Meta's new VR glasses blend virtual and augmented reality
Meta has released $1,299 VR glasses that are far lighter than typical headsets and offer a wider field of view than transparent AR glasses. A reviewer believes the design could finally convince mainstream users to try VR.
Meta has launched a new device called VR Glasses, priced at $1,299. Unlike traditional VR headsets that fully enclose the eyes and isolate wearers from their surroundings, Meta's glasses weigh around 100 grams — roughly five times lighter than a typical VR headset.
The device relies on passthrough technology, showing a live camera feed of the room in the center of the lenses while the wearer sees their actual surroundings with the naked eye around the edges. This means users retain peripheral vision even while in a game, setting the glasses apart from fully enclosed headsets like the Meta Quest 3, Valve's Steam Frame, or the $3,700 Apple Vision Pro.
A wider field of view than AR glasses
Compared to transparent augmented reality glasses, such as the upcoming Google/Xreal Aura, which offers a 70-degree diagonal field of view, Meta's VR Glasses provide 70 degrees horizontal by 66 degrees vertical — notably wider than competitors' roughly 60-by-40-degree view. Unlike transparent glasses, where virtual objects can disappear outside the display's boundaries, Meta's design matches the real and virtual fields of view.
The device also has a higher angular resolution, at 37 pixels per degree, making text easier to read. Still, the glasses don't offer full immersion, since their field of view remains narrower than the roughly 110 degrees offered by headsets like the Meta Quest 3 or Steam Frame.
When announcing the glasses, Meta described them as marking "a new era for virtual reality." The company's VP of wearables, Alex Himel, has said Meta's longer-term goal is a pair of augmented reality glasses. Should the new VR Glasses prove successful, it would not be surprising if Meta eventually stopped making traditional headsets altogether.
