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In bid to usher in spatial computing Meta and Apple turn their attention to VR’s biggest enemy: comfort

By Abdullah Asim

Published: Sep 15, 2024, 12:41 AM

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Meta has been focused on making VR the future of computing for many years, and Apple recently joined that effort with a headset of its own. But the one thing still putting people off of the otherwise excellent Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro is comfort. So now both companies are brainstorming new ways to let users wear their respective headsets.

Patents filed by both Meta and Apple in the past few weeks detail innovative head straps and new mechanisms for wearing headsets. Apple, for example, is trying to come up with a head strap that can be adjusted in more ways than one. The proposed design aims to let users customize how much force is applied to which parts of their face and head.

Meta, on the other hand, wants to design a strap where the tightness can be adjusted by a pulley system. The explanation Meta gives is honestly needlessly complicated and most of it flew over my head. Simply put, it’s a much better system than the current strap that comes with Quest headsets.

Trust me, the textual explanation was more confusing. | Image credit — Meta

Comfort is perhaps the biggest reason a lot of consumers don’t get sold on VR. The visual experience is amazing but if you’re feeling sore and sweaty after 30 minutes you probably aren’t going to spend money on it.

It’s so off-putting that Apple actually swapped out straps at store demos to sell people on the Vision Pro. This, coupled with the social awkwardness of wearing a headset in public, is most certainly why Meta has been working so hard on AI-powered AR smart glasses.

Even the Vision Pro was a compromise according to Bloomberg’s Apple insider Mark Gurman. The company initially wanted to design lightweight AR glasses but the technology of the time didn’t allow it. Apple hasn’t given up on that either and is now looking to compete with the Meta-powered Ray-Ban smart glasses that don’t have a display.

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As a staunch proponent of VR I desperately want it to become the future of computing. But unless we can jam all that tech into a pair of glasses it simply isn’t going to happen. Which is why, though welcome, these new head straps are only yet another compromise.

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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.