The Sword of Damocles, released in 1968 and considered the first-ever VR headset, was a device so huge that it had to be hung from the ceiling.
55 years later, Meta released the Quest 3 in 2023, which weighs 515 grams.
Now, merely three years later, Meta’s newest VR headset—weirdly named Meta VR glasses—weighs just 100 grams. About as much as a regular bar of soap.
And the weight is the headset’s single biggest feature. Made further evident by Meta’s tagline for it: the weight is over.
For enterprises, a lightweight VR headset is a boon. It eliminates the discomfort that workers complain about during VR training sessions. Something that also forces designers to trim training experiences in VR to short 5-15 minute sessions.
Of Meta’s new VR headset, Swathi Balaji, AutoVRse’s Lead Learning and Experience Designer says, “A 100g device changes the acceptable learning-session length. Instead of worrying about fitting a maintenance procedure into a 5-10 min VR experience, I can increasingly think about which portions and workflow should remain spatial and immersive.”
Shorter sessions match the learning rate of us humans. Especially for new material that we have no prior experience of.
But it excludes situations that are better suited to extended learning sessions. One of these use cases in enterprises is refresher training sessions. These training sessions, given to experienced workers, are meant to refresh the memory of procedures workers are comfortable with. Longer training sessions serve the use case better, as the workers don’t have to acquire knowledge, but recall what they already know.
The weight isn't the only thing the new Meta VR headset has going for it. It features a display with a resolution of 2,412 x 2,288 per eye, allowing the wearer to see visual details much more clearly.
The higher resolution unlocks specific unique use cases. Swathi adds, “A lot of clients I work with want their SOPs in VR and the worker to read it and perform the action to mirror reality. This would drastically improve with the glasses' 2,412 × 2,288 per eye resolution.”
Yet another feature that improves the VR training experience is the eyes and gesture input the new headset supports.
Swathi explains, “Instead of saying ‘look at a valve,’ I can write ‘pinch the valve’
which makes the interface closer to the worker's existing mental model. And the closer interactions become to natural behaviours—like looking, pointing, reaching, and pinching—the less working memory gets spent operating the interface.”
The good news is that in case workers require controllers, the Meta VR Glasses are compatible with existing Meta Quest controllers. Meta just doesn’t ship them with the device.
All these additional features come at a premium price. The Meta VR Glasses are priced at $1299 at release in Spring 2027. In comparison, the Meta Quest 3 ships at $599.
Even at the higher price, Meta’s new VR headset is an indication that VR headsets are becoming more compact. The current variants might have a high price. But within a few years, more headsets of a similar form factor will come out. And enterprises will be able to procure them at scale for their training programs.
