Meta’s v47 software update for the Quest platform is packed with quality-of-life features that look to improve the user experience across Quest Pro and Quest 2, offering things like better media sync, an avatar mirror, and the ability to directly gift apps from your wishlist to friends and family. More importantly, Quest Pro is finally getting mixed reality passthrough recording in v47, and unlocking Quest Pro controller support for Quest 2.

First, here’s a look at the Quest Pro specific stuff, followed by updates affecting the whole Quest platform.

Quest Pro Updates

Meta is looking to make good use of the extra horsepower in Quest Pro, as it’s set to gradually rollout background audio playback as an experimental feature, which will let you listen to music and podcasts Browser as well as Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), which include things like 2D apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Spike, but also WebXR-based stuff too.

Not being able to record mixed reality footage was a bit of a letdown when Quest Pro launched back in late October, but now Meta says v47 will soon (again, gradual rollout) let you capture photos and videos while using mixed reality in passthrough mode. Here’s a look at how you can easily transition from VR to passthrough MR during the same recording:

Quest-wide Updates

Speaking of video capture, Meta is making it easier to capture video and images on Quest with the addition of capture controller shortcuts. Once you have v47 in-hand, you’ll be able to capture images by holding the Oculus button down and pulling the right controller trigger. To record video, hold the Oculus button and long-hold the right controller trigger.

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And syncing media is supposed to be a better experience too, as Meta says it’s improving how you view, edit and share your photos and videos you capture in VR. We’re hoping the new syncing method is faster and more reliable than the previous, which promised to automatically sync to the Oculus app, but often times left us waiting for days for images and video to show up.

Meta is also unlocking Quest Pro Touch controller compatibility with Quest 2 in v47. Quest Pro’s controller is the company’s first inside-out tracked controllers due to the inclusion of its own camera sensors. That means a wider range of motion in-game since you don’t need direct line of sight between the headset and controllers.

Quest 2 Controller (top), Quest Pro Controller (bottom) | Photo by Road to VR

Many social VR apps have mirrors for easier avatar management, and now Quest will too. The v47 update lets you view and edit your avatar with a new mirror added to Home. This is set to roll out gradually and will be initially available in four environments: Desert Terrace, Space Station, Winter Lodge, and Cascadia.

Here’s a couple more goodies being added in v47:

  • Universal Menu Customization – You can start, find, and jump into a multiplayer session with your friends directly from the home screen. You’ll be able to pin and unpin apps from your library to your Universal Menu for quicker access to apps.
  • Revamped device management screen – Makes it easier to know when your headset needs to be charged.
  • Shareable Wishlists – Make your app wishlist public and send a link to friends and family. Modify your wishlist from the Store tab on your headset or the Meta Quest mobile app. Friends and family will be able to directly gift apps from your wishlist.
  • Meta Quest Digital Gift Cards – Redeemable for any app or game in the Meta Quest Store.
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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Till Eulenspiegel

    Wth firmware version 47, 120hz is no longer experimental.

  • dan paul

    isn’t this a big deal that the new pro controllers can be used with quest 2? I don’t have either (PCVR user). Would it now make sense to get a quest 2 with these new controllers? Significantly better tracking? Quest 2 $400 + how much for these controllers $300?

    • ViRGiN

      The controllers are great quality, feels like premium xbox controller, but it’s a chore to charge them separatly and takes some time. No word if they are shipping controllers separatly with two cables. Pro came with the dock, and a single charging cable.
      I don’t think it’s wise to spend $300 for $300-400 headset so late in the life cycle, and ask yourself the most important question ever – do you ‘suffer’ from bad tracking on Q2? Cause I don’t.

      If they would confirm that Quest 3 will also launch without controllers, then maybe, as you would have easy upgrade path in near future. But who knows.
      I’d say wait.

    • Andrey

      Yep, it’s 300$. About tracking – as a person who used Vive before Quest 2, even Quest’s native tracking is actually really good and all my previous fears about inside-out tracking systems were for nothing – if it’s done right (not like most of the WMR line), it can work great. Of course in some cases you can loose tracking, but in 90% of practical usage it won’t happen and won’t distrub you from playing or doing something else. And now with self-tracking Pro controllers even that is not a problem anymore, though, again, it won’t make tracking as accurate as it is with base stations.
      But there is a problem – I asked on the Meta’s forum about two things that stop me from purchasing those controllers:
      1. Will it be compatible with Quest 3/4/etc. and why they can’t write something like “It will be compatible with next headsets as well” on Pro controllers page? I understand that it probably will be compatible with like 90% chance, but still, who knows? Maybe they will decide to make something as stupid as mandatory Facebook account requirment to use the device, so maybe Pro controllers will only work with Quest 2/Quest Pro and not Quest 3/4 and Pro 2 as well. Just for fun.
      2. Will there be a version of Quest 3 without controllers for purchase? Because each Touch controller costs 75 dollars on Meta’s store, so it’s 150$ for basic controllers. Let’s imagine that Quest 3 either won’t ship with controllers using cameras or, if it will use it, it still will cost more-or-less like Quest 2 controllers (150$ for a pair). If I will purchase Pro controllers I won’t need “basic” Quest 3 controllers at all and paying another 150$ in the future for nothing when I already paid 300$ and have a better option at hand is pretty questionable

      idea.
      And I got a very vague answer from a moderator about the first question (something like “Meta doesn’t say anything about it’s future products and it’s compatibility”; the second question was completely ignored). Ironicly, for some reason, this person was trying to convince me that I probably don’t need Pro controllers, because “Quest 2 controllers works just fine for gamers”. Now I really wondering why they sell it and made it compatible with Quest 2 then?…
      Anyway, this whole situation is pretty confusing. Buying a pair of controllers for ther Quest 2 old price when it can become a pumpkin with a release of Quest 3 is a no-go for me personally (at least for now). If it has proper Knuckles-like finger tracking it would be an instant order, but it doesn’t have it, so I am still thinking. Maybe Road to VR will reach to Meta or some insider and clarify those questions? Or Meta themselves will sooner or later (before Quest 3 release) will say something about it? Who knows…

      • ViRGiN

        > If it had proper Knuckles-like finger tracking
        Index controllers does not support finger tracking. They are just estimation of how far from the handle they are. You can’t twist your fingers and have it tracked. They only move up and down.

        • MeowMix

          True. Index Knuckles use sophisticated capacitive tracking that estimates your finger placement. Meta uses actual finger tracking via computer-vision cameras. Still interested to see which method the PSVR2 uses, I assume it’s also capacitive tracking.

          That said, Knuckles are still pretty impressive, but it’s always good to see this clarified as ppl often get the Index finger tracking wrong.

        • Andrey

          Yeah, I know. But even that imitation is much-much more than Quest’s controllers can provide right now. In my opinion, companies are making a huge mistake ignoring finger tracking using controllers, because if you don’t have it, it is a huge immersion breaker, at least for me. When you look at your hands and it is just static models almost all the time, it makes me really sad. If I could just show someone a peace sign or a middle finger to the enemy who just killed me and if during another cutscene where the only thing you can do is to look at your own virtual hands, so fingers won’t be as static as it is right now – it would be really awesome.

          • ViRGiN

            I don’t think this is necesarry at all, it’s too early. It’s as relevant as toe tracking.
            VR doesn’t need hardware “improvements”, but rather compelling software available to use it with.
            It’s time to end the era of rec room/beat saber/blade and sorcery/gorilla tag/pavlov as the pinnacle of VR.

          • Andrey

            Generally, I totally agree with that. I found myself in a pretty interesting (and frustrating) situation when I do not wait for any VR games just because there are either no games at all or no interesting games for me personally. Of course there will be Assassins Creed VR and GTA SA (that I completed more than a decade ago just like everyone else actually, so I can’t think of that game as something completely new) sooner or later, but… that’s all. Really?
            The most frustrating part is that we – players/users/enthusiasts – can’t do anything about it. Meta wants to built Metaverse and gaming is just a tool for them to involve more people into VR. Valve is silent like always – maybe they are developing something (both hardware and software), maybe they decided to abandon VR just like they did with Steam Machines/Controller/etc. – noone can’t tell for sure. All big game publishers don’t care about VR, maybe except for EA which is adding it to some games like Star Wars Squadrons or F1 2022. Xbox doesn’t care about VR, Nintendo doesn’t care about VR (less than Xbox, but still). Playstation is trying, but again it’s not what I expected – the only potentially good and cool AAA-like VR game from them is Horizon Call of the Mountain (and today I just read that they planning to make PSVR2 compatible with PC as well). That’s all. All other PSVR2 projects are either ports or indie games with indie level of quality.
            So why we are still here? I really don’t know. I still believe that VR is the future, I won’t sell my hardware and will upgrade to something new when it will release, but at the same time it is starting to look more and more meaningless when there are literally no new good games to play or at least to wait.

      • MeowMix

        Quest3 will ship with controllers, that will be a guarantee. There’s no way the gaming focused Quest3 consumer headset will ship without controllers, essentially making it incompatible with 99% of the games on the Quest store.
        My guess is Quest3 will still ship with a pair of cheaper ‘Touch’ controllers, and ppl can still upgrade to use the ‘TouchPro’ controllers if they desire to do so. The ‘TouchPro’ name kinda gives it away that there will still be a consumer ‘Touch’ version.

        Edit – in the Connect 2022 dev talks, the Meta employees refer to the new controllers as ‘Touch Pro’. I don’t fault RtVR for not using that term since everyone seems to be saying Quest Pro controllers.

        • Andrey

          I never said it won’t – or shouldn’t – ship without controllers. But it can be an option, just like you could/can order a 64/128/256GB version of the same Quest 2 headset. Meta won’t loose anything if it will provide such an option and for some reason I believe they will do it, though maybe not on release of Quest 3. But, again, they increased the price of Quest 2 not so long ago, so maybe now they don’t want to make VR mainstream so much and want to sell hardware without loosing money or even to make some profit from it too. And making you buy controllers you don’t need if you already have Quest Pro controllers is an obvious dirty move in this kind of situation. Especially when you try to sell a Quest Pro’s “Full Light Blocker” for 50 bucks…

        • Blaexe

          They don’t have to ship with controllers. There could be a controller-less SKU and one with controllers .That’d make most sense imo. That way there’s a cheaper upgrade path for Q2 users with QP controllers and maybe by that time there will be enough apps that don’t rely on controllers.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      It should probably even be possible to use the controllers with a PCVR headset like the HP reverb G2.

  • knuckles625

    I’d love for someone who has quest pro controllers working on quest 2 to try outdoor performance. The IR lights on the original controllers get blown out very quickly in any sunlight, but the actual headset cameras do ok in moderate sunlight.

    Would love if quest pro controllers (being camera based) allowed a little more forgiving use of Space Pirate Arena outdoors.

    • Muki EX

      Hit me up on the twitters (mukiex57) if nobody else does it and I’ll do a test run for you in my yard when I get home. It’s less than 20 degrees F outside though, so I’ll pass if someone else does it first. =)

      • k Tay

        Totally agree. This outdoor test would help greatly!

  • Max-Dmg

    I wonder if FB will ever finish providing voice support for non US Quest 2 headsets or if that feature is abandonware. Or maybe its just another bug and it is supposed to be implemented, no idea, it worked once then said it wasnt supported yet then didnt work so f*ck knows.

  • Sininen

    :3″