Meta shows off new high-end VR tech

Meta has made a huge announcement by showing off its next step into the metaverse with Meta Quest Pro VR headset.

Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Meta’s new high-end VR headset, which aims to take a major leap forward for VR technology, at Wednesday’s Connect conference.

With an asking price of $2,449.99, the Meta Quest Pro will come in at nearly four times the price of Meta’s current headset.

The hefty price tag reflects a host of new features, including facial expression tracking to allow avatars to mimic users’ faces, and sleeker LCD displays.

As well as the inward-facing sensors, the new headset upgrades its sensor cameras to deliver the company’s first full-colour mixed reality device.

It will allow graphics to be overlaid on real-world footage, blurring the boundaries between the physical world and the metaverse.

Meta’s new high-end VR headset.

The unveiling comes as Mr Zuckerberg announced a partnership with Microsoft and Accenture to integrate workplace technology into the metaverse.

“The main reason that we’re in this space is that we think that VR can be very powerful for social connection and with the Quest Pro, we want to bring more of that into the work context as well, where Microsoft already has some incredibly successful products in the market,” he said.

Microsoft Teams and Accenture’s business-focused IT were flagged as key focuses for the platform going forward, as it looks to promote VR as the next phase in online workplace collaboration.

The unveiling comes as Mr Zuckerberg announced a partnership with Microsoft and Accenture.

As it attempts to convince businesses to get on board, and moves further into collecting biometric data such as facial expressions, Meta has acknowledged privacy as a key concern.

“Images your Meta Quest Pro captures of your eyes and face never leave your device and are deleted after processing,” a statement from the company read.

“This means that neither Meta nor third-party apps will have access to these images.”