Everything Announced at the Meta Connect 2022

While last year’s Meta Connect (then known as Facebook’s Connect Conference), dropped a piece of major news regarding its rebranding to Meta, this year’s event was mostly about the much-awaited Quest Pro. But it also covered a handful of announcements about other products and updates. In case you missed it, here’s a quick walkthrough of what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives revealed at the Meta Connect 2022.

Meta Quest Pro

The Meta Quest Pro is a major upgrade over the existing Quest 2 and has a $1,499 price tag to match. Along with cutting-edge pancake optics that offer 75 percent more contrast than Meta Quest 2, the device is smaller and lighter than the Quest 2. That is mainly due to those flat pancake lenses and the battery which has been moved from the front to the back of the device, where it curves to rest against the wearer’s head.

It also offers full-color mixed reality, which means that it’ll overlap graphics over the physical world around you. A virtual workspace will look like screens right in front of you, with your living room just beyond.

The device also has optional light-blocking gaskets. The magnets that attach them are easy to remove, so you can see the surrounding environment as you stroll through a virtual space.

New inward-facing sensors will enable eye tracking as well as more natural facial expressions on avatars, which Meta hopes will make for authentic, lifelike interactions in the metaverse.

The Pro also comes with new controllers that are shipped with a detachable stylus tip for writing and sketching in virtual reality. New sensors enable a 360-degree range of motion and new haptics make the virtual world feel even more real.

Microsoft is partnering with Meta

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, joined Zuckerberg at Meta Connect to announce that Windows apps, a Teams integration, and Xbox Cloud Gaming will come to Quest. Users will also be able to use progressive web app versions of tools like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook. You’ll also be able to use your Meta Avatar in Teams.

Workspace productivity in the Metaverse

Meta said it deployed 60,000 Quest 2 headsets as part of a partnership with Accenture, and it’s building a “Meta Quest for Business” subscription product next year. “There’s an opportunity for a VR headset designed from the ground up to be great for work, as well as playing games and hanging out,” Zuckerberg said. CTO Andrew Bosworth seems to be on the same page, noting that one day, VR headsets might replace our desktops altogether.

Meta’s existing Workroom product will add a breakout group feature, sticky notes for virtual whiteboards already available in the program, and integration with Zoom. There will also be four types of “personal environments” on top of which you can overlay three virtual screens to create a virtual reality workspace.

Gaming in Metaverse

Meta is partnering with NBCUniversal to bring the Peacock app to the metaverse, and to integrate virtual spaces from The Office, Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, certain Dreamworks content, and others. “Fans will be able to engage in these experiences in Horizon Worlds, at Universal Studios theme parks, and customize their avatars,” said Vishal Shah, VP of the Metaverse at Meta.

As part of Meta’s partnership with Microsoft, Xbox Cloud Gaming will be available soon at the Meta Quest Store, though no release date has been set.

Other gaming announcements include the arrival of Marvel’s Iron Man VR, previously only available on PlayStation VR, which will be playable on Meta Quest 2 on Nov. 3.

Meta is releasing a new product bundle Quest 2 Active Pack to help you manage sweaty sessions when you’re boxing in your headset. For $69.99, you get a sweat-resistant facial interface, wrist straps, and adjustable knuckle straps.

The Quest Pro is shipping out this month, but you can pre-order. Are you excited about it? Let us know in the comments!