Watch iFixit’s teardown of the ‘largely unfixable’ Meta Quest Professional

At this level, you may need a reasonably good concept of what the inside of a smartphone is like, however how a few extremely superior VR headset? The consultants at iFixit have posted their video teardown of Meta’s new Quest Pro, and whereas they conclude that it’s a “fascinating, if largely unfixable machine,” it’s an especially fascinating take a look at the insides of the high-end VR headset.

One of many first issues iFixit digs into is the battery, which lives within the again a part of the headset. It’s a twin-cell 20.58Wh battery that’s curved, which is one thing I don’t suppose I’ve seen earlier than. It’s a unique method than what Meta took with the Quest 2’s Elite battery strap, which had two connected flat batteries (as proven in this picture from a Redditor).

On the entrance of the headset, it seems that the shiny entrance panel isn’t glass however some “shiny plastic.” After feeling it off, you’ll be able to see the parts, cameras, and circuitry within the entrance of the machine, and it appears to be like cool sufficient that I want Meta provided a clear model of the plastic panel. (Transparent electronics rule, after all.)

iFixit additionally discovered a little bit rectangle in the midst of the Quest Professional that appears to be the place a depth sensor would have gone. Mark Zuckerberg advised Protocol in May that the Quest Professional, then codenamed Cambria, would have a depth sensor, however the firm told UploadVR after the Quest Professional was introduced that Zuckerberg was “referring to a unique depth sensing system included in a earlier prototype model of the machine.” Nonetheless, it’s fascinating to see the open spot within the shipped product.

After unscrewing so much of screws, iFixit finally will get to the lenses (additionally plastic, not glass) and the principle board, which incorporates the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 1 chip. iFixit additionally takes aside the controllers, which have their very own cameras, thumbsticks like what you’d discover on the Nintendo Change, and lithium-ion batteries rated for 10.85Wh.

The center of the Quest Professional are actually spectacular, however the machine is difficult to take aside. “146 screws, tons of cables, and what at instances appeared like a counter-intuitive design made this teardown one of many hardest we’ve performed in a very long time,” iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari mentioned within the video. And it doesn’t appear to be very repairable exterior of battery replacements.

Nonetheless, I like seeing precisely what’s contained in the Quest Professional — it’s exceptional how a lot expertise Meta was in a position to pack into the $1,500 headset. Now the corporate simply wants to determine the metaverse itself.