If there's anything I don't like about playing with a VR headset strapped to my face, it's the sheer weight of it all. Sure, standalone headsets have gotten a lot better over the years in terms of weight distribution, but any device attached to your skull for hours is going to start hurting over time. However, an external source powering a device like, I don't know, a pair of glasses would make it a lot easier - and while the Meta Quest 4 hasn't been announced, it seems like a glimmer of the future has been.
The Meta Quest 3 remains one of the best VR headsets on the market, and it's no shock that Meta isn't announcing the next model just yet. The Quest 3S was only released last year, the Quest 3 a year before that, and the Quest 2 held the throne for three years before being succeeded. I expect a Quest 4 to arrive late next year, if anything.
Admittedly, there was a sore lack of any VR games, with the company putting a focus on its collaborative effort with Ray-Ban, offering a new look at four models of Meta Ray-Ban glasses coming up. I'm serious, four new models. In 2023, we just had one, so that's a major change, and I could see it making the consumer market confused. Even as a VR and smart glasses geek, I was a little lost scrolling through the updated Meta website.
However, there's one that stands out. Ol' Zucky revealed the new Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses that, as the fitting title suggests, offer a private display within the lens. Sure, you're not going to play the best mobile games through this pair of glasses, but connecting them to your phone will help you keep up-to-date on notifications without pulling out your phone or using Meta AI to translate different languages and get directions to your destination without whipping out your handset.
The easiest way to explain it is - what if you shoved a Quest headset into a pair of Ray-Bans? Even if the Quest 3 is primarily a gaming device, it's clear that Meta wants it to be more than that, and the new Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses give us some clarity on what the company is looking to do in the near future. However, it's also good insight into what a Quest 4 could potentially bring.
Imagine not requiring a hefty console strapped to your face. You can control your character's arms with Meta's new Neural Band wrist strap, and the power source and chipset are all simply attached to your pants or shoved into your pocket. It would make the disorientation of a weight on your face less of a problem and would help alleviate any VR sickness. At least, just a little.
This isn't a next-generation jump. It's more likely that Meta will introduce Neural Bands into the Quest 4 as opposed to controllers, for example, before slowly progressing the technology until I can use my hand to punch someone in the best action games. That would be a lovely stress relief.
If you're looking to give the potential future of Meta Quest a try, well, you'll have to shell out a bit. You can sign up for email notifications at the Meta Store, and you'll have to pay from $799 upwards for the privilege. At least it's actually coming, unlike Google Glass. Rest in peace, my sweet tech prince.
Of course, you can also wait for a potential Quest 4 to drop and see if any of my predictions are right, but you could save money by grabbing some of the best gaming earbuds and setting them up with the best handheld console - I imagine you'll get a similar experience for a lot cheaper.