Apple Vision Pro vs Meta Quest Pro: What does the "Pro" name entail in augmented reality?

After many years of development, Apple has finally unveiled its next big thing – the Vision Pro AR/VR headset. In typical Apple fashion, it features some interesting and unusual design choices, but is definitely the most premium consumer headset we've ever seen, and its insane price tag reflects it.

It only makes sense that we do an early comparison of Apple's headset against what's arguably its biggest competitor right now – Meta – and its own "Pro"-branded headset – the Meta Quest Pro. It's much cheaper, and follows the footsteps of an established brand of Quest headsets, with a library of countless popular VR games available natively for it.

So which AR/VR headset is looking better overall? Let's find out.

Apple Vision Pro vs Meta Quest Pro expected differences:

• Super high-end vs reasonably affordable
• iOS-based visionOS operating system vs Android-based Quest operating system
• Thinner aluminum body vs bulkier plastic body
• Much bigger games library on the Quest Pro, and it's likely to stay that way
• Much better productivity and multitasking app library expected on the Vision Pro
• Slightly longer battery life on the Quest Pro (and a more convenient built-in battery)
• Much brighter displays on the Vision Pro
• Apple's full ecosystem on the Vision Pro

Table of Contents:

• Price and Release Date
• Design and Weight
• Display Differences, FOV, IPD Range
• Performance
• Apps and Games
• Cameras and Passthrough
• Controllers and Hand Tracking
• Audio Quality
• Battery and Charging
• Specs

Price and Release Date

In typical Apple fashion, the Cupertino company jumped straight into the ultra high end, asking for the highest price we've seen for a consumer AR/VR headset so far – $3499.

Meta, on the other hand, consistently tries to keep the costs down and its Quest headsets reasonably affordable, and the Quest Pro is no different. However, the Quest Pro is also the most premium Quest available right now, so its price reflects that – $999.99. Still a bit expensive for most, but far more reasonable than what Apple is asking for.

As for release dates, the Apple Vision Pro has been unveiled, and officially said to be coming in early 2024.

The Meta Quest Pro is already available, initially released on October 25, 2022.

Design and Weight

The Apple Vision Pro definitely has a striking design, like its price suggests. Unlike any other AR/VR headset we've seen, it sports an OLED screen up front, which signals to the people around its user whether they can currently see their surroundings, or they're fully immersed into a VR experience.

If it's the former, that screen displays the user's eyes, which is supposed to allow for more personal interaction between the user and the people around them, while keeping the headset on. This alone gives the Vision Pro the most unique appearance.



The body of the headset itself is fairly traditional in shape and size - similar to ski-goggles, like many other modern AR/VR headset. It has a camera shutter button on top, as well as an Apple Watch-like rotating crown, and those are the only buttons to break its otherwise premium aluminum seamless design.

The headband of the Vision Pro is unlike any other we've seen so far, looking quite stretchy and breathable, and as we can expect from a consumer headset - it's also user replaceable.

In terms of weight, the Apple Vision Pro remains a mystery, albeit people who have gotten an opportunity to try it out claim about 454 grams, which, if true, is pretty light for a headset. The main reason for its low weight would be the fact that it has an external battery, as opposed to a built-in one.



As for the Meta Quest Pro, it does look more like professional equipment than a consumer VR headset, as it technically is both. Unlike the ultra premium, aluminum Vision Pro, the Quest Pro's body is plastic, but that doesn't mean cheap-feeling or looking plastic. It still looks nice and feels premium, albeit bulkier, and its weight reflects that.

The Meta Quest Pro weighs 722 grams, which can partially be explained by the fact that it sports a built-in battery – 5,348 mAh.



So overall, looks are subjective, but both headsets are quite striking and premium. While the Vision Pro is obviously way more expensive and high-end in terms of build materials, the Quest Pro is a premium headset also, particularly in its own Quest universe.

Display Differences, FOV, IPD Range

The Apple Vision Pro is using two micro-OLED screens, one for each eye, with a yet-unspecified 4k-ish resolution. We don't know its refresh rate for certain either, but early previewers have suggested that "it feels like 120Hz", which seems plausible for a high-end device like it.

Unfortunately we don't have details on its field-of-view (FOV) and IPD range, but it's an industry standard for the IPD to be adjustable between the most common IPD distances, so we can expect that.

The Meta Quest Pro uses two LCD screens at a resolution of 1800 x 1920 pixels each. While LCD isn't as good as OLED in terms of contrast and color vibrancy, the headset is no slouch when it comes to pixel density (clarity).

It also has 106º horizontal FOV, and 96º vertical FOV, which is really good, and adds to the user's immersion. The Meta Quest Pro's refresh rate is up to 120Hz.

One area where Apple's Vision Pro is definitely far ahead would be the display brightness, which has been claimed to be up to an insane 5000 nits.

The Meta Quest Pro's screen brightness is about 100 nits, which is definitely pretty dim in comparison, albeit reasonable enough for regular indoor use. However, it could have definitely been better, considering even some headsets at half the price, like the Sony PSVR2, can go well above 200 nits.

Performance

Apple is marketing the Vision Pro as basically a computer on your face, capable of advanced multitasking, and actual iPad-like productivity, with high-intensive apps. Its specs seem to reflect that – the Vision Pro is driven by two processors.

First is the powerful and efficient Apple M2, which handles the visionOS operating system, "executes advanced computer vision algorithms, and delivers stunning graphics, all with incredible efficiency".

Second is the new Apple R1 chip, which handles all the AR/VR computations. Apple claims that the R1 chip is "specifically dedicated to process input from the cameras, sensors, and microphones, streaming images to the displays within 12 milliseconds — for a virtually lag-free, real-time view of the world".

Things like RAM are still kept secret, but we can reasonably expect 8GB of RAM for the Vision Pro, at the very least, matching the latest iPad Pro. Alternatively, it might jump to 12 if Apple deems it necessary, but for now, we consider 8GB the more realistic speculation.



On to the Meta Quest Pro – it's powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ mobile processor and 12GB of RAM, which makes it also perfectly adequate for multi-window multitasking and light productivity.

However, based on our experience with Meta headsets and Apple M-based products, we can reasonably assume that the Vision Pro will be vastly smoother, and most notably, lag-free. Meta, on the other hand, while it releases great hardware, consistently underperforms when it comes to developing reliable software for it, that just works well and without hiccups, which is worth noting.

Apps and games

Apple didn't have much to share in terms of games we can expect on the Vision Pro, and it's reasonable for us to expect that it won't measure up to Meta's Quest Pro, which follows a lineage of established headsets, and has a huge game.

While the Meta Quest Pro can play some of the most popular VR games natively, the Apple Vision Pro might be disappointing to gamers, at least at launch, it seems.

However, when it comes to apps, it's a whole different story. We've heard that the Vision Pro will be able to run iPad and iPhone apps with very little modifications required from their developers, which is actually great news. The iPad has by far the best, and most efficient professional apps anyone may want on a mobile device, and having those on the Vision Pro would make it a fantastic productivity device.

The Vision Pro will, of course, also come with the usual stock Apple apps, such as the Safari web browser, Facetime, Mail and so on.

As for the Meta Quest Pro, while it will likely crush the Vision Pro in the gaming library department, when it comes to apps for productivity and entertainment, we expect it to be the winner there.

Apple has already partnered with Disney, as well as sports networks, to produce AR/VR content especially for its headset, which is something we don't see with Meta.

Cameras and Passthrough

Quick explanation of what passthrough is – it is a feature that lets the user see their real-world surroundings, through their AR/VR headset's cameras. Both the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest Pro have that feature, and it's essentially what allows for their AR (augmented reality) experiences.

The Apple Vision Pro has 12 cameras, in addition to several other sensors, and some of those cameras are used for color passthrough indeed. The Vision Pro also packs what Apple calls its first 3D camera set-up, meaning at least two of those 12 cameras can record 3D videos and capture 3D images, to be played back in 3D.

The Meta Quest Pro has 5 cameras, and is also capable of color passthrough, which is a first for Meta (the earlier Quest 2 had grainy monochrome passthrough). Unlike the Vision Pro, Meta's headsets, including the Pro, can not capture video or take photos, whether in 2D or 3D. There's no camera app.

This is actually a desirable privacy feature for some, so depending on where you stand, it might be a plus for you and the people around you.

Controllers and Hand Tracking

Keeping things simple for the user, Apple has designed the Vision Pro AR/VR headset to rely entirely on hand tracking and eye tracking, for user interaction. The Vision Pro has been claimed to sport the best eye tracking of any headset, and where you look is used to highlight UI elements.

You simply pinch your fingers to select whatever you're highlighting with your eyes, Users can also use their hands to scroll through the interface and move windows around. In addition, Vision Pro can use voice recognition and Siri to perform actions on their headset.

The Meta Quest Pro, being a descendant of VR gaming headsets, does come with two controllers, which are essentially required for VR gaming. However, users can opt into using hand tracking also, as it too is available. Same goes for voice commands.

The Quest Pro's controllers are powered by built-in rechargeable batteries, and offer up to 10 hours of use before needing to charge. They're also quite a bit more compact than previous Meta VR controllers, which is good news.

So while Meta's hand tracking isn't exactly flawless just yet, it does look good, and when it comes to versatility, the Quest Pro is the winner here.

However, it's reasonable to expect that AR/VR controllers could be made for the Vision Pro too, after its release, whether by Apple or third parties. So it too might eventually have both hand tracking and controller support. It's already advertised as having support for wireless mice and keyboards, which the Quest Pro also has.

Audio Quality

The Apple Vision Pro has two speakers with spatial audio support, so we can expect immersive audio experiences from them. Knowing Apple's track record with iPhone and iPad speakers, we can expect those to sound very good, if not better than any AR/VR headset so far.

No headphone jack on the Vision Pro, though, which shouldn't be surprising by now, but it does obviously have support for Bluetooth headphones like AirPods Max and Pro.

The Meta Quest Pro also has two speakers with spatial audio support, and their sound quality is better than other headsets we've tried, such as the Oculus Rift and Valve Index. In addition, the Quest Pro has a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired headphones, which is a rarity nowadays.

However, the Quest Pro doesn't support pairing with Bluetooth headphones easily, at least not without a special dongle, so that's a downside, considering most of us have moved to wireless headphones by now. But again, wired headphone users are covered.

Battery and Charging

Quite unusually, Apple has decided to give its first AR/VR headset an external battery, which dangles from a cable, and is meant to be kept in the user's pocket. This is an interesting design choice, likely to keep the headset's body light and thin, while all other consumer headsets have the battery built into them.

We're yet to know how big the Vision Pro's external battery is in terms of mAh, but Apple promises that it can power the headset for up to 2 hours. It's definitely not a lot, perhaps not even enough to watch a single movie, so we can probably guess that bigger third party batteries will start hitting the market once the headset is out, as users will definitely want them.

Alternatively, users can use the Vision Pro plugged in and not worry about battery life.

The Meta Quest Pro has a 5,348 mAh battery built into the headset, so there's nothing dangling from it, and users don't need to worry about storing it in pockets. Its battery life is roughly 2.5 hours, depending on the games or apps the user is running, but if watching content such as YouTube videos or movies, it can reach nearly 3 hours.

The Quest Pro can also alternatively be used plugged in, which negates the need for charging or worrying about running out of battery.

So in terms of battery life and sheer convenience, we can argue that the Quest Pro is looking better right now.

Specs