Meta is betting that a lighter headset can do what better specs never managed: make VR worth wearing again.
Meta's new VR Glasses weigh about 100 grams (3.5 ounces), a fraction of the Quest 3 or Apple Vision Pro, and will cost $1,299 when they launch in 2027. That undercuts the Vision Pro's $3,499 and Samsung's Galaxy XR at $1,799, though it is still four times the price of the original $299 Quest 2. One hands-on reviewer who tried the device reported that its entertainment and productivity software also feels meaningfully improved over the Quest 3, which shipped with weak, unreliable streaming apps. Weight turns out to matter more than horsepower: the same reviewer found Samsung's lighter Galaxy XR still caused neck strain after a day and a half of regular use.
VR has not recovered from its Quest 2 peak. August 2026 Steam Hardware Survey data shows the three-year-old Quest 2 still outselling the Quest 3, and pricier headsets like the Vision Pro and Galaxy XR never found mass appeal either. A device light enough to forget you're wearing is a different pitch than one with better specs, and it is the first serious attempt to solve comfort and price at the same time rather than just one of them.
Worth remembering: Meta helped create this slump, having gutted Reality Labs and its own VR studios while third-party developers downsized around it. Whether $1,299 glasses can undo that damage, alongside similarly lightweight rivals like Xreal's Aura, is still a bet, not a comeback.