The new headset from Meta is here and impresses with good technical data. But is the Meta Quest suitable for business?
The Meta Quest has established itself as one of the best performing standalone VR headsets on the market in 2023. Its performance is a key indicator of its suitability in various application areas, especially virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR).
The quality of graphical realism, physical effects such as gravity, and collision detection depends heavily on the performance of the hardware. Powerful hardware allows developers and graphic designers to spend less time on optimization and focus on creating stunning 3D content. The Meta Quest also shines with its innovative mixed reality features, provided by the passthrough camera.
Despite the impressive technical specifications, the question of the Meta Quest's suitability for business arises. Meta has announced a business program, but the fine print reveals that this program is not officially available in Germany. The Quest for Business program offers device management, user management, app management and direct support.
In contrast to Pico and HTC, which offer a quite transparent business case.
Meta refers to the sales department when interested in the business program without making any statements about the actual offer. From our experience as an agency for VR applications, we can say that most B2B customers have little interest in entering into a contract or subscription with a hardware manufacturer when an application is commissioned from the agency. This makes the order creation much more complicated.
Since Meta Quest's business program is not available in Germany, there are alternatives on the hardware side. HTC and Pico. These manufacturers have better offers in this respect, with available business features.
Implementing third-party mobile device management systems such as Radix or ArborXR is another option. These systems offer various service features in the subscription model, including the kioskmode feature. However, the legal and privacy aspects of such systems can be problematic for enterprise customers.
Unfortunately, there is no elegant solution to use Quest glasses comprehensively in a business context. The decision is either to use an MDM system or to switch to alternative VR devices such as Pico or HTC Vive, which, however, are inferior to the Quest 3 in terms of performance. We hope that Meta will integrate the German B2B market into its business program in the future. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop. However, a change could still take some time.
