Meta, formerly known as Facebook, launched a new VR headset, Quest Pro, on October 11, 2022. As you're reading this blog, the headsets might be shipped to the buyers at this moment. The product is priced at $1499. Many reviewers have reviewed online and compared the Quest Pro v.s. Quest 2, including those completed by Road Tovr that I included below. The chip and overall user experience have improved, but the battery life decreased by an hour.
(Source from Road Tovr: www.roadtovr.com/quest-pro-vs-quest-2-specs-comparison/)
Many people question Meta’s intentions given the privacy scandals that the company has encountered. Still, I want to look at Quest Pro as a stand-alone product and how Meta positioned the product.
First, it’s worth discussing which area that Quest Pro is competing in. Meta pitched it as the future for office work and partnered with Microsoft to onboard the office suit. However, this pitch has a shortcoming: the battery can only last 1-2 hours. Meta provides a charging dock for the headsets and controllers, but it's hard to charge and use simultaneously. Although it is an interesting approach to enter the professional workspace tool market, 1 hour is barely enough for two meetings or making one excel sheet. This leads to the next selling point of the headset, Gaming, where the battery disadvantage of Quest Pro matters less to the users.
Gaming is a tremendously profitable industry that has already developed into a mature market with a few oligopoly leaders leading the industry. What Quest Pro is competing with is the console market, where Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have already taken up most of the market share. There is still potential for VR video games, but Meta needs to solve a problem first -- how to foster an ecosystem for Quest headsets.
Originally, the hardware company that produces the console doesn’t always make the game. They see the opportunity for vertical integration and started buying software gaming companies and building their studios. Nowadays, hardware companies often have their gaming studios and own the IP in the games to profit from related merchandise. More people own the consoles, meaning that more developers will be interested in developing games for the consoles and potentially attracting new gamers to the platform. Quest headsets have always faced the issue that there are not many games on the platform. The early adopters often bought the headset to play one game like Beat Saber. Meta should work on creating the ecosystem by investing in a studio to create games to attract gamers who potentially might be developers for future games. Once the ecosystem is self-sustaining, Meta doesn’t need to continue investing in the gaming studio but focuses on acquiring popular games on the console.
In all, given that Quest Pro is still just a gaming console with some potential work capacity, $1499 is a relatively high price tag compared to $400 for Quest 2. Many consumers will likely hold off and wait to see the next generation of headsets.
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