I recently travelled to Tokyo to get an early hands-on look at Meta’s new releases, and its VR glow-up is like something straight out of the movies. It can transform a random table at a cafe into a desktop PC, make shopping on Instagram scarily easy, and turn your favourite concert or sports match into an immersive 360-degree experience with shockingly good audio.
But is it actually ready for the real world?
While it’s set officially launch in stores next year, here’s a rundown on Meta’s all-new VR Glasses and my first hands-on impressions.
The bulky headset has been dramatically downsized, now resembling a pair of thick sports sunnies weighing just 100g. It also comes with a 300g compute puck that’s roughly the size of a chunky iPhone. Both pieces are connected via an optical tether, which you can clip to your clothes or place in your pocket or a table.
The VR Glasses will be available in two sizes, small and large, and includes adjustable nose clips to suit different head shapes.
If you’re like me and usually wear glasses, you can add prescription lenses. The lenses remain the same thickness regardless of how far or shortsighted you might be, so there’s no need to worry about it impacting the experience.
And for those who wear makeup, I found that most of my foundation rubbed off on the nose clips. These were super easy to remove and clean with wipes.
Battery life and storage
Compared to the Meta Quest 3S and Meta Quest 3, the new compute puck offers a slightly longer runtime of three hours. Previously the Meta Quest 3S provided up to 2.5 hours of video playback, while Meta Quest 3 gave up to 2.2 hours. Alternatively, you can leave the USB-C cable plugged in for longer, uninterrupted sessions.
The VR Glasses also packs more memory with 12GB RAM, and includes 128GB of storage by default. Although users can add a microSD card to expand the storage up to 1TB.
What you can do on the new Meta VR Glasses
I spent around 30 minutes testing some of the features on the Meta VR Glasses and, honestly, I felt like a parrot after saying “OMG” and “no way” a few too many times. The display quality was amazing for the most part, which is no surprise considering the headset supports Dolby Vision and is the first IMAX Enhanced certified VR device. The audio quality was the icing on the cake, and made the 3D Marvel movie and Billy Eilish concert feel immersive.
That being said, I was wearing the large headset, which was the wider of the two sizes, and I could still slightly see the edge of the glasses in my peripheral vision. It’s not as lightweight as a regular eyewear, but the gadget feels more natural and portable than other VR headsets that are usually strapped to your head.
And while I had to recalibrate a few times, it doesn’t take long and neither did the set up.
So, what were some of my highlights?
Turn anything into a desktop PC
As someone who hates lugging around a heavy work laptop, I loved being able to turn any flat surface into a keyboard and trackpad. Plus, it was cool to channel my inner Ironman and multi-task between several windows without a physical mouse and tiny screen.
Gaming
Missed playing Nintendo Wii? I do too, but gaming with the VR Glasses felt like a more modern and immersive version. I wasn’t great, but everything was super responsive and worked smoothly.
Watching entertainment
Sure, I could watch a replay of Shohei Ohtani’s games on the TV. But it was fun to sit in the crowd, albeit virtually, and look around everything else going on. There were some pixelated bits, but the video quality was generally fantastic. Watching a Marvel movie in a virtual cinema was pretty impressive, but the extra effects happening around the screen can be a little distracting.
Scroll, comment and shop on Instagram
If you’re trying to lower your screen time or impulse purchases, the VR Glasses aren’t going to help. Is it easier than scrolling on your phone? Not really. But it can be a novel feature to play around with when you’re bored.
Key specs
Here are several main specs for the Meta VR Glasses:
Battery life: Up to three hours of media playback in a single charge. Alternatively, you can use it plugged in for extended periods.Display: 5K Infinite Display (micro-OLED panels), 2412 x 2288 pixelsOptics: Pancake lenses with integrated eye trackingField of view: 70° horizontal and 66° verticalWeight: VR Glasses (100g), Compute puck (300g)Resolution: Snapdragon XR2 Gen 3Memory: Compute pack has 12GB RAM and 128GB storage. It also has an expandable storage option via microSD card slot up to 1TB. Processor: Snapdragon XR2 Gen 3Connectivity: Wi-Fi and BluetoothCompatibility: Can be used with Touch Plus controllers, Mac remote desktop, PC remote desktop, Xbox Game Pass streaming and phone mirroring
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Tahnee-Jae Lopez-VitoSenior Shopping Writer