If you are interested in the next generation of smart glasses, AR or VR headsets, but don’t want to potentially waste thousands on the wrong one - then this post will help you decide which one is right for you.
From Budget, right through to the Premium Priced options, starting with, of course, the just released Apple Vision Pro.
Apple Vision Pro $3,500
And for the low, low price of just $3,500, the Apple Vision Pro could be yours.
By far the most technologically advanced headset we’ve seen before, with incredible features and specs that beat pretty much all other VR headsets on the market.
But, with it being so new - there are some significant limitations to be aware of.
In terms of native app support, there are just a handful, and we’re talking a few hundred apps that will work on day 1.
Outside of these apps, you will also be able to use iPhone and iPad apps across the Apple Vision Pro. They won’t be built to work specifically on Apple Vision, but they will technically work. Which might be enough to begin with.
Most software developers seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach with the Vision Pro to see if it’s actually a viable product for them to develop for.
Afterall, there’s no point in spending hours and hours developing an app if only a few hundred thousand people are going to be able to afford one.
But, to be fair, the iphone App store only launched with 500 apps initially, so it’s not much different from that. And who knows, perhaps this could be the start of another revolutionary product by Apple.
It’s definitely and undoubtedly the best technology we’ve seen in a headset for many years, and I hope that this is the iPhone moment of VR where Apple’s push once more into the unknown results in all of the other competitors to really up their game BUT, traditionally that doesn’t involve anybody lowering the price. The opposite in fact. Remember when phones used to cost £100? And then along comes Apple!
But in terms of recommendations - right now, and due to the price point. I can only recommend the Vision Pro to those who have cash burning a hole in their pocket and want to experience the very latest cutting edge technology.
Because at $2,000 cheaper, you can buy a Meta Quest Pro, or at $3,000 cheaper a Meta Quest 3, both of which can currently do pretty much all of what Apple Vision Pro can do, with the added benefit that they’re also great for playing games on. Which is something Apple has never been known for. Ever.
Meta Quest Pro £999
But whilst I mention the Meta Quest Pro, which costs almost £1,000, honestly, I’m not sure why they sell this anymore when they sell the Quest 3.
As someone who has owned the Quest 1, Quest 2, Quest Pro and now the Quest 3, I would say it’s not worth the extra money to get the Pro over the 3.
The Quest Pro does give you extra features above and beyond the Quest 3 such as face tracking, so when you’re in the Metaverse, your avatar will replicate what your eyes and mouth are doing.
The base storage doubles to 256Gb on the Pro instead of 128Gb on the Quest 3.
But really, aside from those couple of minor additions, the Quest 3 wins in every sense. Better, faster hardware, Faster processor, higher resolution per eye, 120hz refresh rate, better quality and full-colour pass-through mode.
And honestly, I just can’t recommend the Quest Pro. As far as I’m concerned it’s been discontinued by Meta but they’re still selling it, probably to just shift the last ones that have been produced. I don’t know anybody buying a Quest Pro over the Quest 3. So just don’t do it.
Meta Quest 3 £479.99
Next up we have the Meta Quest 3 at £479.99.
And for the price you pay, these are pretty damn good, and whilst they are much bigger and bulkier than others we’ve looked at so far, these by far do the most.
Use them to play a huge and ever-expanding range of VR and AR Games, or hook them up to your computer and use them in place of buying a large monitor, watch content and with the latest update, even hook them up to Xbox Cloud Gaming and experience your favourite games on an over 150 inch virtual screen.
Great for people with limited space, but also great in so many other ways.
If you want to game, these are the ones to get. You can access a huge range of games in the native app store, which are then installed on the headset itself.
You can also access a huge range of PC games via Steam VR to play favourites such as Half Life Alyx, an absolutely stunning game that I’ve played through a couple of times now.
If you want to keep fit, there a huge library of fitness titles that can keep your heart rate elevated and give you a pretty decent workout with the virtual boxing and hiit type workouts.
If you want to work, then hooking these up to a laptop or desktop provides a genuinely useful and USABLE working experience.
Using the built in Meta Working environments to either work by yourself, you even host meetings where you can preset at a literal blackboard on the wall whilst discussing with other Quest users with full spacial audio.
And you can also sit in what I’d call a virtual Starbucks to get that semi-social feeling whilst working and chatting with others around you. I see this as perfect for people who work at home, alone - it’s a great way to be social and interact with people when you might otherwise be sat in silence working at home alone.
Being made by Meta, one of the worlds biggest brands, there are also a huge range of accessories that you can buy for the Quest 3. Charging cases, grips, headstraps, batteries and so much more.
The Meta Quest 3 is the one I’ve most used so far, and if you or who you’re buying this for is fairly active, then this will be the perfect one to buy.
But it’s kind of perfect for every scenario. Gaming, productivity, chilling out and watching content - the only thing I wish was that it was a little smaller and lighter, more like a pair of glasses.
Viture XR Glasses $439
Enter the Viture XR Glasses, at around $439, and there are also similar glasses from brands like Xreal too…XR stands for Mixed Reality… and these glasses are what I took with me on a few long haul flights so I didn’t have to crick my neck whilst watching content that I had loaded onto my phone such as movies, TV Shows, YouTube Videos etc.
And wearing a pair of these actually made my entire journey a lot more comfortable.
You simply hook them up via USB C to whatever device you’re using, and that devices screen will be shown in the glasses right in front of you as some sort of huge virtual screen.
Super difficult to show you what this looks like, but essentially it means you can sit in any position, even lay down, and enjoy an excellent view of whatever content you’re watching.
It even works with games consoles, they make a tonne of adapters to connect devices even via HDMI or a Nintendo Switch.
Now, they are no Quest or Vision Pro, and they definitely serve a different purpose. These are purely to put a screen on your face, whereas the others I’ve covered so far have been to give you a whole virtual and augmented reality experience.
A couple of things I would say about these.
First, if you want to have a truly immersive experience when watching content, then wear a decent pair of noise-cancelling headphones that also support spacial audio, so you can enjoy a movie with a full Dolby atmos sound stage, which is an incredible experience. You can also tap the button on the side to increase or decrease how transparent the glasses are, so once you’re settled in you can flick the switch to darken everything around you except for what you’re watching.
Second, as funny as it might look and sound, these actually have some interesting use cases if you are walking around and trying to navigate somewhere. If you hook up your phone and start navigation, then hit the side button a few times so the glasses are as clear as possible and now you can walk whilst having your navigation right in front of you without having to constantly look at your phone for directions.
I did try these briefly whilst driving a car and whilst it technically worked, it can quickly become distracting and I’m not sure it would be entirely legal to do this, so I wouldn’t personally recommend them for that.
But if you are someone who travels frequently and wants a more comfortable way to enjoy your content, these are great for that.
Meta Smart Glasses £299
At the budget end of the scale - if you could call them budget, At £299, we have the Meta Ray-Ban Glasses.
And again, whilst these don’t offer augmented or virtual reality, they are arguably the most usable set of smart glasses that you can buy.
There are built-in cameras to shoot photos and videos, and at pretty decent quality too! There are speakers built into the arms which allow you to listen to music and even take phone calls whilst still taking in the world around you although they certainly do make you look a little crazy when walking around talking to yourself.
But the ‘Smart’ in these glasses comes in the form of the Meta smart assistant, where you can just say ‘Hey Meta’ and ask it anything, including, asking Meta what you see and it will do it’s best to tell you what it sees.
You get 4 hours of battery life per charge, with a further 32 hours in the case.
And you can even live stream to Instagram and Facebook. But, if you are thinking of buying a pair of these, I would just take a second to consider which pair you buy. Because whilst £299 gives you the basic pair of sunglasses, well, they’re sunglasses, which, depending on where you live, potentially at least halves the amount of time you can actually use and wear these.
Such as when you’re indoors, or when it’s not sunny, or when it’s dark.
So I would consider buying either a light tint version, or their transition lenses which go from sunglasses to totally transparent depending on the light, which means you can use these glasses all times of day, although they’ll now be setting you back close to £400.
For the most part, each of these products really has its own place in the world, depending on what your needs are.
If you want to wear regular glasses with some smart features. If you want to be fully immersed in a virtual world for gaming, or if you want to use something to enhance your productivity.
Let me know in the comments which one you’ll be getting, and I'll see you soon!
https://geni.us/QUEST-3
https://geni.us/META-QUEST-PRO (10% OFF)
https://geni.us/VITURE-ONE
https://geni.us/META_RAY-BAN
https://geni.us/APPLE_VISION_PRO
