Meta bets on $1,300 VR glasses that can play YouTube, ESPN, Peacock, and much more

Meta is continuing its wearables renaissance by unveiling virtual-reality glasses stuffed with a plethora of entertainment and sports apps. The Meta VR Glasses will cost $1,300 when they debut next spring and will offer significant value thanks to a long list of launch partners.

Prime Video, YouTube, Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount+, DIRECTV, AMC+, Crunchyroll, Plex, and Tubi will all be available to watch on Meta VR Glasses. The device will also carry a competitive lineup of sports channels, including NBA, MLB, ESPN, NBC Sports, TNT Sports, and UFC.

Meta’s focus on virtual spaces informed its 2021 name change, but some of its early forays into the so-called “metaverse” were flops. After Horizon Worlds wound up as an expensive failure, Meta redoubled its effort in the wearables sector. After opening pop-up stores filled with Quest headsets, smart glasses, and other pieces of wearable tech, Meta broke ground on a flagship L.A. location last year.

The Meta VR Glasses borrow details from several major players in the wearables space. After partnering with Ray-Ban parent company EssilorLuxottica SA for its Orion line, Meta learned how to design sleek, fashionable smart glasses, and it is bringing that aesthetic sense to its upcoming product. The deep content lineup will allow the Meta VR Glasses to keep pace with the Apple Vision Pro line, and the presence of a detached “puck” — which allows the glasses themselves to be lighter — could be inspired by ByteDance’s Pico line

By offering an enticing alternative to other VR headsets, Meta will be able to justify its hefty price tag. The true competitor for the Meta VR Glasses, however, might be a free video game published in 2006. Roblox is the primary vehicle through which consumers experience the metaverse, whether they realize it or not.

Therefore, if the Meta VR Glasses are going to be the true gold standard in immersive entertainment, they’ll eventually need to offer more than a collection of third-party apps.  In theory, Meta’s partnership with James Cameron will eventually supply the tech giant’s wearables division with the original content it needs to build substantial hype and demand.

In the meantime, consumers can get an early look at Meta’s upcoming product. The Meta VR Glasses won’t be cheap, but they will represent a long-term investment in wearable products when they arrive next spring.