Meta Unveils Compact VR & MR Headsets with Ultra-wide Field-of-View

Okay, so here’s a fun little rabbit hole I fell into about these new VR headsets. Now, Meta – you know, the Facebook peeps with the fancy name – are cooking up something wild over at Reality Labs. They’re dreaming up VR and MR headsets that, honestly, sound like something out of a sci-fi flick. Apparently, they’re trying to make these goggles big on viewing and small on size. Crazy, right?

They’re spilling the beans ahead of some tech conference, SIGGRAPH 2025 or something. Just the name’s a mouthful. Anyway, two gadgets in the spotlight – both offer up a field of view at 180 degrees. I mean, imagine seeing as much sideways as you do forwards. Who even thinks of these things?

First up, just a straight-up VR headset using, and get this, “high-curvature reflective polarizers.” Sounds fancy. Not sure what it even means, but I’m picturing something shiny and complicated.

Then there’s this mixed reality (or MR if you’re all hip with acronyms) version. It’s crammed with four cameras that make everything just as wide. These tiny beasts pack 80 megapixels at 60 frames per second. Not bad, I guess, if you’re all about the details.

And here’s a visual sidenote – apparently, they can even make out a snack sitting in someone’s lap while glimpsing sideways. Important tech for snackers like me.

So, both headsets use this old-school outside-in tracking system. Remember the Oculus Rift? Yeah, kind of like that. Why? Easier, I suppose. Who am I to argue?

Okay, quick reality check. Pimax, a brand with wide views, already has similar headsets. But the downside? They’re big, like carrying-a-mini-brick-on-your-face big. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but you get the point.

Meta says these prototypes don’t have the bulk. Big promise! I mean, they always claim a lot, don’t they? These gadgets are apparently just as sleek as devices we already toss in our backpacks.

Some folks are dreaming these might lead to an all-new Quest headset with that sprawling view. But hey, just ‘cause Meta’s playing around with cutting-edge tech doesn’t mean we’ll see it in stores tomorrow. Remember that futuristic varifocal display headset from 2018? Yeah, still waiting.

Meta’s big shot, Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth, isn’t too keen on pushing these wide views anytime soon. Price tags, battery issues… usual suspects holding things back. But who knows? Maybe the tinkering might change his tune someday.

Anyway, I just sat here daydreaming about virtual fields of view. Now it’s back to reality. Or virtual reality. Or mixed… you know what I mean.