After a few leaks, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg finally revealed the company’s next-generation Meta VR glasses at its Connect event this evening. Arriving in spring 2027, they look like oversized sunglasses (similar to display mounts from Xreal and others), paired with an external power supply and a computer module, like the Apple Vision Pro. The Meta VR glasses also have built-in cameras to detect the wearer’s hands for gesture-based controls. While they’re not cheap at $1,300, they’re a far cry from the Vision Pro’s original $3,500 cost, or its current price of $3,700. And at first glance, they look like exactly what I’d imagine a true successor to the Vision Pro to be: a discreet, lightweight pair of VR glasses at a more palatable price.
Meta presents VR glasses as an all-in-one entertainment and productivity device. Just like the Vision Pro, you can watch movies on huge virtual screens or connect to your computer to multitask with multiple windows floating in front of you. The VR Glasses launch with over 75 manual games, and you can also connect a pair of Touch Plus controllers to play existing Quest VR games.
The Meta VR glasses are powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Reality Elite processor, the XR2 Gen 3, and feature a 5K (2412 x 2288 pixels) 120Hz micro-OLED display. With a 70-degree horizontal field of view, the Meta VR glasses won’t fill your eyes with as much virtual reality as the Vision Pro’s 100-degree field of view, but it’s significantly higher than most display glasses. Meta’s wired computing puck, which looks compact enough to slip into a pocket, packs 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (plus a microSD card slot for more content).
The Meta VR glasses alone weigh 100 grams, or about 0.2 pounds. It’s only a little heavier than Xreal’s One Pro AR display glasses and significantly lighter than the Vision Pro headset, which weighs between 1.3 and 1.7 pounds. (To be fair, some of that weight is offset by the Vision Pro’s headband.) Meta’s Compute Puck weighs an extra 300 grams (0.6 pounds), slightly lighter than the Vision Pro’s. Judging by the product photos, you won’t be able to wear the Meta VR glasses over your own glasses, but as usual, you can order custom prescription frames.
Zuckerberg has never shied away from blatantly copying his competitors, and it’s clear that the company took a lot of inspiration from Vision Pro for the Meta VR glasses. Switching to color lets you see the real world as well as VR experiences; the interface is entirely built around hand gestures; it is unlocked via biometric iris recognition; and you can chat virtually with friends using a digital “hologram” recreation of yourself. It’s like a checklist of features that made the Vision Pro look more considered than a normal headset.
Meta
Meta also appears to mimic Vision Pro’s approach to 3D movies: Meta VR glasses will have hundreds of 3D movies available for purchase or rental, and you’ll also find 3D content in streaming apps like Disney+ and Peacock. Given the death of 3D TVs, the Vision Pro ultimately became one of the few ways to enjoy 3D movies like Avatar in all their glory, so it’s nice to see Meta offering something similar. And since Meta VR runs Quest OS, I hope this showcase of 3D content eventually makes its way to Quest VR headsets.
Additionally, it appears the company is taking inspiration from Apple’s immersive video format – says Meta National geographic will launch a new app next year with 180-degree 3D video. A new “VR Enhanced Cinema” format will let you watch 3D movies with effects that echo in your real space, in the same way that dynamic ambient lighting on TVs makes content more immersive. The company says Avengers: Infinity War And Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope will be available in VR format next year. (It’s strange that Disney didn’t choose more recent films, though.)
Meta
Unlike the similarly priced $1,050 Steam Frame, the Meta VR Glasses are, if nothing else, evolving the idea of what a VR headset can be. It probably won’t be as immersive as the Frame and other headsets that completely envelop your field of vision, but for most people it’s probably worth losing that to have a device that’s simply easier to wear. You won’t look like a huge weirdo putting them on in flight, and since you wear them like glasses, there’s little chance they’ll damage your hair as badly as a typical VR headset.
Meta
The biggest downsides to the Meta VR glasses are their $1,300 price tag – although I’m sure many VR enthusiasts and Vision Pro fans would jump at it – and the fact that they’re from Meta, a company that not everyone is a big fan of. Since these are obviously VR specs, I don’t think they would have the same privacy issues as Ray-Ban and Meta’s Display glasses, but the company has significantly poisoned the idea of wearing anything in public with cameras.
New Apple CEO John Ternus isn’t giving up on the Vision Pro yet: “It’s the beginning of a long journey,” he said in a recent interview with Click on TV (via Woozad). But the recent layoffs and departure of the product manager are not good signs for the headset. And now there are the Meta VR glasses, which build on Vision Pro’s innovations to offer something lighter, cheaper and more user-friendly.
