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I bought custom lenses for my Meta Quest 3, but not every eyeglass wearer needs them. Do you?
Do wearers of eyeglasses in the real world need to wear those corrective lenses when exploring the virtual world with their Meta Quest 3 headset? And if so, what are their options?
Here's what's baffled me about how manufacturers have presented their recent crop of AR/VR/XR (and, yes Apple, spacial computing) headsets. Most vendors leave the details of what it's like to use these headsets with glasses somewhere in the fine print -- even though something like 166 million Americans wear prescription lenses.
Also: Who's afraid of VR? I was - until I tried Meta Quest 3
In this article, I'll provide a clear answer to that ambiguity for Meta Quest 3 users, and also provide a bit of general information I turned up in various YouTube videos.
First, let's answer my big question: Yes, if you need glasses to see at a distance (i.e., you have myopia, or nearsightedness), you will need some sort of corrective lens to properly consume content inside your headset.
I don't need glasses to read my phone's screen. In fact, I have to take them off to do so. But I do need glasses to read my computer's screen (usually about 18-24 inches away), to watch TV, and to drive. I was unable to see anything clearly in the Quest 3 without using corrective lenses.
To understand what's going on, I strongly recommend you watch this YouTube video by Dr. Neal Guymon, a practicing optometrist at Summit EyeCare in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He says that even though the screens are right in front of your eyes, the focal distance for the screens is usually about four feet away from your eyes. Therefore, if you need glasses to see something clearly at four feet, you probably need corrective lenses inside the Quest 3.
Also: This is why IT pros over 50 should switch their glasses to technology lenses
With the Quest 3, you have two main choices for corrective lenses: your glasses, and custom prescription lenses. Let's talk about both.
Using your glasses
It is definitely possible to use your glasses inside the Quest 3. In fact, the headset makes special accommodations for you to do just that. Notice the gap shown in the following image:
This is an added space to allow for your glasses to fit inside the headset. Without glasses, that gap goes away, but you can adjust the inner frame of the headset to allow for the added depth required by your frames.
The adjustment is controlled by a set of tabs on each side of the headset. To create more space inside the headset, press the pill-shaped button and pull the padded section of the headset towards you.
Four small indicators show the four gap options Meta provided with the Quest 3. As you can see in the image above, I have the widest gap possible. You can tell that because the little white dot is at the outermost location.
My glasses did fit fine inside the headset, and I was able to see the VR content once I made the adjustments described.
The big problem occurred while putting on and taking off the headset. The arms on my glasses interfered with the headset straps and I found that I was stressing the glasses. I wasn't sure whether I'd break the glasses first, or smack them into the pancake lenses inside the Quest 3.
Also: The best VR headsets right now (and they're not just from Meta)
In any case, after just two or three attempts, mostly just to prove I could actually use the Quest 3 at all, I decided to rush order a set of custom Quest 3 lenses and keep my glasses far away from the headset.
Let me be clear: You don't have to do this. If you're confident you can maneuver your glasses and the headset without causing damage, glasses do work fine inside of the headset. Because your face is a centimeter or so farther away from the lenses, your field of view is reduced by a bit, but your existing glasses will work just fine.
Custom lens choices
ZDNET's Kerry Wan did a great review of the Zenni prescription lenses. They're the brand recommended by Meta, so I bought those.
Other lenses might have offered some more flexibility, but I had an article deadline for my Quest 3 coverage and I didn't want to put my eyeglasses at any more risk.
Also: The $50 Meta Quest 3 accessory that I can't live without (and how to get it for free)
Here's a bit of info about the other brands of lenses out there. Some vendors, like VR Wave, offer a magnetic fastener, so you can more easily pop the add-on lenses out of the Quest 3 to share the device with friends or family. If we get a pair for my wife, she wants these.
Others, like Reloptix, have a little tab for easy removal. I have not yet looked at all the vendors, but I'm sure ZDNET will have a product shootout at some point. In the meantime, here's a list of links for all the Quest 3 lens makers I've found so far:
My Zenni lens experience
Ordering was as easy as filling out a form on the web. I already had my glasses prescription, so I fed those numbers into the Zenni order form, gave them my credit card number, and clicked Buy.
I paid $50 plus $19 for rush shipping, and I got my lenses within three days.
The lenses ship inside a cardboard box, in little glossy finish paper envelopes.
The lenses themselves are just about the same size as the lens cavity inside the Quest 3.
They install fairly easily inside the Quest 3. Here you can see the lens sitting on the lens cavity:
Here, you can see the lens fully popped in:
All it takes to install them into the Quest 3 is a little even pressure until you hear a slight popping sound that confirms they're fully seated. I was able to use the headset immediately without my glasses.
Also: I tried Meta's Quest 3 VR headset and the mixed reality experience was next level
You can also remove the lenses with fairly little effort by grasping the rubber border and pulling away from the headset. Zenni provides a nice storage case, so should you decide to remove them to share the headset with a family member or friend, you'll have a safe place to keep them.
I found that the slight additional thickness of the prescription lenses meant that I couldn't push the Quest 3 frame all the way closed. So I kept it at one notch away from closed, which probably lost me just a tiny bit of field of view compared to fully closed.
Overall conclusion
If you wear glasses, you can absolutely use the Quest 3 without paying for custom lenses. Glasses do work, but I found the fiddly factor too annoying. The add-in lenses were an easy and fairly inexpensive option that, now that they're installed, just fade into the background. They just work.
Also: Meta Quest 2 vs Quest 3: How to decide which one is right for you
If it's in your budget, my overall recommendation is to get a pair of lenses custom to the Quest 3 rather than use your own glasses. But as I've shown, either approach is workable. My bottom line: The issue of whether or not glasses wearers can use the Quest 3 is pretty much a non-issue. You can do it, either way.
Do you have a Quest 3? A Quest 2? What has your experience been? Are you considering getting a headset? Have you ordered custom lenses? Or are you considering ordering them? Let me know in the comments below.
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