Meta Reveals AR Glasses But They're Not For Sale... Yet
Meet Meta's prototype AR glasses, codenamed Orion.
By Sukhbir Cheema — 27 Sep 2024, 03:32 PM
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, introduced its first working prototype of augmented reality (AR) glasses, codenamed Orion
Meta’s chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg announced the glasses at its annual Connect conference on 25 September.
The unveiling marks a significant step in the company's ambition to seamlessly merge the virtual and physical worlds, part of Meta's broader vision of an interconnected metaverse.
"This is the physical world with holograms overlaid on it," Zuckerberg announced as he dramatically revealed the chunky, black glasses from a metal case brought to him on stage.
"For now, I think the right way to look at Orion is as a time machine. These glasses exist, they are awesome, and they are a glimpse of a future that I think is going to be pretty exciting."
The glasses, constructed from magnesium alloy and powered by custom silicon designed by Meta, are still in development and are not for sale yet
Users will be able to interact with them through hand-tracking, voice commands, and wrist-based neural interfaces.
However, Zuckerberg noted that the current model is far from consumer-ready.
"We're working on making it smaller, sleeker, and more affordable," he added, with a goal of bringing Orion to market in the coming years.
While the unveiling of Orion is a milestone, it's clear that Meta still has a long way to go before the AR glasses become a mainstream product by 2027
The most famous attempt in this space, Google Glass, failed to gain traction due to high costs and privacy concerns, a fate Meta is keen to avoid.
Meta is aiming to ship its first commercial AR glasses by 2027, with hopes that technical breakthroughs will help reduce production costs by then.
In addition to unveiling Orion, Meta also showcased new AI chatbot capabilities and a fresh version of its Quest mixed-reality headset.
Orion is not Meta's first foray into wearable tech
The company's Ray-Ban smart glasses, initially met with tepid reception, gained traction last year after Meta introduced an AI assistant feature.
This year, Meta enhanced the Ray-Ban glasses further, enabling features like QR code scanning and music streaming via voice commands, setting the stage for Orion’s future consumer debut.
As Meta continues its push into augmented reality, the world waits to see if Orion will deliver on Zuckerberg’s vision of a future where the lines between the real and virtual blur seamlessly.
