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Meta to Resume Quest Sales in Germany Following 2-year Antitrust Case

From roadtovr

Over the past two years Meta hasn’t sold its VR headsets in Germany due to an ongoing antitrust suit in that country that alleges the forced linkage between its virtual reality products and Facebook was an anticompetitive practice. Now it seems that’s about to change, as regulators have intimated that Meta may be free and clear soon to resume sales in Germany.

As reported by German VR publication MIXED, residents of Europe’s largest economy will soon be able to order Quest 2 and Quest Pro, which are both set to be available in-country by the end of this year.

After the sales halt in September 2020, Germany-based customers had to import Meta VR devices, which was typically done by buying from online retailers based in neighboring European countries, such as France’s Amazon.fr or Italy’s Amazon.it.

Resuming sales in Germany is directly linked to Meta’s backtracking on forced Facebook logins in August. Andreas Mundt, President of Germany’s Federal Cartel Office which is tasked with antitrust enforcement in that country, calls this a “welcome development,” although the process is still not concluded.

Here’s Mundt’s full statement, translated to English:

With Meta’s digital ecosystem created with a very large number of users, the company is the key player in the social media space. Meta also has a significant position in the growing VR market. If the use of VR glasses were only possible for Facebook or Instagram members, this could severely affect competition in both areas. Meta has responded to our concerns and offered a solution by setting up a separate Meta account to use the Quest glasses. Despite this welcome development, we are not concluding the process today. First of all, we want to continue to accompany the actual design of the options for users as well as topics of the merging and processing of user data from the various meta-services.

Although a Meta spokesperson tells MIXED that both Quest 2 and the new Quest Pro will be available in-country at some point this year, the exact date is unclear.

Thanks to our reader Blaexe for pointing out that it wasn’t a block, but an anticipatory halt on Meta’s part during the ongoing antitrust suit. We’ve changed wording to reflect this.

‘Batman VR’ App Allegedly in the Works for Quest, FTC Filing Claims

From roadtovr

Among documents released by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) earlier this week is a claim that Meta’s VR studio Camouflaj, the developers behind Marvel’s Ironman VR, have also planned a Batman VR app for release on Quest.

The apparent leak was found by Janko Roettgers, formerly of Protocol and Variety. The document in whole can be viewed here.

“In September 2022, Meta acquired Camouflaj, which currently developing Ironman and Batman VR apps for Quest.”

The information comes as a part of wider antitrust investigation into Meta’s acquisition of Within, the studio behind the VR fitness app. You can read more about that here.

Last we heard from Camouflaj before the acquisition by Meta, the studio said it had “exciting things on the horizon,” maintaining it was still “all-in on VR.”

As early as May 2022, the studio was hiring for a host of positions to work on its “next exciting AAA project.”

A few months later the studio then released Iron Man VR on Quest 2, releasing it from its two-year exclusivity on PSVR.

Camouflaj hasn’t announced any new projects at this point either. We’ve reached out to Meta for comment and will update when/if we hear back.

Meta to Lay Off 11,000 Employees, Reducing Workforce by 13 Percent

From roadtovr

Meta is decreasing its workforce by around 12.6 percent in a layoff that will affect 11,000 of its employees, making it the largest tech layoff this year.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this in an internal memo obtained by Reuters:

“Not only has online commerce returned to [pre-covid] prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected,” Zuckerberg said. “I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.”

Meta plans to cut discretionary spending and extend its hiring freeze through the first quarter, Reuters maintains. Laid off Meta employees are said to receive 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for every year of service, as well as all remaining paid time off, as a part of the severance package.

It’s not certain what percentage of layoffs will affect those working in Reality Labs. We’ve reached out to Meta for further comment and will update this if/when we hear back.

Trouble in XR Paradise?

Meta’s most recent quarterly earnings spelled trouble when it was released last month. Close to celebrating its first year after rebranding from Facebook to become a self-described ‘metaverse’ company, Meta battled slumping revenues across multiple divisions, not least of which was its XR centerpiece Reality Labs, which took an expected hit that didn’t sit right with investors.

While Meta has been aggressively spending on its XR division over the past few years, its recent shift away from Facebook amid all-time low revenues and record inflation has made layoffs almost a guarantee to keep stock prices from plummeting further.

Back in May, Reuters reported that hiring freezes would affect Reality Labs, which has added more than 13,000 employees last year and nearly 6,000 in the first quarter this year.

Zuckerberg warned at the time that Reality Labs probably wouldn’t truly profit for at least decade. In the meantime, the Meta’s XR efforts has cost the company $10.2 billion in 2021 and another $3 billion in the first quarter this year.

Meanwhile, Meta has just released its $1,500 Meta Quest Pro mixed reality headset for prosumers and business, and plans to release a consumer-focused follow-up, likely dubbed Quest 3, sometime in 2023.

Meta Reality Labs Latest Revenue & Operating Cost Figures Aren’t Going to Make Investors Happy

From roadtovr

In Meta’s most recent quarterly earnings call the company shared the latest revenue figures of Reality Labs, the company’s XR division. In the third quarter of the year the division hit new milestones… unfortunately not the kind investors like to see.

Meta has been clear about its plan to spend aggressively on its XR initiatives over the next several years. So while it isn’t a surprise to see the company’s latest operating costs for Reality Labs reaching an all-time high, seeing that record in the face of an all-time low revenue record for the quarter isn’t a great look.

Meta has only been sharing its Reality Labs revenue and operating cost figures since Q4 2020, so while it’s certain that prior periods had less revenue and potentially even more spending, these new milestones shared for the third quarter of 2022 are as far back as Meta has shared the data (roughly the last two years).

The likely reasons for the lower revenue and higher spending may have to do with timing more than anything. As of Q3 2022, Meta hasn’t launched a new headset in two years. That’s probably meant slowing sales of Quest 2, especially considering the company confirmed work on its next headset a year ago, which may also have slowed sales. Not to mention that the company raised the price of Quest 2 earlier this year. While on its face that should mean more revenue, it also may have reduced demand for the headset.

It won’t be until the Q4 earnings call that we see the impact Quest Pro will have on the Reality Labs bottom line.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has warned shareholders that the company’s XR investments may not flourish until 2030, but the company still needs to tread carefully to maintain faith among its investors.

Meta’s Next-gen Avatar Presentation Was Too Good to Be True… For Now at Least

From roadtovr

This week Meta showed off a preview of its next-gen avatars during the Connect keynote. Frankly, they looked great! However, there’s… less than meets the eye here.

When Mark Zuckerberg appeared in Horizon during the Connect 2022 keynote sporting a next-gen Meta avatar with complete body tracking I was frankly blown away. Compared to the existing leg-less avatars that everyone appears as in Horizon, these new models not only had a full body, but also incredibly natural and movements with not a glitch in sight… it seemed almost too good to be true.

From what I know of the existing tech and limitations for tracking the body from a headset… what was shown here would have amounted to breakthrough work from Meta. Here was Zuckerberg literally jumping around and touching his feet with seemingly perfect tracking. His on-stage guest also highlighted what appeared to be perfectly accurate elbow tracking, something that’s only roughly estimated with today’s avatars. Zuckerberg then proceeded to say that these avatars would be launching sometime next year.

But all is not what it seems. After reaching out to Meta to clarify what tech was used to create that segment, a spokesperson told me the team used common external motion capture tech to drive the movement of the avatars, rather than its own solution running real-time on one of its headsets.

From my conversation with Meta, the company explained the segment was intended to show off how the next-gen Meta avatars look (from a model and texture standpoint) but how they moved was, “presented for illustrative, forward-looking purposes,” the company said.

So I have serious doubts that the first full-body VR avatars from Meta will have this level of high quality body tracking—and I’d argue the company was a little deceptive here.

What we’re probably going to see in the first iteration of Meta avatars with legs is an AI inference of leg positions that will look plausible from a third-person view… but nothing like being able to jump around and touch your feet—in fact, from a first-person view you probably won’t be shown your virtual legs.

But there’s no doubt that Meta’s avatars have been getting consistently better and that the company has been doing tons of R&D to try to reach the vision Zuckerberg presented.

Meta is burning the candle on both ends here. For one it’s steadily upgrading the avatars that actually exist today—like new face-tracking that will come thanks to Quest Pro—to make them more expressive and human. And on the other end, the company is working to try to make the most photorealistic avatars it can with its Codec Avatar project, which it hopes will one day be usable even on low-powered headsets.

So I won’t say that Meta will never have avatars that show the kind of full-body tracking quality that was shown off at Connect 2022. In fact there’s an interesting possibility that VR controllers with on-board cameras (like Touch Pro) might be able to solve this problem one day, but it seems certain this won’t be the case for the first version of Meta’s legged avatars.

Quest Pro Revealed with Snapdragon XR2+, Face-tracking, & More; Ships October 25th for $1,500

From roadtovr

Today during Meta Connect the company finally revealed its high-end Quest Pro headset (formerly called Project Cambria). Priced at $1,500, the headset packs a new Snapdragon XR2+ processor along with a bevy of sensors for tracking the user’s expressions and the world around them for improved passthrough AR capabilities. Alongside new and improved controllers, the company also revealed the full Quest Pro specs, pre-order date, and release date.

Key Quest Pro Coverage:

Quest Pro Hands-on – The Dawn of the Mixed Reality Headset Era

Quest Pro Technical Analysis – What’s Promising & What’s Not

Touch Pro Controllers Revealed – Also Compatible with Quest 2

Quest Pro was just announced and is already available for pre-order starting today in 22 countries. Priced at $1,500 and with a release date of October 25th, Quest Pro is fully compatible with Quest 2 content while bringing improvements that will enhance passthrough AR functionality and social interactions thanks to face-tracking capabilities. Let’s take a look at the on-paper specs:

Quest Pro Specs
Resolution 1800 × 1920 (3.5MP) per-eye, LCD (2x)
Refresh Rate 72Hz, 90Hz
Lenses Pancake non-Fresnel
Field-of-view (claimed) 106ºH × 96ºV
Optical Adjustments Continuous IPD, contiguous eye-relief
IPD Adjustment Range 55–75mm
Processor Snapdragon XR2+
RAM 12GB
Storage 256GB
Connectors USB-C
Weight 722g
Battery Life 1–2 hours
Headset Tracking Inside-out (no external beacons)
Controller Tracking Inside-out (headset line-of-sight not needed)
Expression Tracking Yes (eyes, face)
On-board cameras 5x external, 5x internal
Input Touch Pro controllers (rechargeable), hand-tracking, voice
Audio In-headstrap speakers, dual 3.5mm aux output
Microphone Yes
Pass-through view Yes (color)
MSRP $1,500

Compact Optics & Form-factor

Image courtesy Meta

From a resolution and field-of-view standpoint, Quest Pro is actually quite similar to Quest 2, boasting an almost identical resolution of 1800 × 1920 (3.5MP) per-eye, but with a much more compact optical pipeline thanks to the use of ‘pancake’ lenses which moves the headset more toward a ‘goggle’-like form-factor than the old box-on-the-face of its predecessor. At 722g, Quest Pro is heavier than Quest 2, but may actually be more comfortable thanks to a rear-mounted battery for balance and a rigid headstrap.

And while the resolution isn’t higher, Meta claims Quest Pro has better clarity thanks to the headset’s new optics: a 25% improvement in sharpness at the center of the field-of-view, and a 50% improvement across the periphery (meaning larger ‘sweet-spot’ of clarity). As of now we’re not sure if those claims are merely about the lenses, or if they include the display as well, though we’ve reached out to Meta for clarity (pun intended).

Image courtesy Meta

Meta also claims Quest Pro includes a 500-element local dimming backlight which enables improved contrast up to 75% compared to Quest 2, while also allowing for a 1.3 times larger range of color.

New Controllers & Capabilities

Image courtesy Meta

Quest Pro’s controllers, which Meta is calling Touch Pro, are similar in shape but majorly upgraded under the hood. Gone are the tracking rings, which are instead replaced by three cameras which allow the controller to perform its own inside-out tracking. Not only does this make the Touch Pro controllers more compact, it also means they don’t need line-of-sight to the headset in order to maintain their position.

What’s more, the Touch Pro controllers feature improved haptics and new capabilities. The thumb rest of the controller has been angled and now includes a pressure sensor which allows for a natural pinch-like gesture. The controllers come with stylus tips which can be attached to the bottom, allowing you to flip the controller over to use like a bulbous white-board marker. The stylus even has a pressure sensor to determine how hard or soft you’re pushing against a surface.

Despite the new capabilities, the Touch Pro controllers maintain the same button and trigger layout as the Quest 2 controllers for full backwards compatibility with Quest 2 content. Touch Pro controllers are also the first from Meta that are rechargeable.

Though they are included with Quest Pro, the Touch Pro controllers are compatible with Quest 2 and can be purchased as an accessory for $300 starting later this year.

Better Sensing, Inside and Out

Image courtesy Meta

Quest Pro doesn’t just bring improved form-factor and controllers, the headset is also equipped with a bevy of sensors for better integrating the real world into the user’s experience, and better integrating the user into the virtual world.

Quest Pro packs five external sensors for passthrough AR capabilities, offering a higher resolution color view with improved depth-detection, making the headset better at understanding the geometry of the room around the user, and allowing it to more convincingly merge the virtual and real world.

The headset also includes five internal sensors for tracking the user’s eyes and face. In addition to using eye-tracking as input (potentially for things like foveated rendering), the sensors track much more information about the user’s face, allowing for significantly more expressive avatars than what’s possible on Quest 2.

Powered Up Processor

Given all the new and processing happening on Quest Pro, it’s a good thing the headset also sees both a processor and RAM upgrade. Quest Pro uses the newly revealed Snapdragon XR2+, an upgraded version of the processor that’s in Quest 2 but with better cooling, allowing for 50% more processing power. The headset also doubles the RAM over Quest 2 from 6GB to 12GB. As of now it isn’t clear how much of this increase in performance will be available to developers vs. how much will be retained for system functions like tracking.

More Features, Less Battery

Though Quest Pro includes a heap of enhancements over Quest 2, it comes with a cost… and not just in price. Meta says users can expect 1–2 hours of Quest Pro battery life. Luckily the headset includes a charging dock for both the headset and controllers, hopefully ensuring it’s ready to go whenever you are. Meta says the headset can charge to full from the dock in about 2 hours.

Complement Not Replacement, Says Meta

Image courtesy Meta

Meta says Quest Pro represents the company’s first entry in a line of “high-end” headsets, while Quest 2 and its progeny will continue to co-exist as an entry-level option.

Quest Pro is fully compatible with Quest 2 content, and while the headset is designed with an emphasis on passthrough AR (with an open peripheral view to keep users more grounded in their environment), the headset also includes magnetically attachable peripheral blinders to dial up the immersion for VR. A separate ‘full light blocker’, which blocks out even more of the surrounding view is available as a separate accessory.

– – — – –

Quest Pro is priced at $1,500 and pre-orders are available today, with headsets poised to ship starting on October 25th.

Meta Reveals Touch Pro Controllers for Quest Pro, Also Compatible with Quest 2

From roadtovr

Meta’s new Quest Pro headset includes Touch Pro controllers which come with a bevy upgrades, and they’ll work with Quest 2 as well.

Meta says that Quest Pro and Quest 2 will co-exist as high-end and entry-level headset lines, and there’s perhaps no clearer evidence of this than that the company has taken the time to make its new Touch Pro controllers compatible with both headsets.

Key Quest Pro Coverage:

Quest Pro Revealed – Full Specs, Price, & Release Date

Quest Pro Hands-on – The Dawn of the Mixed Reality Headset Era

Quest Pro Technical Analysis – What’s Promising & What’s Not

Touch Pro Controllers Revealed – Also Compatible with Quest 2

Touch Pro controllers do away with the tracking ring that’s been present on every Touch controller to date. This time around they use three on-board cameras to perform their own inside-out tracking.

Not only does this make the controllers more compact, it also means they don’t need to have line-of-sight to the headset in order to maintain tracking. That means they should work great even when your hands are above your head, at your side, or behind you. And I’m sure someone will try attaching them to their feet.

Touch Pro controllers also include two new capabilities not seen in those prior: a pressure sensor for pinching and a pressure sensitive stylus tip.

The pinch sensor is on the controller’s thumb rest, allowing users to squeeze the controller between their index finger and thumb for a natural pinching gesture. Thanks to its pressure sensitivity this makes for a somewhat more nuanced input compared to the controller’s buttons and triggers.

The stylus tip, which is included with the controllers but can be freely detached, allows the controller to be used like a bulbous white-board marker with pressure sensitivity so it can understand how hard you’re pushing as you draw against physical surfaces.

Photo by Road to VR

Touch Pro also includes improved haptics with more powerful and precise haptic engines inside, and they’re rechargeable.

Image courtesy Meta

But Quest 2 users should fear not… all of the Touch Pro improvements are within reach. Meta says Touch Pro controllers are fully compatible with Quest 2 and the company plans to sell them as a standalone accessory priced at $300 for a pair. A firm release date for Touch Pro controllers hasn’t been set yet, but the company says they’ll be available for standalone purchase “later this year.”

Microsoft & Meta to Bring Key Productivity Tools to Quest, Including Windows 11 via Cloud

From roadtovr

Meta and Microsoft today announced at Connect that starting in 2023 the Quest platform is getting a host of Windows productivity tools along with the ability to use Windows 11 via the cloud.

First, here’s a list of what’s coming to the Quest platform:

  • Microsoft Teams immersive meeting experiences for Meta Quest: Connect,
    share, and collaborate in Teams immersive experiences.
  • Microsoft Windows 365: Stream the Windows experience on Quest Pro and Quest 2 devices, and access your personalized apps, content, and settings in VR.
  • Microsoft 365 app experiences: Interact with 2D content from
    Sharepoint or productivity apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook directly from Quest Pro and Quest 2.
  • Microsoft Teams/Workrooms integration: Join a Teams meeting from inside
    Workrooms.
  • Meta Avatars in Microsoft Teams: Use your Meta Avatar in Teams for
    whiteboarding, brainstorming, and meetups.
  • Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory support: Enable
    enterprise security and management on Quest Pro and Quest 2 devices.

Notably, Windows 365 gives business and enterprise users access to a version of Windows 10 or Windows 11, streaming from Cloud PCs to the user’s web browser.

The partnership is ostensibly building on Meta’s early steps towards virtual offices with Horizon Workrooms, something Meta says will help make Meta Quest Pro “an enterprise-ready device that’s easy to use, deploy, and manage at scale.”

Key Quest Pro Coverage:

Quest Pro Revealed – Full Specs, Price, & Release Date

Quest Pro Hands-on – The Dawn of the Mixed Reality Headset Era

Quest Pro Technical Analysis – What’s Promising & What’s Not

Touch Pro Controllers Revealed – Also Compatible with Quest 2

There’s no launch date in sight yet, however the companies say we can expect to see these apps sometime next year.

A new ‘Meta Quest for Business’ subscription bundle for Quest Pro and Quest 2 is also said to include “essential admin features” such as device and application management, premium support, and access to Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory.

“This means companies that want to provision Meta Quest devices can be confident that the security and management options they expect from PCs and mobile devices will be available in VR,” Meta says.

This comes alongside the official unveiling of Quest Pro, which carries with it the very business-centric price tag of $1,500 for the 256 GB model.

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

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:

AptImperfectEyas-size_restricted.gif

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

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:

Image courtesy ‘dilmerv’

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.

Image courtesy Zectariuz Gaming

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.