Meta introduces new virtual reality headset

Meta Platforms recently unveiled a device that allows users to combine the computer-generated world with the real one.

Meta showed off his Quest Pro virtual and mixed reality headset at the company’s annual Connect conference on Tuesday. It is expected to be available in stores starting October 25, priced at $1,500.

The headset offers consumer a way to interact with virtual images superimposed to a full-color image of the physical world around them.

The new product is considered important to Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg. It’s also the company’s latest attempt to break into the market for extended reality computing devices, which cost big.

Last year, Zuckerberg changed the name of his company from Facebook to Meta. The goal was to show that the company is turning its attention to what it calls the Metaverse. The Metaverse is a computing experience where users share one immersive environment on computers.

Zuckerberg has spent billions of dollars on the project. Reality Labs, the meta division responsible for building the metaverse, lost $10.2 billion in 2021 and has lost nearly $6 billion so far this year.

Zuckerberg spoke at the launch event. It was partly recorded as video and partly as recorded avatar. He said he expects the blending of the physical and digital worlds to create new uses for computers.

“You will see completely new things categories of things being built,” he said.

The Quest Pro has several improvements over Meta’s existing Quest 2 headset. The Quest 2 is a best selling headset in the consumer virtual reality market.

The Quest Pro has cameras that record a kind 3D Image of the physical environment around a user. This enables actions such as placing a virtual painting on a real wall or bouncing a virtual ball on a real table.

The Quest 2 offers a simpler version of this technology called passthrough.

The Quest Pro is lighter and thinner than previous headsets. It has thin lenses and a battery that sits on the back. This helps balance the headset and reduce its weight.

Meta has added tracking sensors to the Quest Pro that can copy users’ eye movements and facial expressions, creating a sense of avatars making eye contact.

Meta says the Quest Pro can be a productivity tool that designers, architects, and other creative professionals can use.

In addition to offering a dedicated Horizon social and workspace platformsMeta has also made available virtual versions of Microsoft products such as Word, Outlook and Teams. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joined Zuckerberg to announce the partnership.

Matthew Ball writes about the Metaverse. He said he thinks such partnerships are important because they suggest to companies that different systems should be connected.

But he added that many people doubt that the different systems can be linked. He noted that Microsoft and Meta compete on several products related to extended reality.

Days before its launch, Meta showed reporters what type of users it hoped to target. It featured apps like Tribe XR, a virtual training environment for DJs.

Tribe XR is a program already available in virtual reality, but a demonstration showed how passthrough technology can give DJs the ability to use the app for real-world performances. With the new technology, they can see beyond their virtual equipment and see real partygoers.

Meta said it wants the device to be sold as an additional tool rather than a replacement for the entry-level Quest 2, which costs $400.

Complex programs are not linked to Quest Pro at the moment. Observers say Meta may want its Metaverse technology to support this.

The company is still working on a mixed reality experience for its Horizon Workrooms app that makes a person’s avatar appear as if they’re present in a real-world conference room with other users, which Meta is calling Magic Rooms.

The Quest Pro is more affordable than existing business devices like Microsoft’s HoloLens 2. It became available for business use in 2019 and is already present in operating rooms and factories.

A HoloLens 2 starts at around $3,500.

I’m Andrew Smith. And I’m Caty Weaver.

Katie Paul reported this story for Reuters. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.

____________________________________________________________________

words in this story

virtual – adj. an imitation of reality or something real

headset -n. an electronic device worn on the head that plays images and sounds to the user

superimposed – adj. added on top of something

immersive – adj. surround something or someone and appeal to all of a person’s senses

avatar -n. a virtual representation or surrogate of a person or character

category -n. a group of things that are somehow similar

3D (three-dimensional) – adj. Have or appear to have width, height and length

platforms -n. Programs and equipment that connect and manage computer systems

DJ (disc jockey) -n. (Shortcut) a person who plays and mixes recorded music at concerts or other live events

_____________________________________________________________________

We want to hear from you.

We have a new comment system. Thats how it works:

1. Write your comment in the field.
2. Below the box you will see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google.
3. Click on an image and a box will appear. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you can create one in the Disqus system. It’s the blue circle with the “D” on it. It is free.

Each time you come back to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.