- I was invited to try Meta’s $1,500 virtual reality headset at its Kings Cross office in London.
- I used the device to attend a meeting in Horizon Workrooms — Meta’s collaborative work tool in VR.
- I was amazed by the tech, but I wouldn’t want to use it at work regularly.
When I was invited to try out Meta’s latest virtual reality headset in Horizon Workrooms — a virtual office in its metaverse — I jumped at the opportunity.
I had written about the metaverse before and its use in the workplace and I was pretty sceptical. It seemed far-fetched to put on a vision-obscuring device just to meet my colleagues in VR, and even more complicated for those with children or pets at home.
But Meta had launched the Meta Quest Pro in October — priced at an eye-watering $1,500 — and boasting features like pass-through and spatial audio.
The device gives users access to Horizon Worlds, a social universe in Meta’s metaverse. Workrooms is one tool in that universe, which can be used to hold meetings in VR.
“Virtual worlds have the potential to recapture that same sense of togetherness that many of us feel are missing,” from remote work, Steve Hatch, Meta’s VP for Northern Europe, said at an event Insider attended at Meta’s Kings Cross office in London.
I wasn’t convinced that being in a virtual world with an avatar-like rendering of my colleagues would help me feel closer to them, but Meta’s product marketing manager for Oculus, Yuxi Wang, told Insider that the device “surprisingly feels like you’re actually right in the same room together.”
Wang said Meta wants workers to “enjoy more real estate,” when working from home so they have greater options for productivity.
It was hardly surprising that Meta’s own staff would say they enjoyed the company’s product, so I was curious to try out the device myself for the first time.
The tech was undeniably very cool
The Meta Quest Pro in charging docks.
Meta
I popped on the lightweight and sleek-looking device and was transported into a large office with windows overlooking mountains and the sea. I was stunned by how vivid and realistic everything looked.
Looking around at other people’s avatars, I was impressed with the diversity of features and clothing options. There was an avatar with a patka, one with a pagri, and another with a bindi. They looked incredibly lifelike with some raising their eyebrows and others laughing — I soon realized that my avatar’s facial expressions mirrored my own.
The instructor in the meeting changed the location of the office a few times, first to a futuristic city with skyscrapers, and then to a beach — a perk definitely not available in real-life. The layout of the desk was also adjustable and people could be divided into breakout rooms, making collaboration easier.
Breakout rooms in Meta’s Horizon Workrooms.
Meta
There were a range of work-specific features like monitors that were blurred to anyone else looking — handy if you’re working with …….