From Engadget · Devindra Hardawar · · 3m
Meta's $1,300 VR glasses challenge Apple's Vision Pro
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled lightweight VR glasses arriving Spring 2027 at half the Vision Pro's price, with a 100-gram frame and external computing pod.
In brief
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled lightweight VR glasses arriving Spring 2027 at half the Vision Pro's price, with a 100-gram frame and external computing pod. Meta revealed VR glasses priced at thirteen hundred dollars for Spring twenty twenty-seven, significantly cheaper and lighter than Apple's Vision Pro, copying…
Meta reveals lightweight VR glasses
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the Meta VR Glasses at the company's Connect event tonight. They arrive in Spring 2027 and look like oversized sunglasses paired with an external power and computing pod.
Price undercuts Apple's Vision Pro
The Meta VR Glasses cost thirteen hundred dollars, far cheaper than the Vision Pro's original thirty five hundred dollar price or its current thirty seven hundred dollar cost.
Lightweight design sets it apart
The Meta VR Glasses weigh one hundred grams on their own, only slightly heavier than Xreal's One Pro AR display glasses and significantly lighter than the Vision Pro's one point three to one point seven pounds.
Specs include 5K display and hand tracking
The glasses feature a five K, two thousand four hundred twelve by two thousand two hundred eighty eight pixels, one hundred twenty hertz micro-OLED display powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Reality Elite processor, the XR two Gen three.
Meta copies Vision Pro's best features
The Meta VR Glasses include full-color passthrough, hand gesture controls, iris recognition unlock, and digital Hologram recreation for virtual chatting with friends, mirroring innovations that made the Vision Pro stand out.
3D content library launching with glasses
The Meta VR Glasses will have hundreds of three D films available to buy or rent, plus three D content in streaming apps like Disney Plus and Peacock. National Geographic will launch a new app with one hundred eighty degree three D video next year.
Easier to wear than traditional headsets
Unlike headsets that completely envelop your field of vision, the Meta VR Glasses look like regular glasses, so you won't look out of place wearing them while flying and they won't mess up your hair as badly.
Privacy concerns linger over Meta brand
The biggest downside is the thirteen hundred dollar price and that the glasses come from Meta, a company not everyone trusts. Meta has poisoned the idea of wearing anything in public with cameras through its Ray-Ban and Display glasses.
Vision Pro faces uncertain future
Apple CEO John Ternus said of the Vision Pro, "It's the early days of a long journey," but recent layoffs and the departure of the product's lead suggest trouble. Meta's lighter, cheaper alternative now challenges Apple's headset.
“It's the early days of a long journey.”
The essence
Meta revealed VR glasses priced at thirteen hundred dollars for Spring twenty twenty-seven, significantly cheaper and lighter than Apple's Vision Pro, copying many of its features.
