Meta unveiled a $1,299 pair of virtual-reality glasses at its annual Meta Connect event on Wednesday, promising "a new era for virtual reality" by delivering what it calls "a cinema, courtside seat, workspace, and console" in the home.

The device, an upgraded iteration of the Quest headset line, is the company's first VR product since the Meta Quest 3 launched in 2024. It ships next spring.

"We have built a new kind of VR device that delivers the same magical feeling of presence and immersion, high-resolution displays and views of the world around you in a form factor that is a pair of glasses for the first time," Mark Zuckerberg said at the event, adding: "There's really nothing else like this. It is a glimpse of the future."

The engineering bet behind the glasses is weight. Meta made the product five times lighter than the Quest 3 by moving compute and battery functions into a puck tethered to the glasses by a wire. A Qualcomm chip powers the headset, and the battery delivers up to three hours of continuous media playback.

The display is the device's headline technical claim: a 5K Infinite Display built on micro-OLED panels, which Meta says makes it the first IMAX-certified VR device. It supports Dolby Vision and spatial audio through Dolby Atmos.

The content slate is where the glasses aim squarely at film audiences. Meta said the device will stream 3D versions of Disney films including "The Avengers" and "Black Panther," along with VR-enhanced editions of "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Star Wars: A New Hope." The glasses will also carry 3D features from Peacock, HBO Max and Paramount+, plus select Lionsgate titles. James Cameron's Lightstorm Vision is developing "first time in 3D" blockbusters slated for next year.

Sports form the second content pillar. Meta has struck deals with the NBA, MLB, ESPN and others to provide immersive sporting experiences, beginning with college football.

Gaming arrives with more than 75 titles playable at launch using hand gestures alone. The device also supports Xbox Cloud Gaming through a handheld gaming pack.

An AI agent is built into the product to help users complete tasks and access content. Users can also generate a photorealistic "hologram" of themselves to appear on the device's display.

Andrew Bosworth, Meta's chief technology officer, framed the pitch in a single line for the Meta Connect crowd: "You get a private cinema, a game console, and a computer, and they all come in the sexiest pair of VR glasses you've ever seen."

Whether Hollywood's 3D catalog and courtside sports are enough to move a $1,299 tethered device at scale will become clear when the glasses reach consumers next spring — with Cameron's Lightstorm Vision blockbusters positioned as the first test of whether new 3D filmmaking can find a home on the format.