They Fail to Address the Issue

When it comes to standalone XR headsets, two things are really key: making them lighter and boosting performance. Meta recently showcased its Orion AR glasses prototype, which uses a wireless compute unit. Still, Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, isn’t convinced that this kind of setup is the ultimate solution for standalone VR gaming.

Bosworth, who also leads Meta’s Reality Labs XR team, hosts regular Q&As on Instagram where he covers a broad spectrum of topics. In his most recent chat, he dove into the topic of wireless compute units and why Meta believes they aren’t quite the right fit for its standalone VR headsets.

During the session, Bosworth shared, “We’ve looked into this numerous times. Wireless compute pucks just don’t address the core issues. Even untethered, these headsets still house a battery, which significantly adds to the weight. Sure, there might be some room for improved performance due to better thermal space, but you’re limited by bandwidth since the connection relies on radio,” he explained.

Putting technical challenges aside, Meta is keen on keeping its products user-friendly, as seen with the Quest 3S, which is available from $300 for the 128GB model. Bosworth elaborated, “The costs rise substantially. Even if the main chip is in the wireless compute puck, you still need quite a bit of silicon in the headset to power the displays, handle local corrections, and manage data streams. So at the end of the day, the math doesn’t add up. It doesn’t save much weight and adds complexity and cost.”

Interestingly, this stance contrasts with the approach seen in Meta’s Orion prototype that uses a wireless compute unit. Though Orion is not headed for mass production due to its hefty price tag—around $10,000 per unit thanks to its high-cost silicon carbide lenses—it demonstrates that wireless pucks could be beneficial, especially for delivering less intensive graphics in AR glasses.

That said, Bosworth has indicated that when Meta’s first consumer AR glasses eventually hit the market, they won’t be priced like the Quest series. Back in September, he commented that these glasses “won’t come cheap,” though they aim to position them in a price range comparable to phones and laptops.