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

Meta’s Reality Labs is up to something wild — VR and MR headsets with some seriously wide views. They’re talking like 180-degree horizons, which, if you’re keeping tabs, is way above the Quest 3’s measly 100-ish degrees. It’s all in this paper they dropped before the big tech shindig, ACM SIGGRAPH 2025.

So, there are two gadgets they cooked up. The VR one? It’s using these crazy “high-curvature reflective polarizers” (whatever those are) but manages to stay compact… somehow. I stared at the image of it for a while — kind of looked like it might nod at me if I stared long enough.

Then there’s their MR version, same basic glasses thing going on, just with cameras — four of them, actually. These cams can see about as much as the headset does. Also, they pack in 80 wonder-megapixels and do 60 FPS. Why do I always use cameras as an excuse to avoid eye contact? Probably because they never talk back.

Anyway, comparing these headsets to the Quest 3, the MR one stands out. Imagine sitting next to someone and not losing sight of your snack. Wait, did I mention I love snacks?

Oh right, back to the headsets. They’re using this old tracking system, “Constellation,” that they had in Rift CV1. It’s like revisiting that old winter jacket you wore in college because it just works, you know? And, they claim all this width in view doesn’t make it bulky like Pimax’s headsets. Still, no idea if these will ever hit the shelves. Meta is known for showing prototypes that just vanish. Like that varifocal thingamajig they teased in 2018 — still nothing.

Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth of Meta keeps grumbling about how a wider view isn’t worth the fuss with battery, weight, and price issues. But who knows, right? Opinions shift like my mood when someone touches my fries.

So yeah, big dreams, but you might just have to wait a while. Much like my attempt to eat healthier… tomorrow.