Honey, they shrunk the headset

TL;DR: I was invited to try on two of the newest AR and VR devices—Snap’s Specs ($2,195, shipping this fall) and Meta’s VR Glasses ($1,299, launching next spring). Neither looks like the cumbersome goggles we’re used to, and both are a sign that the bulky headset’s days may be numbered. My verdict: I’d watch a movie and play games on either, but I’d only work on one.

The specs (no pun intended): Think of them as the headsets you know (Quest, Vision Pro, etc.) shrunk to the size of somewhat chunky glasses, though they’re built for slightly different reasons. The Specs are see-through and made to wear on the go, whereas the VR Glasses are for sitting on the couch or at a desk. Here are my biggest takeaways:

• Both are far lighter than previous headsets—weighing about a quarter pound (as heavy as a stick of butter), though Meta’s has the added weight of a connected pocket-sized puck holding the battery and processor.
• Neither needs controllers: On the Specs, I pointed at what I wanted and pinched my thumb and index finger. On the VR Glasses, I just looked at it with my eyes and pinched with my fingers.
• Both use cameras to track your movements and surroundings—the Specs can also take photos and videos (with an LED light indicating when it’s recording).
• Meta says its VR Glasses get up to three hours of continuous video play; the Specs last up to four hours with mixed use, per Snap.

The demos: Both leaned hard on entertainment. On the Specs, I watched a YouTube video (funniest cat videos, anyone?). On the VR Glasses, it was a Billie Eilish concert. Meta also showed me a New Yorker’s dream: sitting courtside at a Knicks game, where one glance to my right put me closer to Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner than I’ve ever been IRL. When given a choice of games, I went full cozy both times (tracing and sketching with Specs, and plucking leaves to feed a dragon with Meta).

When it came time to see what they could do for work, I pulled up a Google Doc on the Specs and typed on a connected keyboard. Meta simulated a full work desk by spreading out three virtual monitors and a virtual keyboard that calibrated itself to where I rested my hand on the table.

The good and the clunky: Both glasses were great for movies and games, though Meta’s VR setup makes for a more immersive screen, and the Quest library gives it a head start on games.

The biggest difference came down to productivity and latency. Meta’s three monitors and keyboard felt like a real desk setup that you can have anywhere, and the eye tracking made navigating feel effortless. With the Specs, there was an obvious lag between typing on the keyboard and seeing the words appear (depending on what app I was using), and selecting things with my pointer finger took a few tries sometimes. To be fair, both are demos of early versions of the hardware, so there’s still time for the companies to smooth things out.

The one feature on the Specs I was most excited about was one I didn’t get to try: its navigation lens, which could mean getting directions on the go without staring at your phone. (A gift to anyone who’s ever walked into another person. Anyone being me.)

Bottom line: VR and AR headsets are at a tipping point—finally small enough to be useful for most people. The real question is whether they’ll replace your TV, your office monitors, or both. Either way, expect updates to the existing, bulky ones to start dwindling (it’s actually already happening). —LC