Looks like the Quest Pro controllers' battery lasts longer than we thought

What you need to know

• Meta leadership has confirmed that Meta Quest Touch Pro controllers can last up to eight hours on a single charge instead of the two hours originally thought.
• Quest Touch Pro controllers are self-tracked via three cameras and a Snapdragon 662 processor inside and don't suffer from dead zones like previous headset-tracked controllers.
• Quest Touch Pro controllers can also be purchased separately and used with a Quest 2.

Three weeks ago, we got our hands on the Meta Quest Pro for the first time. While the headset was comfortable and technically impressive, one lingering problem seemed to have gone unfixed: battery life. The headset is said to only last around 2 hours on a single charge and, subsequently, we were told the controller battery life was about the same as the headset.

Thankfully, Meta leadership and a few developers who already have the headset have confirmed that this is not true and that Quest Pro controllers can last up to eight hours on a single charge, although 4-5 hours is likely a more common estimate. This will come as a huge relief to folks who spend long periods of time in VR, especially folks looking to use a Meta Quest Pro for work.

Meta ships the Meta Quest Pro with its accompanying Quest Touch Pro controllers or you can buy them separately and use them on an Oculus Quest 2. Quest Touch Pro controllers feature three cameras onboard as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor inside, making them full-fledged computers that can self-track their own position in your room.

That means you'll no longer experience dead zones where tracking is lost when you hold your controllers above your head or behind your back. With headsets like the Quest 2 and the upcoming PS VR2, the controllers that come with those systems are tracked by the cameras on the headset using a ring of LEDs around the controllers.

While self-tracked controllers like the Quest Touch Pro offer more advanced haptics and no dead zones, battery life can still be a concern for some folks. The controllers ship with a dock to recharge the built-in rechargeable battery, but Quest Touch Gen 3 controllers that ship with the Quest 2 last months on a single AA battery.

If you're looking to upgrade to the Quest Pro or just the Quest Touch Pro controllers, this is something to definitely keep in mind. We imagine there will be third-party controller add-ons with extra batteries in short order, though.