Meta's VR Glasses shrink immersive 5K displays into a 100g frame with a pocket puck

Meta has announced a VR device that rests on your ears like a normal pair of glasses rather than strapping across your head. Unveiled at its Connect event this week and previewed hands-on by The Verge, the Meta VR Glasses keep immersive displays for movies, games and work but move the heavy electronics into a tethered puck you can keep in a pocket.

A headset split in two

According to The Verge, the only components you actually wear are the displays and sensors. A wired puck holds the Snapdragon Reality Elite processor, 12GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and the battery, which Meta says delivers up to three hours of media playback; the glasses reportedly keep working even while the puck is charging. The glasses weigh 100 grams against the Quest 3's 515 grams, and TechCrunch notes Meta is pitching the device as five times lighter than that headset, built around a magnesium alloy frame. Two sizes will be offered at the same price, and two front-facing cameras provide color passthrough of your surroundings.

Display and controls

The Verge reports the glasses use what Meta calls a 5K MicroOLED "Infinite Display": 2412 x 2288 pixels per eye, 37 pixels per degree, and refresh rates up to 120Hz. TechCrunch adds support for Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio.

Input is handled by eyes and hands. You look at on-screen elements, which are highlighted by two pairs of eye-tracking cameras, then pinch a thumb and finger together to select; making a fist and moving the thumb scrolls. Unlike the Ray-Ban Display, which relies on a neural wristband, six external cameras track hand motion directly, The Verge explains.

Entertainment leads the pitch

Media consumption is clearly the priority. TechCrunch reports Meta is calling this the first IMAX Enhanced certified VR device, arguing it is one of the few ways to see the expanded aspect ratio native to IMAX-captured films. A Disney partnership brings 3D streaming of select Marvel movies to Disney+ starting in November, and The Verge tried a "VR Enhanced Cinema" cut of Avengers: Endgame built with Disney and Industrial Light & Magic, in which effects in the surrounding environment react to what is happening on screen. VR-enhanced editions of Avengers: Infinity War and Star Wars: A New Hope are promised for launch.

Gaming is still on the table: The Verge saw a new hands-only Beat Saber mode called Flux, and Meta says more than 75 launch titles will support the hands-first scheme alongside the entire existing Quest catalog, Touch Plus controllers and Bluetooth controllers. The Verge also tested productivity scenarios, mirroring three laptop windows and typing on a virtual keyboard and trackpad that appear when you rest your hands flat on a table — a capability Meta already brought to Quest headsets earlier this year. TechCrunch separately notes that Meta's AI assistant is built in, so you can start a movie by voice.

Price, timing and limits

Both outlets agree on the numbers: $1,299.99 when the glasses go on sale in spring 2027. That slots them between the $599.99 Quest 3 and Apple's $3,499 Vision Pro, and The Verge thinks that in-between framing is the honest one — promising hardware, but unlikely to transform VR on its own, particularly as Meta divests from VR software such as the VR version of Horizon Worlds. Meta's VP of product for VR, Angela Chang, told The Verge that traditional full headsets remain in development.

Why it matters

Weight and sheer cumbersomeness have been persistent obstacles for VR, and this is a credible attempt at a middle category: more capable than smart glasses, far less overbearing than a headset. The split design — light optics on your face, compute and battery in your pocket — could make VR something you slip into for a film rather than commit to with straps and setup. It also arrives amid an industry-wide experiment in head-worn computing: Google is working with Xreal on XR glasses, Snap is building AR-focused Specs, and Meta itself has AR glasses in the pipeline. With a 2027 release and a premium price, the VR Glasses are less a finished answer than a bet that this in-between form factor is where the category finally lands.