There are rumors that Apple’s Vision Pro category is on “life support.” But after playing with the new Meta VR Glasses, coming this spring for $1,299, I think it would be premature for Apple to pull the plug.
As reported by Bloomberg, Apple is exploring thinner and lighter Vision Pro designs, but the alleged new device wouldn’t reach the market until late 2028 at the earliest. That gives Meta a huge head start, and based on my hands-on impressions Meta’s VR Glasses are essentially a much cheaper — and much less cumbersome — version of the $3,500 Vision Pro that makes shockingly few trade-offs given its lightweight design.
What are the Meta VR Glasses like to wear? A revelation
Weighing about 100 grams, the Meta VR Glasses are not going to cause you neck pain like the 650-gram Vision Pro. They’re like Oakley shield-style sunglasses with a wire, but you can’t see through them like regular glasses. You need a video passthrough to see your environment.
The best thing I can say about wearing the Meta VR Glasses is that I barely felt them at all during a 40-minute demo session. They’re sleek and light, and you can easily adjust the lenses (sliding them left or right) to get the right IPD (Interpupillary Distance).
The puck computing unit is on the bulky side for sure, weighing in at 300 grams or 10.6 ounces. That’s heavier than most phones. But I like that this puck, which houses the Snapdragon Reality Elite chip, 12GB of RAM, storage and battery, has a built in belt clip. The Vision Pro battery needs to go in your pocket if you’re standing.
The battery life is slightly better through the Meta VR Glasses vs Vision Pro, too. You get 3 hours of runtime, versus 2.5 for Apple’s headset.
Interface: Intuitive eye- and hand-tracking
The first thing I noticed when setting up the Meta VR Glasses is how eerily similar the setup process is to the Vision Pro. You use your eyes as the cursor and your fingers as the mouse, bringing your index finger and thumb together to “tap.”
To calibrate, you follow dots around the screen a few times with your eyes and click them. Even the sound I heard during this process reminded me of the Vision Pro. Great artists steal.
More importantly, the interface is fluid and easy to use. To scroll, you simply rub your finger up and down on your index finger with a closed fist and you can scroll left and right by moving horizontally. It’s pretty easy to pick up, but I like that you have the option to just pinch your fingers and scroll up and down with your arm outstretched — just like the Vision Pro.
As you might expect, Meta’s Muse AI assistant is on board, and it’s pretty easy to do things with just your voice, such as closing all apps and going back to the home screen. I didn’t get to test any agentic AI use cases yet, though.
Immersive entertainment and sports (despite the 70-degree FOV)
In terms of visual experiences, I started with a 3D performance of Billie Eilish, and immediately I felt the impact. As she sat on the stage and reached out to fans in the crowd, I felt like I was in the front row with them. Co-directed between Eilish and James Cameron, this is a great showcase for what the Meta VR glasses can do.
I also had an opportunity to watch the famous tip-in from the New York Knicks’ OG Anunoby against the Spurs. For this 180-degree clip, I had the view from right behind the backboard, and I got a new appreciation for Victor Wembanyama’s height and the frantic energy of Madison Square Garden that night.
Meta says that it will be offering a range of sports content to Meta VR Glasses users for free, so you won’t have to subscribe to NBA League Pass, for example. Meta promises 100 immersive live sports events to watch each year.
As for the 70-degree field of view, it’s true that it’s more limited than the 110 degrees from the Meta Quest 3. But I personally was not bothered by it, and I wasn’t annoyed by light leakage either.
The last video demo I experienced through the Meta VR Glasses was “Avengers: Infinity War.” The movie itself was 2D but the environment mirrored the action in the movie, so it feels like you’re on Nidavellir as Thor forges his new axe. True 3D movies are coming, though.
Computing: Weirdly good virtual keyboard
I’ve never typed on a virtual keyboard projected on a desk, but doing just that felt almost natural through the Meta VR Glasses. When responding to a message you can have it so that the virtual keyboard is displayed on the table right in front of you, complete with a separate touchpad.
I typed a quick reply to a message, and it actually felt natural, complete with audible clicks as I pecked. The touchpad was accurate, too. But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re typing on a flat surface with no key travel.
The Meta VR Glasses will be able to act as a portable display of sorts, so you can extend your desktop (or multiple desktops) from your Mac or PC to the glasses. This can be done wirelessly or via USB-C.
Gaming on the Meta VR Glasses
I played only a single game on the Meta VR Glasses, but it showed the potential of the platform for mixed reality experience. In the lowkey Dragon Grove, I solved a series of puzzles by picking leaves and flowers off of a virtual tree and matching them.
I liked that I could spin the game table around to check out different vantage points, and at any time you could just hold out your hand and the dragon would land in your palm. The graphics looked crisp and colorful despite being overlaid on the passthrough camera view.
Meta promises more than 75 games at launch that you can play with hand gestures, but you’ll still be able to use Touch Plus controllers with the glasses to play the thousands of existing VR games.
Meta VR Glasses vs. Xreal Aura
The Meta VR Glasses have some serious competition from the Xreal Aura, which promises many of the same features for $1,219 but powered by Android XR and Gemini AI.
Unlike the Meta glasses, you can look directly through Aura glasses without needing a video passthrough. On the other hand, the Aura has lower resolution per eye (1900 x 1200 vs 2.5K), so the visuals may not be as crisp. For more see our Meta VR Glasses vs Xreal Aura comparison.
Outlook
Right now it’s hard to say if the Meta VR Glasses are worth $1,299, but they’re a heck of a lot more accessible than the Vision Pro while delivering nearly all of the same benefits — minus Apple’s ecosystem of course.
You get an immersive VR experience for watching video and playing games, and there’s some good productivity potential here — though I’d like to test out the virtual computing screen myself.
The best part is just how comfortable and light the Meta VR Glasses feel. There’s virtually no penalty here in terms of ergonomics, and the eye- and hand-tracking work really well for a product that’s not shipping until the spring.
So overall I’m pretty positive on the Meta VR Glasses so far, and I think business travelers in particular will really like it. If I were Apple, I would keep the Vision line on life support while developing something close to this.
