News

The $1,499 Quest Pro Is Meta’s VR Solution For Business

Mark Zuckerberg has announced a new mixed-reality device designed for professionals, dubbed the Meta Quest Pro.

Published

4 years ago

October 13, 2022

the $1499 quest pro is meta's vr solution for business

At Meta Connect 2022, a new device designed for business professionals has been unveiled, and it represents a considerable upgrade from the cheaper $399 Quest 2 device.

Meta’s new Quest Pro VR device aims to increase “social presence, productivity, and collaboration”, using advanced eye tracking and multiple virtual screens overlaid on top of your physical apartment or office space.

The Quest Pro features a unique “open periphery design,” which allows wearers to still see the world around them in their peripheral vision, with magnetic light blockers available if a more immersive experience is required.

Compared to the Quest 2, the new device sports a 40% thinner pancake lens, with better visuals and two LCDs that offer richer colors and far more contrast. The Quest Pro also provides 37% more pixels per inch, with the aforementioned eye-tracking technology and better facial recognition to render avatar expressions.

All New Controllers

meta quest pro vr controllers

As well as a visual update, the Meta Quest Pro features all-new controllers with a more ergonomic design. Haptic feedback and triple sensors are present to track movement independently of the headset, enabling 360 degrees of motion. Finally, a stylus can be added to the bottom of each controller, allowing more creative options for Horizon Workrooms and other programs.

The new Meta Quest Touch Pro controllers have an upgraded, ergonomic design and haptic capabilities through the company’s TruTouch Haptics system. The controllers’ three built-in sensors are the biggest change, tracking movement independently of the headset to enable a 360-degree range of motion. You can also add a stylus to the bottom of the controllers, transforming them into writing utensils for Horizon Workrooms and other apps.

Bigger Battery, More Storage

meta quest pro vr headset

The Quest Pro runs on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ platform, which offers 50% more power than the Meta Quest 2, with better cooling ability. There’s a new curved battery too, offering improved balance and comfort, and it’s rechargeable via a 45W USB-C dock (along with the controllers).

Configuration options are lacking, with the Pro sporting 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Controllers and stylus tips are included in the price, along with the charging dock and magnetic light blockers, though optional accessories, such as a carrying case, will cost extra.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.