Meta Connect Dev Conference to Be Held Virtually on October 11th

September 6, 2022 From roadtovr

Meta today announced that its next installment of Connect, the company’s annual XR developer conference, is again going digital this year. The event, which promises to share updates and looks into the “near and far future” of Meta, will be held on October 11th, 2022.

Like last year’s all-digital Connect, this year’s dev conference will include livestreaming keynotes and developer sessions, which the company says will be available on the Reality Labs Facebook page. And it’s all being boiled down into one day.

There’s no schedule out yet, however the company says its one-day virtual event will explore “the building of the metaverse and the future of augmented and virtual reality.” You can sign up for updates over at metaconnect.com for any upcoming livestreams.

We’d expect that much, but more specifically we’re hoping to learn a few key things. Topping the list is info surrounding its next VR headset, Project Cambria, or what is rumored to be dubbed Meta Quest Pro.

On the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg let it slip that its “next device [is] coming out in October,” which suggests a Cambria launch during Connect. That would also mean we get the full info drop on the so-called Quest Pro then. Reminder: at more than $800 Cambria is likely meant for prosumers and developers looking to get their hands on a VR headset capable of AR interactions (aka ‘mixed reality’) thanks to color passthrough and built-in eye tracking.

Whatever we see though will most certainly need top last year’s big name change if the company wants to make good on its complete rebranding, which essentially unplugged the Facebook and Oculus brand names and pivoted the company to focus more on building the metaverse.

Some other bits we’d expect in Connect 2022: Meta’s social VR space Horizon Worlds demonstrating a more definite direction, which we’d hope includes better-looking avatars and the sort of baked-in social features its VR hardware has been missing since, well, forever.

Now that Oculus…er…Meta Quest 2 has seen a price bump and the company still hasn’t delivered on its ambitious metaverse concepts, Connect 2022 may be just the place for the company to set expectations for Meta moving forward.

Allegedly Leaked Project Cambria Files Could Reveal Internal Design

June 2, 2022 From roadtovr

Meta is still pretty camera-shy when it comes to showing off Project Cambria, the company’s upcoming high-end VR headset which offers AR passthrough. It’s been intentionally blurred for its few on-screen demos, however now we may have just gotten a look under the hood.

YouTuber and tech analyst Brad Lynch (SadlyItsBradley) released a number of images in a post on his Patreon page which appear to be CAD files of Project Cambria.

Lynch previously released a render of an alleged production version of Cambria back in April, however he says some of those details were misinterpreted. With the leaked files, Lynch says there’s a few key items he’s noticed that are included in the upcoming headset that weren’t previously apparent.

“You may notice a wire on the right side of the device. In one of the pictures its sorta coiled/curved. This is the power delivery wire that connects the battery in the back of the head strap to the HMD up front. It seems that when you adjust the strap to the ‘closest point,’ it will coil automatically. And stretch to be straight when you adjust the opposite way,” Lynch says in the Patreon post.

Lynch notes that on the headset’s left side, a clip attached to the headstrap may be for the USB-C cable that is allegedly bundled with the device.

“This is very similar to how most PC VR HMDs include a plastic clip to run a tether around comfortable their devices. I am shocked they are including this, since I figured they would push the Oculus Air Link method rather than the Oculus (wired) Link method but there it is. Especially from the fact this device is almost certain to include Wifi-6E.”

In the image above you can also make out the adjustment knob for the headset’s strap.

Lynch also posits that a knob on the front of the headset is to dial-in lens distance from the face, or similar to how the comfort dial works on Valve Index.

He also alleges the IPD mechanism is set by “grabbing the lenses themselves and moving them,” as opposed to dialing them in with some sort of wheel mechanism. Unlike Quest 2, Lynch says it offers smooth adjustments between interpupillary distance (IPD) sizes for more precise user comfort.

And what sets Cambria apart from other headsets: Lynch alleges it has two “glacier” cameras on the front left and right, and one “teton” high resolution RGB Camera in the center, the latter of which is used to colorize the monochrome stereo glacier sensors.

A supposed infrared (IR) projector is also there—a small square sitting just above the centrally located RGB sensor—which is said to provide additional depth data for environmental mapping.

Lynch has spent considerable time over the past few months datamining with fellow VR cohorts Basti564 and Samulia to track down rumors and info. Although Lynch doesn’t reveal where this info came from, he maintains its a “large leak.”

Lynch has also included a prediction of specs based on those files and other obtained info. It’s said to feature:

2,160 x 2,160 MiniLED Backlit LCD Panels (2)
Custom Pancake Lenses (2)
16MP Color Camera for Color Passthrough
Eye + Face Tracking (IR Camera based)
Qualcomm XR2+ Gen 1 SoC
12GB LPDDR5 RAM
256GB SSD
WiFi 6E Support
~5000 mAh battery

There’s still no precise launch information yet for Project Cambria, although Meta has gone one record saying it’s slated to be “significantly higher” than $800, making it targeted more squarely at developers and enthusiasts.

Unofficial Render Purports to Show Production Model of Meta’s Next-gen Headset, Project Cambria

April 7, 2022 From roadtovr

YouTuber SadlyItsBradley claims to have seen actual photos of the production model of Meta’s next-gen mixed reality headset, Project Cambria. Though they aren’t sharing the source photos, they worked with a 3D modeler to create a detailed rendering of what the photos showed.

SadlyItsBradley is an XR hardware analyst who has spent considerable time digging deep to track down rumors and info relating to upcoming VR hardware. Recently they claimed that Meta’s upcoming mixed reality headset, currently known as Project Cambria, reached its ‘DVT’ phase which means that it’s nearly ready for production.

SadlyItsBradley also claims to have seen actual photos of the production-ready Project Cambria, and while they couldn’t share the photos themselves, they worked with a 3D modeler Marcus Kane to recreate what was seen in detail. Below are the renders that resulted.

Project Cambria Unofficial Renders

In the video accompanying the renders, Bradley talked about the array of cameras on the headset, including a pod of four sensors hidden underneath the front cover. According to them, the pod contains two cameras and two non-camera sensors which are theorized to be some kind of depth-sensor:

What’s especially notable about the renders is how compact the optics and display housing is compared to current VR headsets. If the renders are fairly accurate, this affirms that Project Cambria is likely moving to a new optics system compared to past headsets (likely a ‘pancake’-style optic).

Some of this info and speculation—and even much of the look of the device—was teased by Meta itself last year. At the time the company said Project Cambria would include “high-res color mixed reality passthrough,” new optics, eye & face tracking, and controllers which do away with the tracking rings (likely moving to on-board inside-out tracking). The company also confirmed that Project Cambria would launch in 2022, though no further details on a release date or price have been announced.