Meta Connect 2024: AI, AR, and VR Innovations on the Horizon

How to watch Meta Connect 2024

We're expecting to see AR smart glasses and a cheaper version of the Quest 3 headset. It's Meta's turn to step up to the plate and host a developer conference. This year's Meta Connect takes place on September 25 and 26. While the bulk of the event will focus on how developers can get the most out of Meta's products, most of the actual news is likely to come from the opening keynote and developer keynote, which run back to back on September 25 starting at 1PM ET. You'll be able to watch the keynote live on Facebook on the . There's also the option to , in "a virtual experience inspired by the Meta campus in Menlo Park." Meta has also shared the keynote on its YouTube channel in previous years, but only after Connect is over, so it's unlikely to livestream the event there. The Connect keynote will feature Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussing advancements in mixed reality, AI and wearables. The company is also promising a look at new products and features. Those may well include a pair of augmented reality glasses codenamed Orion that executives have been teasing for quite some time. We're also expecting to see a less-expensive version of the Quest 3, dubbed the Quest 3S. Leaks suggest that this could sell for $300, which is significantly less than the $500 Quest 3. The Quest 3S could make it easier for Meta to finally ditch the Quest 2, which debuted in 2020 and is significantly less powerful than the Quest 3. Elsewhere, Meta may announce an update for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses at Connect. Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica recently renewed their partnership, so there's , either now or in the future. In addition, there will likely be lots of talk about AI in the developer keynote starting at 2PM ET. It's likely that we'll learn more about how it's being used across Meta's headsets and smart glasses. As a result, the open-source Llama large language model is expected to be a topic of discussion.

How to Stream Meta Connect 2024

The keynote goes live on September 25 at 1 PM E.T on the Meta for Developers Facebook page. Meta's annual keynote is all set to happen on September 25 and September 26 at Menlo Park in California. Though Meta Connect 2024 is a two-day event, we'll likely hear all the product announcements at the opening keynote on the first day at 1 PM E.T. You can watch the event live on the Meta for Developers page on Facebook. There's also an option to fully immerse yourself in the event using the Meta Quest headset in Meta Horizon. The company says this virtual experience is inspired by their Menlo Park campus and will also let you "meet people, join with friends, and unlock exclusive rewards." Meta Connect will mainly be about the company's, you guessed it, new AI enhancements, but we'll also see how they interact with its new hardware. The star of the show will probably be the "Orion" smart glasses, which Mark Zuckerberg briefly revealed in a Threads post earlier this year. According to The Information, these glasses will feature a projector on their right-hand lens and be significantly heavier than your average pair of glasses. An entry-level headset, Meta Quest 3S, is apparently joining the already budget-priced Meta headset lineup. This "lite" version could be a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the $500 Quest 3, making the Meta lineup a much more viable option than the ridiculously-priced Apple Vision Pro. According to a leak on Reddit, it might cost $300 and sport a pair of external sensors. The catch is that Meta may offer limited passthrough capabilities on its Quest 3S. The Menlo Park company is expected to continue collaborating with its old partner and Ray-Bans owner, EssilorLuxottica; we hope to see new frame styles of its Meta Ray-Bans. However, chances are we are more likely to see it advance some of its recent AI offerings into the smart glasses or the Orion. We'll likely get updates on Meta's ongoing AI projects. We look forward to seeing which direction Meta's Llama LLM (large language model) is headed. Or maybe an update to the company's AI Studio lets you create AI chatbots without coding experience and have them respond to messages for you. This was particularly targeted at influencers so they could deploy AI to talk to fans on their behalf.

Meta Connect 2024: Cheaper Quest 3S, AI, AR and everything else you can expect at the metaverse event

In the past, the biggest AR/VR event of the year has been known alternately as Oculus Connect and then Facebook Connect. But whatever the name, Meta's fall event its primary showcase for the company's latest and greatest achievements in the virtual reality and mixed reality space. Much like last year, we can likely predict the biggest news coming out of Meta Connect 2024 with just two acronyms: AI and AR. Like every other big tech firm this year, Meta will be desperate to demonstrate how it plans to stay relevant in a future powered by AI. And now that we're seven months beyond the launch of Apple's Vision Pro, which arrived alongside a short-lived spike in interest in augmented reality (AR), Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is likely eager to show off his own plans to make AR a reality. While Zuckerberg isn't as hot on the metaverse as he was when he renamed his company, the union of AI and AR is one way he can still make the dream of persistent virtual worlds come true. It might look less like Ready Player One, but if AR glasses actually take off, they could still let Meta control another piece of our digital world. And to help get them there, delivering an updated inexpensive VR headset couldn't hurt. With all of that in mind, here are a few things we expect to see at Meta Connect 2024, which kicks off virtually tomorrow -- September 25 -- and runs for two days. The show starts with a 1PM ET livestream, which is expected to run about an hour. After reportedly killing a pricey next-generation mixed reality headset, which was meant to compete with the Apple Vision Pro, Meta is instead focusing on a pair of augmented reality glasses, codenamed Orion, as its next innovation. As seen in the background of one Mark Zuckerberg photo (above), and later somewhat confirmed by him, Orion resembles a pair of chunky hipster frames. Unlike the Quest 3, which fully consumes your vision and uses cameras to show you a low-quality view of the world, Orion could let you see the real world like a normal pair of glasses. But, like Magic Leap and Microsoft's HoloLens before it, Meta's glasses could layer holographic imagery on top of your reality. The key difference, of course, is that it appears to be far less cumbersome than those devices. "The glasses are, I think, going to be a big deal," Zuckerberg said in an interview on the Blueprint Podcast (via RoadtoVR). "We're almost ready to start showing the prototype version of the full holographic glasses. We're not going to be selling it broadly; we're focused on building the full consumer version rather than selling the prototype." Back at Meta Connect 2022, Zuckerberg showed off how the company was thinking of AR glasses, together with an intriguing wrist-based controller: "It's probably our most exciting prototype that we've had to date," Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth told The Verge last year. "I might get myself in trouble for saying this: I think it might be the most advanced piece of technology on the planet in its domain. In the domain of consumer electronics, it might be the most advanced thing that we've ever produced as a species." According to a leaked Meta roadmap, the company plans to release a new pair of Ray-Ban smart glasses next year which would add a small built-in screen alongside its existing camera, speaker and microphone. That would be followed by Meta's first pair of consumer AR glasses in 2027. It makes sense that we'll see some sort of concept device this year. Much like Apple's Vision Pro was effectively that company's version of an AR/VR concept car to introduce developers to its notion of "spatial computing," Meta will need to give developers a way to use its platform so they can build their own AR experiences. Competitor Snap just debuted its fifth-generation AR Spectacles, and this version is oriented at developers (with a $99/month subscription fee). Instead of an upgraded headset, all signs point to Meta releasing a stripped-down version of the Quest 3 called the Quest 3S, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Recent leaked images from Meta's own Quest Link application has confirmed the headset's existence. According to Gurman, the company is aiming to make it much cheaper than the current version, reportedly considering price points of $300 or $400, while still delivering an experience close to the Quest 3. The latest leak suggests it'll start at just $299. A Reddit user shared a clip of an Amazon ad reportedly shown on Peacock that features the Quest 3S, complete with a price and storage (h/t UploadVR). Per the ad, the 128GB Quest 3S will cost $299, but there may be other storage options as well. It could potentially replace the Quest 2, which remains in the product line priced at $299 long after its 2020 release. So why would Meta do this? There's a huge performance gap between the Quest 3 and Quest 2, which makes life difficult for developers. With a cheaper device that's similar to the Quest 3, potentially using the same processor, it would be easier to build games that can scale across two price points. According to Bloomberg's Gurman, Meta has also considered releasing some models of the new headset without any bundled controllers, which would push the price down even further. Expect Meta to show off even more ways it's taking advantage of AI across its Quest headsets and the Ray-Ban smart glasses. The company rolled out multi-modal AI search capabilities on those glasses in January, which allowed you to ask the Meta AI about objects or landmarks you were looking at, or for a quick translation. Based on our testing, though, those features were surprisingly half-baked. Meta will likely discuss ways it's improving those existing features by implementing its Llama 3.1 large language model (LLM), which it's positioning as an open source competitor to Google and OpenAI's LLMs. In particular, the company notes that Llama 3.1 offers dramatically improved translation, math and general knowledge capabilities. There's certainly room for Meta to introduce new AI capabilities powered by Llama 3.1 in the Ray-Ban smart glasses, but given their limited processing power and battery life, we'll probably have to wait for an updated model before we see anything truly groundbreaking.

What You Need To Know Ahead of Meta's Connect Event Wednesday

The tech giant could also provide updates on its spending plans regarding VR, and new AI features. Meta's (META) annual "Connect" conference kicks off Wednesday, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg set to give a keynote address at 1 p.m. ET that's expected to focus on developments in Meta's artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) products. At the event, the tech giant could unveil updates to the smart glasses it makes in a partnership with Ray-Ban, new augmented reality (AR) glasses internally dubbed "project Orion," or a lower-cost version of its Quest line of headsets, Bank of America analysts wrote Monday. The analysts said they will be watching for any new product announcements, along with new data from the tech giant on whether its existing AI products and services are driving people to use products like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp more often. Updates on how many people use Meta's various AI offerings, which have been integrated throughout many of its products, could also come with announcements of new features like new chatbots or collaborations with celebrities lending their voice to an AI product. The analysts also suggested Meta could unveil other new features like a subscription-based AI product or a third party headset using its licensed Horizon Worlds operating system. The company announced new versions of its Quest headsets at each of its last two September events, and the analysts said they expect a $300 Quest 3S could be one of this year's big announcements. That compares to a $500 price tag for the Quest 3, and $3,500 for Apple's (AAPL) Vision Pro, after disappointing Vision Pro sales reportedly led Meta to temporarily shelve plans for a higher-cost version. Meta shares are up nearly 60% since the start of the year, at $564.41 as of Monday's close.

Meta Connect 2024 Preview: Analysts Expect Major Focus On Cheaper VR, Augmented Reality, AI - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Augmented reality and artificial intelligence are likely to get prominent billing during the event according to analysts. When Facebook parent company Meta Platforms META hosts its annual developer conference this week, analysts expect the focus to be on augmented reality. The event, scheduled for Sept. 25 and Sept. 26, has the potential for upside from artificial intelligence announcements. Meta Connect 2024: Meta Platforms is expected to highlight new products at its annual Connect developer conference and share updates on its latest virtual and augmented reality devices. Meta Connect will stream live on the company's official website for the event. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will deliver the keynote address on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET. Programming from other Meta executives will follow. Owners of Meta Quest headsets can also watch the event live in Horizon Worlds. Among the most anticipated items from the event could be a lower cots Quest 3S device with a reported $299.99 price, as reported by The Verge. Meta could also highlight its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The product highlights and price points could have Apple Inc AAPL and Snap Inc SNAP shares on high alert with competing products. Read Also: Meta Platforms Q2 Earnings: Revenue Beat, EPS Beat, Strong Guidance -- 'Meta AI Is On Track To Be The Most Used AI Assistant In The World' What Analysts Are Saying: The Meta Connect conference could show a shift in focus to augmented reality with hints of artificial intelligence, Bank of America analyst Justin Post said. The analyst, who has a Buy rating and $563 price target, said the conference could highlight progress in augmented reality and artificial intelligence. Post expects Meta to reveal a prototype of next-gen AR glasses and Meta to put a bigger focus on mixed reality and augmented reality during the presentations, instead of past focus on virtual reality. "We expect Meta to also showcase growing AI capabilities, and the event may also include new AI product launches for core apps, announcements on Meta AI, and new AI messaging capabilities," Post said. Meta could also launch a cheaper VR headset (Quest 3S) during the developer conference, the analyst added. The company could also showcase third-party VR headsets from other companies building on the Horizon Worlds software platform, he added. Post said Meta could unveil new AI functions for Messenger and WhatsApp and also give an update on large language models. "We also think there is an opportunity for product demos showing how AI integrations across Facebook and Instagram are boosting engagement." The analyst said there is also a small chance Meta unveils an AI subscription product during the event. Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett said Meta Connect could lead the news cycle for AI for the week. The analyst, who has a Buy rating with a $643 price target, said Meta could feature a cheaper virtual reality headset, show off new augmented reality glasses and highlight progress made in artificial intelligence integrated into existing products. "Given Apple's sales challenges with Vision Pro, expectations for a pricey rival device from Meta have dissipated," Crockett said. "Instead, the focus is on the opposite -- a cheaper version of the Meta Quest 3." Crockett said the concern is how new products in virtual reality and augmented reality can help offset operating losses for the Reality Labs business segment. "We struggle to see how Meta gets a positive ROIC (return on invested capital) on this. But Meta's willingness to absorb massive losses probably makes it hard for Apple and Snap to compete." META Price Action: Meta stock trades at $566.54 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $279.40 to $573.98. Meta stock is up 64% year-to-date in 2024. Read Next: Zuckerberg Targets Meta's Top Brass In Planned Job Cuts As His Wealth Hits $181B, Stock Price Soars Image: Courtesy of Meta Platforms Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs