They Fail to Address the Issue

Reducing weight and boosting performance are key to advancing standalone XR headsets. While Meta has introduced its Orion AR glasses prototype paired with a wireless compute unit, Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO, doesn’t see this as the ultimate solution for standalone VR gaming.

Bosworth, who leads the Reality Labs XR team at Meta, frequently engages viewers during his Instagram Q&A sessions. Covering various topics from the personal to the professional, his recent discussion touched on wireless compute units.

In his latest Q&A, Bosworth shared insights on why wireless compute units might not suit Meta’s standalone VR headsets.

“We’ve revisited this concept multiple times,” Bosworth remarked. “Wireless compute pucks really don’t address the core issues. Even wirelessly, the headset still carries a battery, a key contributor to its weight. Sure, you might create additional thermal room, enhancing potential performance, but bandwidth limitations arise when you’re using a radio.”

Beyond technical challenges, Meta is keen on producing consumer-friendly products, pricing its latest Quest 3S as low as $300 for the 128GB model. Bosworth elaborates further:

“The cost increase is substantial. Even with significant silicon in the wireless compute puck, you still require notable computing power to drive displays, handle local corrections, and manage data streams. In essence, the numbers don’t add up. The weight savings aren’t significant, and costs, along with complexity, soar.”

Contrasting this, Meta’s Orion prototype actually employs a wireless compute unit. Though, due to exorbitant costs—reportedly $10,000 per unit due to silicon carbide lenses—the prototype isn’t headed for commercial production. However, wireless pucks may have their place in delivering less immersive graphics to AR glasses.

Nonetheless, Bosworth has indicated that Meta’s inaugural AR glasses won’t align with the Quest’s pricing when they’re eventually available. Back in September, Bosworth noted these devices wouldn’t come cheap but hinted at affordability within the realms of phones and laptops.