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

I’m sitting here, scratching my head over this research from Meta’s Reality Labs—you know, the folks who dream up ways to strap the future to our faces. Okay, here’s the deal: they’re working on these VR and MR headsets with—get this—stupidly wide 180-degree field-of-view. Yeah, that’s not a typo. That’s like going from an old-school TV to an IMAX screen.

So, they’re gearing up for this big ACM SIGGRAPH 2025 tech bash, and these headsets are the hot gossip. Apparently, the first one is pure VR magic and uses, uh, “high-curvature reflective polarizers.” Yeah, no clue what that means, but it sounds like something Tony Stark would mess with. Picture them as compact goggles that smash against Meta’s current headsets, which honestly look like child’s play with their dinky 100-degree views.

Then there’s this MR headset, and it’s packing four passthrough cameras. It’s like, why stop at one when you can toss in four, right? That’s 80MP at 60 FPS. A real treat for tech nerds.

Now, the researchers did some geeky side-by-side with the Quest 3. Imagine sitting there, MR headset on, and you can see someone chilling in a chair beside you. Plus, you get a peek-a-boo at whatever snack they’ve got stashed. Because who doesn’t want peripheral snack awareness?

Also, these headsets seem to use that outside-in ‘Constellation’ tracking—remember the Oculus Rift days? Yeah, it’s like that old friend who keeps showing up at all the right parties. Easier to tinker with, they say.

But here’s a twist: wide field-of-view headsets aren’t exactly Martian tech. Pimax has been doing it too, but theirs are hefty beasts. Meta’s team, though, brags theirs are sleek like the current consumer stuff—promise of a slimmer future?

Now, before you start planning your virtual adventures with these headsets, here’s the catch: Meta loves to tease. Seriously, remember the varifocal prototype in 2018? Yeah, where’s that at, right? Just because they’re cooking up something doesn’t mean it’s going public anytime soon. Meta’s Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth, even he’s dropping hints about the big “trade-offs”—price, weight, battery life. Maybe this will change his tune? Meh, who knows.

So, there you have it. Fancy optics, headsets with more cameras than my entire childhood photo album, and a field-of-view that’s wider than my grandma’s television from the ‘70s. It’s wild, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.