According to Optometry Australia about two-thirds of Australians wear prescription glasses. That makes virtual and augmented reality devices a pain to use. With my Meta Quest 3, I either had to wear my glasses under the headset, which was quite uncomfortable, or use contact lenses. The good news is that there is a solution. Zenni makes prescription lens inserts that click neatly into Meta Quest 3, negating the need for me to wear glasses or contact lenses.
Ordering Zenni MR Prescription Lenses for Meta Quest 3
Before you start the ordering process, you’ll need your prescription. The prescription has three key pieces of information: Sphere, Cylinder and Axis.
Sphere provides the overall refractive power needed to focus light on the retina. Cylinder corrects astigmatism and Axis rotates the lens so it is oriented correctly.
Armed with information, visit the Zenni website for Meta Quest, choose which headset you have and enter your prescription information.
The cost will vary depending on the strength of your lenses. But they do (at the time I ordered) include either an anti-fog coating or an oil-resistant coating. I chose anti-fog as I figured it would be handy for when I use an exercise app on my headset
Zenni includes a handy carry case for the lenses which is useful. If you share your VR headset it’s important to have somewhere safe to stash the lenses.
My lenses shipped three days after ordering and arrived a couple of days later via FedEx.
The total cost for my lenses came to $112.98 ($79.99 for the lenses and $32.99 for shipping).
In contrast, Zeiss optical Inserts for Vision Pro start at $169 and may require purchase of a new light seal.
Installing the Zenni MR Prescription Lenses for Meta Quest 3
Each lens ships in a separate envelope that’s in a small, solid box that includes a cleaning cloth and storage case. Each lens is marked on the rim so you can tell the left from right.
Once you position a lens in position inside the Meta Quest headset, a gentle push tells you it has clicked into place. I was a little wary of pushing too hard but there was a reassuring click once the lens was correctly placed.
Using the Zenni MR Prescription Lenses for Meta Quest 3
After messing around with trying to get the Meta Quest to sit comfortably while wearing glasses, using the Zenni lenses was a huge game changer. The headset is far more comfortable and I was able to get a much better seal against ambient light.
My first test was watching a show on Netflix. Being able to properly immerse myself in the show, which I watched in Theatre Mode, without having to fiddle with the headset’s position when it pressed on my glasses or let too much external light in has changed the whole user experience for me.
If you wear prescription glasses and either have or a contemplating purchasing a Meta Quest 3S or Meta Quest 3, I suggest ordering the Zenni prescription lenses at the same time.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.