Meta reportedly plans to unveil its first augmented reality glasses at a developer conference later this year.
According to a report from Business Insider, Meta plans to demo the specs at Connect, but there are no plans to make it available for purchase right away. Facebook owners have not yet revealed the dates for Connect 2024, but it is typically held in September or October.
Business Insider cited two people familiar with the matter, but declined to provide further information. The project is known internally as “Orion.”
Meta CEO appears to have revealed multiple glasses in a throwback post on Threads. The post, which featured two side-by-side photos, showed Zuckerberg now and in the early days of Facebook.
There are several glasses scattered around his desk, one of which is an Orion prototype, officials said. Some pairs are distinctly different from Meta’s existing smart glasses, which were made in partnership with Ray-Ban.
Metadrop is a hint?
The story of Meta’s AR glasses is not new.
In an interview late last year, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth waxed lyrical about the glasses Meta’s staff use internally, but excitedly claimed they would probably never see the light of day. It only weakened it.
“This is probably the most exciting prototype we’ve ever developed,” he said.
“You might be in trouble for saying this. I think it’s probably the most advanced technology on the planet in its field. In the field of consumer electronics, this is the most advanced technology we’ve ever produced. It may be the most advanced of its kind.”
The downside, he said, is that it’s unlikely to be commercially available because it’s expensive to manufacture. It’s unclear whether the prototype Bosworth was referring to is the same one reportedly scheduled for release in 2024.
However, the high price of the glasses doesn’t mean Meta will give up on AR glasses. Bosworth said the company is working towards a middle ground that balances quality, performance and price.
Until then, we will have to make do with Meta Ray-Ban.
Meta entered the glasses market in 2021 through this partnership to create “smart” frames that record audio and video and play music through built-in speakers.
Last year, the glasses became even more “smart” when Meta added generative AI technology to provide audible notifications before users perform basic tasks.
Meta’s augmented reality line is led by Meta Quest 3, which launched last year.
Zuckerberg posted on Instagram last month declaring that the Quest 3 is not only a better value than Apple’s Vision Pro, but it’s better overall.
