Meta Platforms Inc. META is reportedly set to reveal its first true augmented reality or AR glasses, codenamed Orion, at its annual Connect developer event this fall.
What Happened: The AR glasses, a product of Meta’s Reality Labs division, have been developing for several years. Meta's AR team is under pressure to demo the high-tech glasses during Connect, heightening the internal pressure to deliver exceptional performance, reported Business Insider, citing people familiar with the matter.
Although the AR glasses will not be available for purchase immediately after the reveal, a select group of employees are already experimenting with advanced prototypes. The product’s unveiling is anticipated to generate industry excitement around Meta’s work in high-tech wearables.
The AR glasses are separate from Meta’s well-known Ray-Ban smart glasses and Quest headsets. The Orion project falls under Meta’s Reality Labs division, which oversees the company’s AR and VR work, AI, and all metaverse-related projects.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who closely monitors Reality Labs’ work, has shown keen interest in the project. Earlier this month, he posted a photo on Threads, which reportedly includes certain prototypes of the unreleased AR glasses.
Why It Matters: The unveiling of Meta’s AR glasses comes at a time when the smart glasses market is gaining traction. While Google’s Glass iterations failed to succeed commercially, competitors like Apple and Meta invested heavily in augmented and virtual reality.
Zuckerberg has previously revealed his aspirations for a Google Glass-like final form for the company's smart glasses product line. The tech giant has already released Ray-Ban smart glasses that can take calls, play music, help do live streams, and even search for things you look at.
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg’s focus on AR and VR is evident in his recent Asia tour, where he engaged with Meta’s developers in Tokyo to discuss the company’s Quest virtual-reality headsets and its large language model Llama, as part of its efforts to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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