Why Do VR And AR Headsets Hate My Prescription Glasses Now? - CNET

I was astatine HTC's demo of the caller Vive XR Elite headset astatine the Wynn Hotel successful Las Vegas, acceptable to acquisition the smallest-looking, mixed reality-capable brace of VR goggles I've ever seen. Well, I tried. I was asked to instrumentality my glasses off, due to the fact that -- don't worry, I was told -- this hardware has its ain medicine accommodation dials inside. I knew what would hap next, due to the fact that I've seen this communicative happen implicit and over and over before. 

The XR Elite stops astatine -6. I'm an -8.25. In medicine language, that means my utmost nearsightedness isn't supported.

So I played blurry VR until I tried cramming my chunky glasses semi-successfully inside… which lone made my look hurt.  

Everyone wants to get their big, bulky, weird VR and AR hardware shrunk down to look similar regular glasses. There's 1 drawback to that: If you bash it, past they go your glasses now. And if they're your glasses, they request to enactment with your prescription. 

I've tried to ace unfastened this puzzle container of wearable oculus cogwheel since Google Glass came connected the scene. I person truly atrocious myopia. I similar wearing glasses. To trial Google Glass way backmost successful 2013, I had to deterioration contacts. 

The wrong of the Vive XR Elite: Prescription adjustments let a wide scope of imaginativeness to fit... but not wide capable for mine.

Scott Stein/CNET

My eyes are a hard acceptable for VR and AR

I've written astir this before, galore times successful fact. And yet, successful the VR epoch of 2016-22, I was granted a reprieve. VR hardware learned to remainder implicit my glasses, mostly, allowing maine to effort each sorts of tech (even the HoloLens 2 and Meta Quest Pro) and acquisition them successful crisp focus. Some headsets inactive enactment glasses well: the Lynx-R1, a mixed world headset I conscionable tried, has a elemental flip-down visor that was cleanable for maine and my large glasses. The PlayStation VR 2 is besides perfectly designed to accommodate my imaginativeness needs, with a ample rubberized country I tin remainder my glasses into.

But I consciousness a occupation coming, astatine slightest for me. At CES 2023, I brought a smaller brace of glasses that acceptable amended into VR headsets, but did not bring interaction lenses. I didn't privation to enactment my fingers into my eyes astatine a flu- and COVID-spreading ace show. Would you? I knew things mightiness get weird. And yes, it turns out, galore glasses and headsets are turning to medicine inserts now. And astir of them headdress retired astatine -8, conscionable beneath what I need. 

This happened with Magic Leap 2. It happened with Vuzix. It happened with TCL with their VR headset. Am I going to person to beryllium Contact Lens Guy now?

To beryllium sure, my occupation is circumstantial to my highly atrocious vision, and it's happening successful demos wherever due medicine fits can't beryllium guaranteed. A aboriginal of medicine services for headsets looks similar it whitethorn beryllium coming fast. Maybe getting the close lenses volition beryllium easy. That volition inactive mean, however, that I person to get caller lenses for each azygous headset I deterioration (a cosmopolitan acceptable seems unlikely), and it besides means I won't beryllium capable to demo hardware unless they magically person what I need. 

Trying TCL's newest AR glasses successful Vegas: They person medicine lenses, but astatine slightest successful the demo country they didn't rather acceptable my ain needs. I'm inactive a spot of an outlier.

Scott Stein/CNET

You mightiness person the aforesaid problem

It's possibly a bigger occupation than my demo-specific tech writer complaints. The Vive XR Elite was a deliberate determination connected a way to get smaller, and I've been told that the interest astir higher medicine levels is fundamentally an outlier concern. Maybe companies are trying to marque their hardware smaller astatine immoderate cost, hoping that arsenic it yet becomes wide marketplace successful a fewer years, the lens concern volition magically fig itself out. In the meantime, I spot a aboriginal of much costly hardware that's little accessible. Not a bully operation for an manufacture that's trying hard not to thrust radical away. 

Apple whitethorn beryllium facing this aforesaid issue, based connected reports that its VR and AR headset volition besides person medicine inserts. Apple amended fig it out. It would marque consciousness for the institution to go similar Warby Parker, and virtually crook Apple Stores into optical shops similar North did with its Focals glasses earlier being acquired by Google. 

Regular optical shops aren't the answer. Meta's Ray Ban Stories can't beryllium serviced to swap lenses contempt being sold astatine LensCrafters. I know: I tried, with medicine lenses successful manus that Meta sent to maine to test. I was turned away. 

I conscionable anticipation the concern improves, due to the fact that I'm disquieted astir however I'll acquisition the adjacent question of VR/AR devices if I can't deterioration them implicit my eyes. And adjacent if I'm an outlier, I cognize I won't beryllium the lone one.