In this article, we will review the most important differences between the Pico 4 Enterprise vs the Quest Pro. Focussing on the key differences between both VR headsets to determine which is best for enterprise usage.
The key differences between the Quest Pro and Pico 4 Enterprise are the following:
One of the biggest differences between the Quest Pro and Pico 4 Enterprise is the difference in processor and chipset found in the devices. The Pico 4 Enterprise runs on the Snapdragon XR2 that is found on the Pico Neo 3 Pro, HTC Vive Focus 3 and Oculus Quest 2. The headset is also equipped with 8GB RAM which is sufficient for nearly all applications to be run on the headset. Meta on the other hand has equipped the Quest Pro with a variation of the Snapdragon XR2, called the Snapdragon XR2+.
The Snapdragon XR2+ is very similar to the XR2 however it comes with 12GB of RAM and is much more energy efficient including the way it cools itself allowing the XR2+ to run at higher speeds without overheating. The Quest Pro will therefore be able to handle and work with more demanding applications than the Pico 4 Enterprise.
The Pico 4 Enterprise has been equipped with 8 integrated tracking cameras. 5 on the front of the headset including a 16MP RGB camera, which allows for inside-out tracking as well as colour passthrough to occur. The device has a further 3 cameras on the inside of the device, that allow for eye and face tracking to occur. The Pico 4 Enterprise tracking capabilities will allow for realistic emotions and facial expressions to be visualised in VR.
The Quest Pro however takes tracking to the next level and including its controllers is equipped with 16 tracking cameras of different sorts. The breakdown is so forth: 3 tracking cameras per controller; 5 external cameras; 5 internal cameras.
Both headsets have different external camera layouts, the Pico 4 Enterprise has spread the 5 cameras with 1 on each edge and the 5th on the front panel of the device. In comparison, the Quest Pro has different arrangements, it has one camera on each side and 3 cameras on the front panel. This allows the headset to provide better depth detection, which allows for a more effective mixed reality experience compared to the Pico 4 Enterprise.
The 5 internal cameras on the Quest Pro serve the same purpose as those found on the Pico 4 Enterprise, the key difference is they allow for more detailed facial expression tracking by having more cameras that can focus on specific things.
The Quest Pro has significantly worse battery life than the Pico 4 Enterprise, even though both devices have similar-sized batteries, Quest Pro with 5000 mAh and the Pico 4 Enterprise with 5200 mAh. The Quest Pro has dependant on usage a battery life of 1-2 hours whereas the Pico 4 Enterprise clocks out at 2,5-3 hours. It seems the extensive number of sensors and tracking will be a major issue for some use cases, where a more extended battery life is needed.
The Quest Pro and Pico 4 Enterprise have gone for different controller philosophies. Pico has added a diagonal tracking ring which goes from one axis to the next, whereas Meta has dropped the tracking ring completely.
Instead, the Quest Pro controllers are equipped with 3 cameras which allow it to perform its own inside-out tracking. This has three added benefits for the Quest Pro. First, the controllers are more compact, because the tracking ring is gone. Second, the controllers no longer need to be in the field of view of the headset tracking cameras to work and be used in the VR experience. Finally, it allows for more detailed environment tracking and enhances depth detection.
The price is where the headsets have the biggest difference. The Pico 4 Enterprise is priced at €899 excl. VAT whereas the Quest Pro is priced at €1500 excl. VAT. This begs the question regarding how worthwhile the better chipset and tracking are to your enterprise.
Jakob Pii is the Head Writer at VR Expert and currently lives in the UK. He started his career in VR gaming in 2015 and has stayed in XR since, from exposure therapy in VR to 360-degree video documentaries. He is fascinated by how emerging technologies change how we live, play and work.