Meta's Orion AR Glasses: A Glimpse into the Future of Spatial Computing

Meta's first AR glasses are a spiritual successor to Google Glass, but you can't buy them

Meta insists that Orion is not a research prototype but a polished product prototype, although there are no pricing and availability details yet. Tech companies have been fascinated with AR, VR, and XR for decades, and many see it as one of the futures of computing. Google's entry into the format came in the form of the much-marveled Google Glass, a pair of glasses that beamed information into a heads-up display right in front of your eyes. More than a decade later, we're getting a spiritual successor in the form of Meta's Orion AR glasses. Meta's foray into the smart glasses segment started with the RayBan Meta glasses, which are ordinary glasses that come with a camera and an AI assistant. The company had bigger ambitions, and we see them in Orion, a pair of holographic displays in the shape of glasses alongside an AI assistant. Orion seems to be a more practical approach to AR than what Apple set out to achieve with XR on the Apple Vision Pro. However, Orion can still be considered a proof-of-concept prototype, while the Apple Vision Pro is a finished product that people can actually buy today (albeit at a princely price tag). Orion sports microLED projectors that project onto optical-grade silicon carbide (not glass or plastic), allowing for a 70-degree FoV. The frame is built of magnesium, while custom silicon powers the AI and AR experiences in the glasses. Meta has also done a lot of engineering to keep the glasses small, consume less power, and generate less heat. Meta has decoupled some of the computing into a wireless compute puck, while an EMG wristband helps with gesture detection, letting you easily swipe, click, and scroll. The glasses run the compute for hand tracking, eye tracking, simultaneous localization and mapping, and specialized AR world-locking graphics algorithms while the app logic runs on the puck. The end result is a device that resembles a normal pair of thick glasses that can comfortably sit on your head for hours. Orion can run Meta AI, allowing it to understand what you are looking at. It uses the Llama model that powers the AI experiences on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, alongside custom research models, to demonstrate potential use cases for future wearables development. You can take a hands-free video call with Orion (though you won't be visible to them) and send messages on WhatsApp and Messenger. You can also play shared AR games and multitask with multiple windows without needing to bring your laptop along. Meta still has a few challenges that it needs to address with Orion. It aims to tune the AR display quality further to make the visuals sharper. It also wants to optimize the form factor and make it even smaller. Finally, it intends to build at a scale that allows the company to make the product even more affordable. As expected and mentioned, Orion isn't available for purchase right now, so there are no price tags or details on availability. Meta insists it is not a research prototype either, preferring to call it a "polished product prototype" instead. The company hopes to release new devices that benefit from these R&D efforts in the next few years. How do you like the Meta Orion? Do you think it will be the turning point for AR? At what price point will you consider purchasing the Meta Orion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Meta's AR glasses are what I want for the future of Apple Vision

Meta held a special event on Wednesday to announce updates for its platforms and also some new products. Among all the announcements, there was certainly one that caught all the attention: the Orion project. Orion is not a product coming soon to stores, but it's a functional prototype of how Meta imagines AR glasses. And they're exactly what I want for the future of Apple Vision. I'm not here to discuss whether Meta is a good company when it comes to its business policies. The focus here is entirely on the technology that Zuckerberg's company showed the world today. AR glasses are not new - remember the Google Glass project from a decade ago? But a lot has changed since then, especially in the AR and VR segment. Meta acquired Oculus and now has its own mixed reality headsets, just as Apple last year announced Vision Pro with groundbreaking technologies. Still, none of these products have become massively popular so far. At the same time, there's a product category that's winning over more people every day, and that's smart glasses. I gave Ray-Ban Meta glasses a try and they have become one of my favorite accessories thanks to their discreet design, built-in camera and AI assistant. Wearing smart glasses for me is like wearing the Apple Watch: a piece of technology that I don't need to think about. It's just there as a fashion accessory that I would wear anyway. Although mixed reality headsets like Vision Pro are much more advanced, they're not discreet, comfortable and definitely not ideal for use outdoors. Apple has reportedly been working on smart glasses, but they're still years away from being launched. In the meantime, Meta has decided to show that it's also in the race for smart glasses. What I liked about Meta's Orion is that it looks like normal glasses. Sure, it's noticeably bulkier than Ray-Bans, but it doesn't feel like a helmet or ski goggles on your head. Rather than displays and passthrough cameras, Orion glasses have small Micro LED projectors inside the frames that show images in front of your eyes by reflecting them on the lenses. This means that you can see the real world with your own eyes instead of looking through a noisy image while wearing the glasses. Similar to current headsets, Orion glasses have multiple cameras and sensors to understand the environment around you. This allows users to open multiple windows and place them in specific places in the environment just like with Vision Pro. Meta says it's like seeing holograms in the physical world. To make the glasses more compact and lighter, Meta has split the product into three different parts: the glasses themselves, a smart bracelet that detects gestures to control the system, and a small module that handles all the processing wirelessly. Reporters from The Verge and CNET had the chance to spend some time with Meta's new Orion glasses. The Verge says that the response to commands is super fast thanks to the combination of eye-tracking technology and the smart bracelet. "It's not reading your thoughts, but it kind of feels like it." The reviewers also praised the fact that the wristband provides haptic feedback to confirm actions and gestures. The resolution isn't as high as that of headset displays, but CNET notes that Meta has shown prototypes with different resolutions and said that the goal is to use the best possible projector in the final product. Both reviewers noted that the Orion glasses have the best field of view of any AR glasses so far. The quality of Orion's display is surprisingly good given the form factor. Video calls look crisp enough to feel engaging, and I had no problem reading text on a webpage that was several feet away. However, I wouldn't want to watch Avatar in them -- I probably couldn't finish it anyway since the battery only lasts about two hours. The Verge Meta also showed that its glasses have built-in AI. In one of the demos, journalists were able to look at a table with a pile of ingredients and ask for recipe suggestions with a voice command. The glasses used the built-in cameras to analyze the ingredients and show recipes for using them. Meta makes it clear that Orion is still a prototype of something that the company wants to improve before putting it on the market. Although The Verge says that the company plans to launch its first AR glasses next year, there are no details about when this will happen. For now, "Orion isn't a mirage. It's also not a product. It's somewhere in between," The Verge says. Even so, Meta showed the world something cool today. And while there's still room for immersive headsets, I'm more excited about the future of AR glasses - and I really hope to see something like this from Apple. What about you? Let me know in the comments below.

Has Meta finally broken the Google Glass curse with its next-gen Orion glasses?

Orion and the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses may be the first appealing AI wearables Remember Google Glass and the glassholes? People relentlessly mocked anyone wearing those $1,500 smart glasses, arguably leading to skittishness about wearable technology, particularly anything related to artificial intelligence tools and assistants. But all that's about to change. Meta made it clear that there is a much brighter future for AI wearables this week at Meta Connect 2024, bright enough that one of the wearables comes in the form of sunglasses. The company showcased two different types of smart glasses at the event: an upgraded version of the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and a preview of Orion, smart glasses that employ augmented reality along with AI. There have been plenty of other wearables since Google Glass flamed out, but, except for smartwatches, most have either sputtered out or survived only in certain niche roles like Snap's Spectacles. Even the recent surge in generative AI software hasn't really cracked the code. Hardware like the Humane AI Pin, the Rabbit R1, and the Plaud.ai NotePin all had a lot of hype around them, but have largely faded from the conversation after the reality didn't match the promise. Both Orion and the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses address the biggest problems plaguing those AI wearables, as well as Google Glass, but in different ways. The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are all about fashion and comfort, with the tech designed for subtlety and a non-intrusive AI assistant. They look miles better than Google Glass, which looked like it was built specifically to draw ridicule. And $330 bucks for an AI voice assistant is a tempting offer for any fan of AI helpers who don't want to advertise that they are using one. Meta's smart glasses are also more functional than the admittedly discreet AI pins that have attracted intense, if brief, interest this year. Real-time translation and the ability to use built-in cameras to answer questions about the world around you make for a product that prefers usability over novelty. Meta discarded much of the understated approach of the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses with Orion and its combination of AR and AI. While not ready for shipping yet, the prototype offers a much more immersive experience that could be both useful and distracting. It's a risk since distraction was another element that made people dislike the Google Glass look, and the possible discomfort people might feel around the AI wearable pins always listening might be even higher when there are cameras and visual information involved. The hand and eye-tracking in Orion also make for a less obvious control method, but they'll still be obvious for what they are based on the current design, even if Meta reduces its size somewhat. No price has been mentioned yet, either, but if Meta really wants to see Orion fly off the shelf, it may have to pick a number under $1,500. Keeping Orion off the market until its ready will likely help boost those sales eventually. I'm skeptical about whether Meta has really cracked the AI wearable design with its two smart glasses models. The Ray-Bans seem underpowered for a daily wearable, while Orion feels either too complex for smart glasses or not advanced enough to be a real gaming headset. Personally, I think North and its Focals smartglasses were the best design concept for wearable tech, but Google bought and seemingly buried all of the patents and research it acquired. Still, Meta has a lot of resources tied up in this hardware and is willing to spend time and money to sharpen its focus on its vision of wearable technology.

Meta's Orion preview shines a light on Apple's spatial computing future

Meta Orion are a pair of AR glasses that hope to pass as regular specs While Meta might be playing fast and loose describing its Orion smart glasses as having the look and feel of a regular pair of glasses, it is a clear look at the future possibilities of Apple Vision. Words used to mean something, like "Artificial Intelligence," "hologram," and "regular pair of glasses," but we're throwing out all pretense in light of Meta's latest announcement. These definitely "regular" looking spectacles promise to bring augmented reality computing to your face -- well, not your face exactly. Orion isn't a public product. It is being revealed to show that Meta has made progress in the last five years towards, well, something. No one is going to argue that these aren't likely the most advanced AR glasses revealed to date. Other products in the category struggle with interactions, require external computers, or are simple screens showing content from a different computer. In its current state, Orion requires these, according to Meta, "lightweight, stylish glasses," with "holographic displays" to provide compelling AR experiences. The miniaturization and execution are no doubt impressive, but we could do with a little more honest language from Meta marketing. In any case, Meta claims Orion has the largest field of view in the smallest AR glasses form factor to date. They accomplished this by relying on external sensors and computing. Input is provided by an electromyography wearable wristband. Voice and eye tracking are also used as inputs. A small pocket component that's about the size of an eyeglass case contains the computing needs for the device. So, you're using three devices to achieve one AR face wearable. Meta took a slight dig at Apple in its announcement: But what makes Orion unique is that it is unmistakably a pair of glasses in both look and feel - complete with transparent lenses. Unlike MR headsets or other AR glasses today, you can still see other people's eyes and expressions, so you can be present and share the experience with the people around you. Orion is described as "early days" with the glasses running Meta AI, which understands the world around you. However, Meta says Orion isn't a research prototype -- it's a "polished product prototype" that is "representative of something that could ship to consumers." The company says it didn't want to rush a product to shelves. Orion will be used by Meta employees and select external audiences to help develop the product over the next few years. The pitch seems to suggest Meta wants Apple Vision Pro-style computing, but without the ski goggles. It is a lofty goal that many companies are chasing, but now Meta is doing so publicly. It's not clear if Google or another competitor will try to unveil their prototypes in the coming months to satisfy shareholders. There's definitely not a history of pre-announced product strategies like Google Glass, HoloLens, or Magic Leap. It's not like each of those products made huge promises, failed to materialize a useful product, pivoted to enterprise, then disappeared into the background without notice. Apple Vision Pro launched in February 2024 with an enormous price tag and limited media support. Neither of those has changed in the months since, but that likely hasn't slowed Apple's development pipeline. The ultimate goal of Apple Vision Pro and visionOS is to introduce the technologies in a lightweight pair of glasses we've dubbed Apple Glass. Meta's Orion is eerily similar to a paradigm that is expected for an initial Apple Glass launch. Replace the wireless compute unit with an iPhone, the wristband with an Apple Watch, and the glasses with something a little more appealing, and you've got Apple's glasses strategy. At least, that seems to be the direction rumors have been pointing. So, like with so many markets before it, Apple is surely appreciative of Meta prototyping a product in public. Reactions to the product and how it evolves over the next few years will help Apple's internal development with none of the risk. As always, we'll have to wait and see how it all turns out. In the end, the consumer will win with an excellent AR face computer, let's just not think about the cost to our privacy and society to have Facebook leading the way in such an important paradigm shift. Regardless of the jabs from Meta over the prototype Orion, Apple did ship its spatial computing platform to the public. It will be up to Meta to avoid the failures of other pre-announced prototype AR products and beat Apple to the punch.

"Orion isn't just a window into the future -- it's a look at the very real possibilities within reach today...": Meta's Orion smart glasses promise a mixed-reality revolution

Meta had a lot of news out of its Meta Connect 2024 keynote, which kicked off the company's annual two-day developer event. We got an unbeatably affordable Meta Quest 3S, which retails for $299; we got a major generative AI update to both the Quest and Ray-Ban smart glasses; and we got just a little bit closer to a more realistic metaverse -- or any metaverse at all, to be honest. But the most exciting product Meta highlighted wasn't even one you can buy -- I'm talking about Orion. Orion is Meta's smart glasses prototype and a blueprint for our mixed reality future. As Meta tells it, Orion would be the first-ever commercially available holographic glasses and could bring Quest-like functionality to frames that aren't much bigger than a regular pair of Ray-Bans. Are we still a ways off from Orion actually becoming a reality? Yes, most definitely. Does that make the implications of hardware as compact and capable as Orion any less groundbreaking? Not a chance. If you were pining for a glimmer of the rumored Orion glasses, congratulations -- you got what you wanted and more. Meta offered a relatively close look at Orion, giving us a sense of the size (bigger than glasses but not by much) and functionality of its prototype holographic glasses. Meta envisions Orion doing a lot -- video calling, taking pictures, navigation, multitasking on a projected interface, and basically any mixed reality experience you could achieve on a Quest or Vision Pro. For context, we've known that a form factor like Orion is the ultimate goal all along, but basically, no one (other than maybe Snap with its Spectalce glasses) has even feigned being able to bring holographic smart glasses to fruition. Meta, however, is adamant that its Orion glasses aren't just a dream; they're an emergent product that it intends to bring to market in the not-so-distant future. "In the next few years, you can expect to see new devices from us that build on our R&D efforts," Meta said in a statement following the event. "Orion isn't just a window into the future -- it's a look at the very real possibilities within reach today..." Whether you believe Meta can actually grasp the Holy Grail of lightweight holographic glasses is one thing, but -- to me at least -- one thing is clear: you're going to have to start taking its efforts to create a mixed reality revolution seriously. Sure, mixed reality isn't exactly new -- the Quest 3, the Vision Pro, and other headsets from Pico and Vive all offer AR experiences. But none of those devices are meant to be mobile in any sense. If you want real, full-featured, mixed reality, you need to be at home or somewhere contained. And no, people going on walks with their Vision Pros don't count. The mobility and functionality of the Orion glasses promise not just another device, but an entirely different way of computing. Instead of whipping out your phone to get directions, just shout at the covert computer already resting on your face. Or, to take it one step further, just think of what you want, and Meta's equally futuristic neural wristband will command your glasses to start doing the computing for you. It's hard to overstate how significant a change that form of computing would be. Lots of companies nowadays talk about the next stage of computing -- Humane with its AI Pin or Amazon with its emphasis on "ambient computing" -- but very few have actually offered real, groundbreaking ways of bringing that next stage about. There's still a lot of work to be done before we're walking around asking AI to augment GPS navigation onto our eyeballs, but Orion is the most fleshed-out version of ambient computing we've seen thus far. And on top of that, this level of seamless, ambient computing might actually be the thing to take us past smartphones and into a world where not everything revolves around glass slabs. Don't get me wrong; I have my doubts. For one, I don't think Meta (or anyone, for that matter) is anywhere close to cramming that much compute power into glasses that will fit comfortably or subtly on one's face. There will likely, in the interim, be some need to offload compute to a separate, maybe waist-worn device. Additionally, while generative AI and large language models (LLMs) have rapidly improved, they still need to be refined before people can be truly pleased with all of the contextual, vision-based, computing that Meta is promising. There are -- to understate -- a few pieces that need to come together before Orion is anything but a prototype, but if Apple's entry into the mixed reality fray is any indication, the will to crack the code is clearly there, and Orion is at the tip of the spear. It's going to take a lot to get Orion out into the real world, but Meta is already making some confident claims. For one, Meta claims "Orion has the largest field of view in the smallest AR glasses form to date." On top that, it's claiming that Orion is "a feat of miniaturization" and that the components are "packed down to a fraction of a millimeter." It's impossible to know if those claims are accurate without using Orion ourselves, but Meta hasn't shown this level of confidence without having something real to show off. If their claims are true, it means that Orion is smaller and more powerful than any other smart glasses we've seen. Orion is just a prototype, so most people will never get a chance to use them, but if Meta can summon the resources, the mixed reality future could be on the horizon. That's a big "if," obviously. Meta has already poured billions of dollars into the Quest headsets and it's going to continue that clip of investment before Orion is a real, sellable product. But as I wrote previously, Meta -- and Zuckerberg in particular -- have lots of skin in the game, and if anyone is going to make it work, it could be them. It's a big gamble, to be sure, but the most exciting ideas often are.

Meta Connect 2024: Meta Showcases First Prototype of Holographic Orion AR Glasses

The Meta Connect 2024 annual developer conference saw quite a few announcements and launches today, right alongside the Meta Quest 3s. However, right at the very end, the spotlight was instantly stolen by the unveiling of Meta's "first fully functional prototype" of its long-anticipated Orion glasses. Arriving in an armored suitcase, the Meta Orion glasses are, as Zuckerberg says, "fully holographic AR glasses." Yes, the glasses that Meta has been working on for over a decade, with it making special appearances in the rumor mill now and then. Well, it's finally here, and Meta is calling them "the most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made." The Meta Orion uses Micro LED projectors at the frame that beams all the content using waveguides in the lenses. This very display is not exactly a display and doesn't use plastic or glass. Instead, it's made out of silicon carbide. To make the holographic AR dream come true, the Meta Orion uses 7 cameras. Most impressively, the Meta Orion goes completely wireless, and takes to a wireless compute pack for power. In addition, there's a neural wristband that allows you to use pinch gestures (yep, very much like the Vision Pro). However, that's not the only gesture, as Meta Orion can be fully used with a combination of hand tracking and eye tracking. At 100 grams, it's also super lightweight and one of the most impressive things about the AR glasses! And yes, it's in collaboration with Ray-Ban, in a completely compact form factor. As Meta states in its official Orion blog, Nailing the form factor, delivering holographic displays, developing compelling AR experiences, creating new human-computer interaction (HCI) paradigms - and doing it all in one cohesive product - is one of the most difficult challenges our industry has ever faced. It was so challenging that we thought we had less than a 10% chance of pulling it off successfully. Until now. Meta states that Orion features the largest FOV in what are the smallest AR glasses to date. So, yes, just like the Vision Pro, from multitasking windows to a ginormous entertainment experience, the Orion is meant to do it all. Not to mention, it can also project holograms of people in the same room as you (Vision Pro's Persona smirking in the corner). However, as Meta rightfully notes, the most impressive thing about the Orion prototype is how deceptive it can be. What may seem like a pair of normal glasses can double down as one of the most advanced pieces of AR tech in the world right now. Not to mention that it will be backed by Meta AI, which will be there to assist you every step of the way. An always-on AI of sorts. Now, although this is not a consumer-ready product yet, Meta reassures that "it's not a research prototype," and, It's one of the most polished product prototypes we've ever developed, and is truly representative of something that could ship to consumers. Furthermore, they go on to state how they didn't want to rush the process and take their time with the product and focus on internal development first. With that in mind, they already have a checklist of things all ready to take the prototype forward. From tuning the AR display quality and making visuals sharper to further shrinking the form factor and making them affordable, there's a long way to go. The Meta Orion smart glasses are "a look at the very possibilities within reach today," and I'm honestly all for it. Given how the Vision Pro fatigue was all too real due to its bulk and wired batteries, it's actually great to see a product that can make those problems go away, while not compromising with the quality. I really do hope that Meta sees this through, for this could be an absolute game-changer! What do you think of the Meta Orion prototype? Drop your thoughts in the comments down below!

Meta reveals Orion, its first fully holographic AR glasses | Digital Trends

Meta shared some big updates for its Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses during the Meta Connect keynote, but it also revealed a prototype for a future product: fully holographic AR glasses. After almost 10 years of work, CEO Mark Zuckerberg showed off his team's first fully functioning prototype, named Orion. Described as "the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen," the Orion frames are genuinely very close to just being a normal pair of glasses, which is something even many of the current best smart glasses don't achieve. In fact, for people who like chunky statement glasses, they're not even too big as they are -- though Meta says it plans on further developing the design to make it a bit "smaller and more fashionable" before bringing the product to market. To meet their goals, the team behind Orion had to develop a prototype that was -- first and foremost -- a pair of glasses. That meant no headset, no wires, a weight of less than 100 grams, a wide field of view, and holographic displays that were sharp enough to pick up details and bright enough to see in different lighting conditions. Recommended Videos On top of all that, the wearer needed to be able to see through the glasses, and people around them needed to be able to see the wearer's eyes through the lenses. The result is a display that doesn't use passthrough -- what the wearer sees is the real physical world with holograms overlaid onto it. These holograms might be a cinematic screen, a desktop window for working, a game, a little app window for replying to messages, or even a hologram version of the person you're on a call with. The display isn't a screen made of glass, but of silicon carbide and uses tiny projectors in the arms of the glasses that -- get ready for the complicated stuff -- "shoot light into waveguides that have nano-scale 3D structures etched into the lenses that can refract light" and "put holograms of different depths and sizes in the world in front of you." The frames are made of magnesium to keep the glasses light and to radiate heat away instead of using a fan. Zuckerberg said there was a battery in the arms of the glasses, but he also briefly mentioned a "small puck" that would be used to help power the wearable. As for how you interact with the glasses, they will use AI with voice, hand-tracking, eye-tracking, and something called a wrist-based neural interface. The visuals at this point showed someone wearing a small wrist accessory while making some kind of gesture with their hand, and Zuckerberg mentioned being able to "send a signal from your brain to the device" to interact with it when other methods would be inconvenient. He didn't elaborate any further on how this would work or what you would be able to do with it, however, so it seems this feature will be shrouded in mystery for now. Before the company releases this as a consumer product, Zuckerberg says they still have a few things to refine. This included tuning the display system to make it sharper, improving the design, and working on the manufacturing process to make it more affordable. Until then, the prototype will be used as a dev kit, mostly internally but also with a few external partners, to build out the software experiences. While there's still work to be done, with any luck, these holographic AR glasses will become a real product we can buy in the next few years.

Meta teases Orion, brain-powered true AR glasses in a tiny package | TechCrunch

At Wednesday's Meta Connect event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Orion, what he described as "the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen." The glasses, which are notably significantly smaller than Snap's recently announced Spectacles 5, are true AR. Orion utilize tiny projects built into the glasses temples to create a heads-up display; think the 2024 version of Google Glass. The glasses, which Zuckerberg said were a decade in the making, don't appear to be too far beyond the concept phase at this point. "These glasses exist, they are awesome, and they are a glimpse of a future that I think will be exciting," the executive noted during the presentation. He added that the team still has a good bit of "fine-tuning" before Meta is ready to turn them into an official consumer product. Notably, along with the standard voice prompts, Orion will be controlled through a "neural interface" That arrives by way of Meta's 2019 acquisition of CTRL-Labs, which makes a wrist band that will be compatible with the devices. The company is positioning the upcoming glasses as a kind of successor to its current livestream product, Meta Ray-Bans. It notes, Yet while Ray-Ban Meta opened up an entirely new category of display-less glasses super-charged by AI, the XR industry has long dreamt of true AR glasses - a product that combines the benefits of a large holographic display and personalized AI assistance in a comfortable, all-day wearable form factor. Orion rises to the challenge. There are a lot of claims at the moment, such "as Orion has "the largest field of view in the smallest AR glasses form to date," but we're far too early for any specifics at this point. That can, however, be seen as a dig at the new Spectacles, which are extremely large with a very narrow FOV. "That field of view unlocks truly immersive use cases for Orion, from multitasking windows and big-screen entertainment to life-size holograms of people," Meta notes, "all digital content that can seamlessly blend with your view of the physical world." One key thing Orion does have in common with the new Spectacles is that it will initially be available for developers only. This is, of course, a common move in this world. Companies treat these announcements as a kind of proof-of-concept to get folks excited to develop for the platform. Meta Ray-Bans were a bit of a surprise hit for the company, especially in the wake of stead -- if slow -- growth around the Quest line. If the product hews closely to the demos, it's hard to accuse Zuckerberg of hyperbole, when compared to the likes of Snapchat Spectacles on one end and Apple's Vision Pro on the other. The recent addition of Meta AI to Ray-Bans can also been seen as a stepping stone to more fully realized augmented reality glasses. Features like translation and navigation would be even more powerful with a visual element in play. There were unsurprisingly bumps along the road getting to this stage. According to one recent report, building Orion cost in the neighborhood of $10,000 per unit. We know that Meta has gotten in the habit of losing money on Quest headsets, but nothing nearly that astronomical. The same report also suggest that Meta will deliver a version of the glasses with a significantly smaller HUD when it ships the wrist band ahead of Orion's eventual arrival. "In the next few years, you can expect to see new devices from us that build on our R&D efforts," Meta writes. "Orion isn't just a window into the future - it's a look at the very real possibilities within reach today. From Ray-Ban Meta glasses to Orion, we've seen the good that can come from letting people stay more present and empowered in the physical world, while tapping into all that the digital world has to offer."

Meta reveals its Orion AR smart glasses

The company says these are 'the most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made.' Alongside the Quest 3S and AI updates, we got a glimpse of Meta's future at Meta Connect. After teasing the device several times in recent months, Meta finally gave the world a proper look at its "full holographic" augmented reality glasses, aka Orion. The company is packing a lot of tech into those chunky frames, which aren't coming to market just yet. Meta first revealed five years ago that it was developing holographic smart glasses, but the company has actually been working on the project for a decade. These glasses appear far less cumbersome to wear than previous mainstream AR products such as Magic Leap, Microsoft's Hololens and even Google Glass. They also don't block you out from the rest of the world as a virtual reality headset does (though Meta's headsets do allow you to see what's around you via the onboard cameras). As a result, you can see wearers' full face, eyes and expressions without having to resort to a weird, eerie workaround like Apple is doing with EyeSight on the Vision Pro. Meta says Orion is lightweight and works both indoors and outdoors. The company claims that the glasses allow for "digital experiences that are unconstrained by the limits of a smartphone screen" as they overlay holographic elements on top of the real world. In addition, Meta says Orion integrates contextual AI to help you gain a better understanding of the world around you. The company claims that you'll be able to look inside a fridge with the glasses on and get Meta AI to come up with a recipe based on what you have. You'll be able hop onto video calls via Orion and view and send messages on Messenger and WhatsApp. You're likely going to have to wait a few years to get your hands on this device, or at least a version of it. For the time being, Meta employees and "select external audiences" are able to use Orion. That's in order to help the company learn more and iterate on the product as it works toward a consumer version of the AR glasses. Still, Meta claims that Orion is not a research prototype but is instead "one of the most polished product prototypes we've ever developed, and is truly representative of something that could ship to consumers." By continuing to work on the product internally, "we can keep building quickly and continue to push the boundaries of the technology, helping us arrive at an even better consumer product faster," the company says. A roadmap that leaked last year indicated that Meta planned to release its first consumer AR glasses in 2027, though the company says it's aiming to do so "in the near future." As it happens, Snap also recently debuted its fifth-gen AR Spectacles, but for now those are similarly only available to developers who are willing to pay a $99 monthly fee.

Orion are Meta's 'most advanced glasses in the world' and run on a neural interface

The glasses prototype is Meta's moonshot attempt at fitting augmented reality technology into a form factor we're all familiar with. The headline for Meta's new fully functioning prototype, Orion (pronounced O-Ryan), basically writes itself. They're "the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during today's Meta Connect event. That's a bold claim, but not one that many will quickly discredit. After all, Meta is coming into Connect hot, having seen success with last year's Quest 3 and Ray-Ban smart glasses. Also: Everything announced at Meta Connect 2024: Affordable Quest 3, AR glasses, and more In some ways, Orion is the best of both worlds, supposedly offering mixed-reality-like computing as on the Quest 3 plus the light, normalized form factor of the Ray-Ban smart glasses. Zuckerberg set out five simple yet highly technical requirements when designing Orion: Following these principles means Orion applies holograms to your vision of reality instead of capturing and reimaging what's in front of you, a process commonly known as pass-through. The big benefit of this technology is the reduced latency, if any. To be able to visualize incoming messages, video call feeds, and other important information while still being attentive and present in reality solves one of the biggest social problems with modern-day VR headsets like the Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro. Meta says there are three ways to interact with Orion: using voice via Meta AI, hand and eye tracking, and a neural interface. The first two are rather straightforward, but the third option is exactly what's needed to keep us grounded in prototype land. Orion can work in tandem with a wrist-worn neural interface, registering clicks, pinches, and thumb pushes as inputs. For example, you can form a fist and brush your thumb on the surface to scroll the user interface, according to CNET's Scott Stein. Meta says you'll get a day's worth of usage before needing to charge the wristband. That's promising to hear, considering I'd rather make finger gestures while walking around or sitting down than shouting at an invisible voice assistant or waving my arms around in public. According to Meta, Orion runs on custom silicon and a set of sensors, with the battery tucked into the arms of the glasses Also: Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses review: The best AI-powered AR glasses to buy right now While Orion gives us a glimpse of future AR glasses, there's still a lot of work to be done before they're consumer-ready, according to Zuckerberg. Tuning the display system to make it sharper, making the design smaller so it's more fashionable, and affordability are all aspects that Meta's CEO would like to develop further. Until it hits the open market, Orion will be available as a developer kit -- mostly internally, to build out the software, as well as to a handful of external partners. When it's ready, it'll be positioned as "Meta's first consumer, fully-holographic AR glasses," Zuckerberg said.

Orion are Meta's 'most advanced glasses in the world' that run on a neural interface

The glasses prototype is Meta's moonshot attempt at fitting augmented reality technology into a form factor we're all familiar with. The headline for Meta's new fully functioning prototype, Orion (pronounced O-Ryan), basically writes itself. They're "the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg said during today's Meta Connect event. That's a bold claim, but not one that many will quickly discredit. After all, Meta is coming into Connect hot, having seen success with last year's Quest 3 and Ray-Ban smart glasses. Also: Everything announced at Meta Connect 2024: Affordable Quest 3, AR glasses, and more In some ways, Orion is the best of both worlds, supposedly offering mixed-reality-like computing as on the Quest 3 plus the light, normalized form factor of the Ray-Ban smart glasses. Zuckerberg set out five simple yet highly technical requirements when designing Orion: Following these principles means Orion applies holograms to your vision of reality instead of capturing and reimaging what's in front of you, a process commonly known as pass-through. The big benefit of this technology is the reduced latency, if any. To be able to visualize incoming messages, video call feeds, and other important information while still being attentive and present in reality solves one of the biggest social problems with modern-day VR headsets like the Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro. Meta says there are three ways to interact with Orion: using voice via Meta AI, hand and eye tracking, and a neural interface. The first two are rather straightforward, but the third option is exactly what's needed to keep us grounded in prototype land. Orion can work in tandem with a wrist-worn neural interface, registering clicks, pinches, and thumb pushes as inputs. For example, you can form a fist and brush your thumb on the surface to scroll the user interface, according to CNET's Scott Stein. Meta says you'll get a day's worth of usage before needing to charge the wristband. That's promising to hear, considering I'd rather make finger gestures while walking around or sitting down than shouting at an invisible voice assistant or waving my arms around in public. According to Meta, Orion runs on custom silicon and a set of sensors, with the battery tucked into the arms of the glasses Also: Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses review: The best AI-powered AR glasses to buy right now While Orion gives us a glimpse of future AR glasses, there's still a lot of work to be done before they're consumer-ready, according to Zuckerberg. Tuning the display system to make it sharper, making the design smaller so it's more fashionable, and affordability are all aspects that Meta's CEO would like to develop further. Until it hits the open market, Orion will be available as a developer kit -- mostly internally, to build out the software, as well as to a handful of external partners. When it's ready, it'll be positioned as "Meta's first consumer, fully-holographic AR glasses," Zuckerberg said.

Meta Unveils New 'Orion' AR Glasses, Hailing Them As A 'Feat Of Miniaturization' Perfect For Everyday Use

While Apple is yet to introduce its AR glasses Meta has just introduced its new augmented reality glasses called 'Orion, ' which the company calls "the most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made." The company claims that the new AR entangled glasses look and feel similar to a normal pair of spectacles but with augmented reality features, and it could pave the way for the future of the technology and mark a huge jump for the company. Meta's AR glasses have been in the developmental phase for almost five years, and it appears that the device has finally been released after years of development. In comparison to a headset, the Meta's Orion AR glasses are lightweight and can be used in indoor and outdoor situations, making them more practical than the conventional headset. In all fairness, the Orion is a standalone product that can be used without your smartphone or any other complementary device. The display is situated on the glasses, making them an everyday product. Orion has the largest field of view in the smallest AR glasses form to date. That field of view unlocks truly immersive use cases for Orion, from multitasking windows and big-screen entertainment to life-size holograms of people - all digital content that can seamlessly blend with your view of the physical world. It took Meta so many years to introduce the AR glasses because the company needed to reduce the size of the components that comprise the entire product. The company describes the Orion as a "feat of miniaturization," reducing the size of its components to mere fractions of a millimeter. While the glasses come with essential AR elements on display, they also allow users to see the real world, including people's expressions and eyes, catering to the issue of isolation when using AR glasses or headsets. The Orion is also built around AI and is packed with the capability to "sense and understand" the environment and offer potential solutions related to the issue. The wearable's AI aspect can do much more than just tally with the world around you, as the company has embedded practical use cases, including the ability to derive a recipe with the ingredients in your refrigerator. Currently, Orion is not a product for the masses, as Meta has a selected external audience that will be given access to the wearable. This means that the device is in its last stage of development and will handle issues related to the hardware and software before rolling it out to the general public. The company also plans to make the Orion's display sharper, visually slimmer, and more affordable.

Meta Unveils 'Orion' Augmented Reality Glasses

Facebook parent company Meta today unveiled "the most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made," called Orion. Meta claims Orion looks and feels like a regular pair of glasses, but with augmented reality capabilities. The glasses have been in development for the last five years, and Meta describes them as lightweight and great for indoor and outdoor use. Unlike a VR headset, AR glasses augment the real world rather than shutting it out, providing digital experiences that are not constrained by the display of a smartphone or headset. Orion has the largest field of view in the smallest AR glasses form to date. That field of view unlocks truly immersive use cases for Orion, from multitasking windows and big-screen entertainment to life-size holograms of people - all digital content that can seamlessly blend with your view of the physical world. According to Meta, Orion is a "feat of miniaturization," featuring components that are sized down to a fraction of a millimeter. The glasses have clear lenses that allow the wearer to see other people's eyes and expressions. Orion includes built-in contextual AI that is able to "sense and understand" the world around the wearer to "anticipate and proactively address" the wearer's needs. Meta AI can do things like craft a recipe from what's inside your refrigerator, or phone a friend while the user washes dishes. Going forward, Meta wants to improve the AR display to make visuals sharper, optimize for a slimmer form factor, and work to build at scale to make the AR glasses more affordable. Apple too is rumored to be working on AR glasses, but the product is still many years away from launching at this point. Apple has struggled with getting the power of an iPhone into a device that uses only a fraction of the power to prevent overheating. Along with AR glasses, Facebook today introduced new AI features for its Ray-Ban Meta Glasses and unveiled a super cheap $300 Meta Quest 3S mixed reality headset that is a successor to the Meta Quest 3.

Meta's Orion Shows That Sci-Fi Dream of AR Glasses Is Getting Closer

(Bloomberg) -- From the outside, Meta Platforms Inc.'s Orion glasses look like a normal pair of spectacles -- if somewhat chunky and tinted. But they are anything but normal. The device, still in development, is the latest attempt to turn the sci-fi concept of augmented-reality glasses into a practical product. When you put them on, you have a clear vision of the world around you, but images and text are overlaid by tiny little projectors using micro LED technology. During a rare test of the glasses at Meta's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, Bloomberg used Orion to display YouTube clips and text messages, make video calls, and generate recipe suggestions by scanning a table of ingredients. The display is controlled by eye movements, and an accompanying wristband turns subtle finger twitches into a "click" or "scroll" on the screen. Tasks that you might handle on your phone or laptop today "become faster, richer, more convenient," said Rahul Prasad, a senior product executive inside Meta's Reality Labs division, which made the glasses. Orion won't be sold to consumers -- at least not in its current form. It's being "dog-fooded" by Meta employees, meaning they're testing the product internally before releasing it for public consumption. The hope is to ultimately develop a product priced at the same level as a high-end laptop. The team working on Orion also developed Meta's latest Ray-Ban spectacles -- smart glasses that have an AI assistant but stop short of true augmented reality. Orion relies on some of the same parts, like speakers and microphones, and the miniaturization of components has helped both devices progress. The reason the Orion glasses are slightly tinted is because the lenses aren't made of glass at all. They're silicon carbide, a material known for use in electric vehicles for power conversion and battery systems. The material bends light at very extreme angles, allowing you to have a clear view of the real world -- like normal lenses -- while showing images without rainbow effects or stray light rays. That's been an issue with other AR headsets. Silicon carbide is also lighter than glass, which helps address another longstanding problem: weight. The frame of the glasses is made of magnesium, which helps make Orion lighter as well. And the metal is conductive and evenly radiates heat. That makes users less conscious of all the electronics packed into the device. The Orion system is actually made up of three hardware pieces: the glasses, a wristband and a wireless computer known as a "puck." The glasses have five front-facing cameras that help Orion know where it is. The device relies on a process called simultaneous localization and mapping, or SLAM. The cameras also provide information that feeds the AI functions, and they track a user's hand movements. To the outside observer, the cameras aren't too obvious. There are two more cameras on the inside of the frame to track eye movement. Meta has built more than 10 proprietary silicon chips for Orion, which control everything from hand tracking to eye tracking to graphics. They also use less energy to help keep the glasses from overheating. The experience is akin to using your eyeballs as a computer mouse. You simply look at the app or icon you wish to trigger, and it illuminates. You can then "click" on that app or icon using subtle hand or finger gestures, which are detected by the wristband. Pinching the thumb to index finger is like clicking the mouse, while pinching the thumb to your middle finger takes you back to Orion's home page. These hand controls quickly became second nature -- and the experience is one of the more impressive parts of the device. The puck, meanwhile, doesn't have to be carried around. It just needs to be at a reasonable distance within the room. The puck is like a portable computer that powers all the magic. Images are clear and crisp in the wearer's field of vision, but contained clearly within the parameters of the lenses. The position of various tabs and apps can also be altered, including the depth of where they appear in the room. A version of the video game pong can be projected over a table, with two Orion wearers playing opposite each other. The real-world elements are melded into the game in a way that's not possible with virtual reality goggles. Even Apple Inc.'s Vision Pro, which combines AR and VR, doesn't let you look directly at the world around you. One potential downside: A person using Orion may still be unaware of how strange they look to an outsider. While using pinches and hand gestures is intuitive, you can become absorbed by the experience and not realize that your arm is dangling out like an awkward T. rex. In a final demo, we were able to scroll through Instagram with the Reels video feed floating there in front of our eyes. A motion akin to flipping a coin with a thumb causes the feed to scroll. The SLAM technology keeps the display in a fixed position relative to the room, unless manually repositioned. So if you turn your head away to the right or left or lean to speak to someone, the Reels feed comes in and out of vision in the glasses. It doesn't follow your line of sight. That helps keep you a bit more grounded in the real world.

Meta unveils augmented reality glasses prototype 'Orion'

Meta's Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday unveiled a prototype for lightweight augmented reality glasses dubbed Orion, as the Big Tech race to build the next computing platform intensifies. During a presentation at Meta's annual Connect conference, Zuckerberg said the glasses were the "most advanced" in the world, marking the "culmination of decades of breakthrough inventions and nearly one of the hardest challenges in tech industries ever seen". With holographic displays, the glasses can overlay 2D and 3D content over the real world, and use artificial intelligence to analyse its contents and "proactively" offer wearers suggestions in the display, Meta said. Its shares rose more than 2 per cent following the announcement. The prototype will only be available for use internally and for some developers to build on. To be ready for consumers, Zuckerberg conceded the glasses needed to be "smaller", "more fashionable", with a sharper display and more affordable, adding "we have line of sight to all those things". A Meta video displaying the Orion technology featured praise from several Silicon Valley stars, including Jensen Huang, Nvidia founder and chief executive, and Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman. Meta in 2014 bought virtual reality headset maker Oculus and continues to develop fully immersive VR headsets under the Quest brand. It announced it was aiming to build AR glasses five years ago. The race to build AR smart "glasses" is heating up. Evan Spiegel's Snap, a smaller rival to Meta, revealed its latest version of AR glasses last week. Meta and Snap are hoping to bypass Apple's operating system in a bet that immersive glasses will one day replace smartphones. Zuckerberg touted the AI capabilities of Orion, and said the rapid development of large language models, including the model Llama, had led to "a new AI-centric device category". As well as having Meta AI and hand-tracking embedded, the chief executive said the Orion glasses will use wristbands to take signals from the body, including from the brain, in a neural interface. "Voice is great, but the thing is sometimes public, and you don't want to say what you're trying to do . . . I think that you need a device that allows you to just send a signal from your brain to the device," Zuckerberg said. Meta has previously invested significant resources into electromyography, or EMG, a technique that uses sensors to translate motor nerve signals travelling through the wrist to the hand into digital commands that can control a device. EMG has been used in recent research in attempts to translate how the brain sends signals to the hands to perform actions such as typing and swiping. In 2019, Meta acquired CTRL-labs, a US start-up developing technology to let people control electronic devices with their brains, for about $1bn. The company on Wednesday also released new product updates powered by its improvements in generative AI, as tech companies jockey to deploy the fast-developing technology. This included the latest iteration of its large language model, Llama 3.2, its "first major vision model" that can understand charts, graphs and documents. "Now that Llama is at the frontier in terms of capabilities, I think we've reached an inflection point in the industry where it's starting to become something of an industry standard, or sort of like the Linux of AI," Zuckerberg said of the new model. He said its Meta AI chatbot, which uses Llama, was "on track to being the most-used AI assistant" with 500mn monthly active users. Meta also announced an updated version of its Ray-Ban smart glasses, which do not have AR displays but can now allow users to analyse photos or videos in real time with a voice interface that uses Meta AI. Additional features included setting reminders, such as remembering a parking space; calling numbers from documents; scanning QR codes; and translating live conversations in different languages.

'This is a big deal': Meta announces neural AR glasses powered by AI and of course Nvidia's CEO showed up wearing a pair

Mark Zuckerberg has just wrapped up his Meta Connect 2024 keynote, in which he announced new products such as the $300 Quest 3S VR headset. But something that made an unexpected splash at the show is a project called 'Orion' -- a pair of holographic AR smart glasses. Now, AR smart glasses are not something that I'd usually be that into. But recently digging out a pair of Lenovo smart glasses that let me watch TikTok while lying entirely flat in bed has somewhat sold me on the idea. Orion is much more than that, however. Orion are holographic smart glasses featuring eye tracking, hand tracking, AI voice control and a neural interface. Yeah, a neural interface sorta like what Gabe Newell likes to talk about and Elon Musk is trying to build. Though, no, you don't need an implant into your brain to get Orion working -- it works off movement in your wrist. How this "wrist-based neural interface" works exactly is not fully explained. I'm assuming Orion responds to small signals from your wrist through the seemingly cable-free wrist monitor shown during the presentation, and translates those into more natural movements within the XR world shining in front of your eyes. You can see what the XR world looks like from a couple of the clips during the show. It sounds a bit odd, and I've not tried it, so I can't say how well it works personally. Though Meta did produce plenty of testimony, including from one bloke you might recognise. I certainly didn't expect to see him show up, but it makes complete sense that he came running when 'AI' was mentioned. "This is a big deal" says Nvidia CEO and founder, Jen-Hsun Huang while wearing Orion. "The head tracking is good, the brightness is good, the colour contrast is good, field of view is excellent," Huang, ever the engineer, notes. This was followed by a string of other users saying "that's crazy", or something to that effect, over and over. Orion does sound pretty crazy. It is built using silicon carbide, not glass, fitted into a magnesium frame. It uses tiny projectors in the arms of the glasses that "shoot light" across the lenses. It's powered by custom silicon and sensors, with a small battery in the arm of the glasses. There's also a "small puck" to help power the whole thing, apparently. Even though the glasses look pretty dorky, and a little reminiscent of my regrettable early 2010s, it still sounds very futuristic. That's where Meta has to burst your bubble: these aren't coming out anytime soon. In fact, this exact model, Orion, is never coming out. Orion is effectively an internal dev kit. It's what Meta is using to build up the consumer-ready version, whenever that may come. That pair of futuristic glasses, will be "ready to be our first consumer full holographic AR glasses", according to Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg also notes that Meta needs to work on bringing down costs. And if you'll recall, Meta's Reality Labs division that works on this sorta stuff has spent roughly a billion dollars every month for a couple years -- culminating in a $16 billion loss in 2023. So if you can think up a number for how much these glasses actually cost to develop and manufacturer, probably add a zero to that. Or two. Or three. They arrived on stage in a locked briefcase chained to someone's arm, for goodness' sake. Nevertheless, this sort of wearable may one day be the future of the personal device, a replacement to the phone, even. That is providing this sorta thing is not uncomfortable over long periods or a privacy nightmare. That's the real kicker with these wearables, glasses, and headsets. Sure, they're futuristic, often amazing, and a real glimpse of the future, but I wanted to wear the Quest 3 to watch Meta Connect just now and, within moments, gave up and went back to my PC. It's just more convenient. Crack comfort and I'll try your smart glasses, Zuck.

Meta Platforms : Introducing Orion, Our First True Augmented Reality Glasses

We're giving Meta employees and select external audiences access to Orion, so our team can learn, iterate and build towards our consumer AR glasses product line. Five years ago, we announced to the world that we were building AR glasses. We don't think people should have to make the choice between a world of information at your fingertips and being present in the physical world around you. That's why today, we're unveilingOrion, which we believe is the most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made. Orion bridges the physical and virtual worlds, putting people at the center so they can be more present, connected and empowered in the world. There are three primary reasons why AR glasses are key to unlocking the next great leap in human-oriented computing. This slideshow requires JavaScript. That's the north star our industry has been building towards: a product combining the convenience and immediacy of wearables with a large display, high-bandwidth input and contextualized AI in a form that people feel comfortable wearing in their daily lives. Ray-Ban Meta glasses have demonstrated the power of giving people hands-free access to key parts of their digital lives from their physical ones. We can talk to a smart AI assistant, connect with friends and capture the moments that matter - all without ever having to pull out a phone. Yet while Ray-Ban Meta opened up an entirely new category of display-less glasses super-charged by AI, the XR industry has long dreamt of true AR glasses - a product that combines the benefits of a large holographic display and personalized AI assistance in a comfortable, all-day wearable form factor. Orion rises to the challenge. We've been hard at work for years to take the incredible spatial experiences afforded by VR and MR headsets and miniaturize the technology necessary to deliver those experiences in a pair of lightweight, stylish glasses. Nailing the form factor, delivering holographic displays, developing compelling AR experiences, creating new human-computer interaction (HCI) paradigms - and doing it all in one cohesive product - is one of the most difficult challenges our industry has ever faced. It was so challenging that we thought we had less than a 10% chance of pulling it off successfully. Until now. Orion is a feat of miniaturization - the components are packed down to a fraction of a millimeter.Dozens of innovations were required to get the design down to a contemporary form that you'd be comfortable wearing every day. Orion has the largest field of view in the smallest AR glasses form to date. That field of view unlocks truly immersive use cases for Orion, from multitasking windows and big-screen entertainment to life-size holograms of people - all digital content that can seamlessly blend with your view of the physical world. [Link] But what makes Orion unique is that it is unmistakably a pair of glasses in both look and feel - complete with transparent lenses. Unlike MR headsets or other AR glasses today, you can still see other people's eyes and expressions, so you can be present and share the experience with the people around you. Of course, as with any piece of hardware, Orion is only as good as the things you can do with it. And while it's still early days, the experiences afforded by Orion are an exciting glimpse of what's to come. We've got our smart assistant,Meta AI, running on Orion. It understands what you're looking at in the physical world and can help you with useful visualizations. So you can open up your refrigerator and ask for a recipe based on what's inside. Or video call a friend while adjusting a digital family calendar as you wash the dishes. [Link] You can take a hands-free video call to catch up with friends and family in real time, and you can stay connected on WhatsApp and Messenger to view and send messages. No need to pull out your phone, unlock it, find the right app and let your friend know you're running late for dinner - you can do it all through your glasses. Our teams continue to iterate on the experiences available through Orion today to build new immersive social experiences, and we can't wait to share what's next. While Orion won't make its way into the hands of consumers, make no mistake: this is not a research prototype. It's one of the most polished product prototypes we've ever developed, and is truly representative of something that could ship to consumers. Rather than rushing to put it on shelves, we decided to focus on internal development first, which means we can keep building quickly and continue to push the boundaries of the technology, helping us arrive at an even better consumer product faster. [Link] Beginning today at Connect and continuing throughout the year, we're opening up access to our Orion product prototype for Meta employees and select external audiences so our development team can learn, iterate and build towards our consumer AR glasses product line, which we plan to begin shipping in the near future. And now that we've shared Orion with the world, we're focused on a few things:

Meta Shows Off Orion, Augmented Reality Glasses That's Currently A Prototype

During the keynote presentation at Meta Connect 2024, Meta debuted its first augmented reality glasses, Orion. It's currently a prototype, but Meta was able to show off some of Orion's AR capabilities. While it may look like a regular pair of thick-rimmed glasses, Orion uses AR to project virtual objects onto the real world through its lenses in a way that's functionally similar to mixed reality on a Quest 3 headset, for example - but, of course, without a whole thing strapped on your head. Orion is using the Meta AI smart assistant, which is contextual AI to read your surroundings, whether that be for placing digital interfaces onto the environment or having its it identify objects around you. Meta showed an example of the glasses detecting ingredients laid out on a table and it pulling up a recipe through the projected UI. The glasses work with an EMG wristband that lets you control Orion through hands-free gestures alongside eye tracking and voice recognition. It currently has 70-degree field-of-view (FOV), which is the widest for AR glasses of its size thus far. Meta Orion is not intended to be a consumer product as it currently stands, but it is a functional prototype that Meta says it is "truly representative of something that could ship to consumers." The three points Meta says it'll focus on for further iterations are higher quality AR visuals, having a smaller form factor, and making it affordable to put out at scale. For more on Meta Connect 2024, be sure to check out our coverage of the new Meta Quest 3S VR/MR headset, which is cheaper and slighty changed version of the Quest 3 that'll available starting October 15.

Meta Missed Out on Smartphones. Can Smart Glasses Make Up for It?

Meta has dominated online social connections for the past 20 years, but it missed out on making the smartphones that primarily delivered those connections. Now, in a multiyear, multibillion-dollar effort to position itself at the forefront of connected hardware, Meta is going all in on computers for your face. At its annual Connect developer event today in Menlo Park, California, Meta showed off its new, more affordable Oculus Quest 3S virtual reality headset and its improved, AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. But the headliner was Orion, a prototype pair of holographic display glasses that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said have been in the works for 10 years. Zuckerberg emphasized that the Orion glasses -- which are available only to developers for now -- aren't your typical smart display. And he made the case that these kinds of glasses will be so interactive that they'll usurp the smartphone for many needs. "Building this display is different from every other screen you've ever used," Zuckerberg said on stage at Meta Connect. Meta chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth had previously described this tech as "the most advanced thing that we've ever produced as a species." The Orion glasses, like a lot of heads-up displays, look like the fever dream of techno-utopians who have been toiling away in a highly secretive place called "Reality Lab" for the past several years. One WIRED reporter noted that the thick black glasses looked "chunky" on Zuckerberg. As part of the on-stage demo, Zuckerberg showed how Orion glasses can be used to project multiple virtual displays in front of someone, respond quickly to messages, video chat with someone, and play games. In the messages example, Zuckerberg noted that users won't even have to take out their phones. They'll navigate these interfaces by tapping their fingers together or by simply looking at virtual objects. There will also be a "neural interface" built in that can interpret brain signals, using a wrist-worn device that Meta first teased three years ago. Zuckerberg didn't elaborate on how any of this will actually work or when a consumer version might materialize. (He also didn't get into the various privacy complications of connecting this rig and its visual AI to one of the world's biggest repositories of personal data.) He did say that the imagery that appears through the Orion glasses isn't pass-through technology -- where external cameras show wearers the real world -- nor is it a display or screen that shows the virtual world. It's a "new kind of display architecture," he said, that uses projectors in the arms of the glasses to shoot waveguides into the lenses, which then reflect light into the wearer's eyes and create volumetric imagery in front of you. Meta has designed this technology itself, he said. The idea is that the images don't appear as flat, 2D graphics in front of your eyes but that the virtual images now have shape and depth. "The big innovation with Orion is the field of view," says Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, who was in attendance at Meta Connect. "The field of view is 72 degrees, which makes it much more engaging and useful for most applications, whether gaming, social media, or just content consumption. Most headsets are in the 30- to 50-degree range."

Meta Shows Off Orion AR Glasses At Meta Connect 2024, Currently A Prototype - IGN

During the keynote presentation at Meta Connect 2024, Meta debuted its first augmented reality glasses, Orion. It's currently a prototype, but Meta was able to show off some of Orion's AR capabilities. While it may look like a regular pair of thick-rimmed glasses, Orion uses AR to project virtual objects onto the real world through its lenses in a way that's functionally similar to mixed reality on a Quest 3 headset, for example - but, of course, without a whole thing strapped on your head. Orion is using the Meta AI smart assistant, which is contextual AI to read your surroundings, whether that be for placing digital interfaces onto the environment or having its it identify objects around you. Meta showed an example of the glasses detecting ingredients laid out on a table and it pulling up a recipe through the projected UI. The glasses work with an EMG wristband that lets you control Orion through hands-free gestures alongside eye tracking and voice recognition. It currently has 70-degree field-of-view (FOV), which is the widest for AR glasses of its size thus far. Meta Orion is not intended to be a consumer product as it currently stands, but it is a functional prototype that Meta says it is "truly representative of something that could ship to consumers." The three points Meta says it'll focus on for further iterations are higher quality AR visuals, having a smaller form factor, and making it affordable to put out at scale. For more on Meta Connect 2024, be sure to check out our coverage of the new Meta Quest 3S VR/MR headset, which is cheaper and slighty changed version of the Quest 3 that'll available starting October 15.

Meta unveils 'revolutionary' Orion augmented reality glasses | BreakingNews.ie

Meta has unveiled its first pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses, which use holograms to overlay digital content on to the real world around the wearer. Announced during the tech giant's Meta Connect event, the company said the prototype device called Orion "might be the most challenging consumer electronics device produced since the smartphone". So far, AR devices have been headsets - such as Apple's Vision Pro - in order to house all the technology required to power a wearable device capable of projecting holograms in front of a wearer's eyes. But Meta said Orion was the result of "breakthrough inventions in virtually every field of modern computing" and was "packed with entirely new technologies" around display and computer chips in order to run the same experiences currently found in headsets on a pair of glasses. The device can be controlled using voice, eye movement and hand gestures. Meta said it was opening up prototype testing for its own staff and "select, external audiences" so it can "learn, iterate, and build towards our consumer AR glasses product line, which we plan to begin shipping in the near future". The announcement was the most eye-catching in an array of new products and tools announced by the Facebook and Instagram parent firm during its event, including a new version of its Meta Quest headset. Meta has been making large strides into artificial intelligence (AI) and it confirmed that it was adding voice interaction to its Meta AI tools for the first time - initially rolling out in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. New versions of Meta's open-source AI models - Llama 3.2 - were also announced. Industry expert Mike Proulx, vice president research director at analyst firm Forrester, said the announcement of Orion had the potential to be "revolutionary" for the sector. "There was a stark contrast in Mark Zuckerberg's excitement when he talked about AI and glasses versus when he talked about Meta Quest," he said. "It's clear that Meta's future is AI and glasses. "VR headsets, despite Meta's assertion, won't go mainstream. They're too cumbersome and people can only tolerate them in short bursts. "Glasses, however, put computing power directly into a common and familiar form factor. As the smart tech behind these glasses mature, they have the potential to disrupt everyday consumers' interactions with brands. "Meta's Orion holographic prototype sets the stage for a future where a revolutionary 3D computing platform is within reach and can actually be useful to the everyday consumer."

Zuckerberg Unveils Meta's Wearable Tech Plans for the Connected Economy | PYMNTS.com

On Wednesday (Sept. 25), the first of Meta's two-day Meta Connect 2024 conference, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled an ambitious vision for the future of wearable technology. The event showcased significant innovations, particularly the highly anticipated Orion augmented reality (AR) glasses, which aim to redefine how users engage with digital content in their everyday lives. The Meta Quest 3S headset was also introduced, offering high-quality immersive experiences at an accessible price point. These advancements reflect Meta's focus on integrating innovative technology into daily routines, enhancing both personal and social interactions. Meta's new product announcements embody what Zuckerberg termed as "the future of human connection." Zuckerberg introduced the Orion prototype, a project a decade in the making that aims to revolutionize wearable technology. Designed to be lightweight (under 100 grams) and resembling regular glasses rather than a headset, Orion features bright, wide field-of-view displays for multitasking and entertainment. It allows users to see the physical world while overlaying digital content, rather than just using passthrough technology. A major focus of Zukerberg's keynote was a demonstration of the Orion AR glasses. These glasses are designed to integrate visuals directly into the lenses, offering a new level of augmented experiences. Unlike the existing Ray-Ban smart glasses, which do not feature screens, the Orion prototype promises to deliver more immersive AR functionalities. While they are not expected to be available for immediate purchase, seeing them in action provides a glimpse into Meta's vision for the future of AR technology. "Orion are the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen," Zuckerberg said during his keynote address to open the conference. Orion is equipped with advanced voice controls, hand and eye tracking for intuitive navigation, and a discreet interface for user interaction. The device incorporates ten custom silicon chips and a novel display architecture, alongside an EMG wristband for seamless input. This prototype represents a significant leap toward achieving a new wave of human-oriented computing, enhancing social interactions across distances. Zuckerberg announced the launch of the Meta Quest 3S, set to release on Oct. 15 for $299. This new headset features the same advanced processing capabilities as the Quest 3, but at a more accessible price point. The Quest 3S is designed for high-quality mixed reality experiences, boasting 4.5 times the resolution and improved graphics compared to its predecessor, the Quest 2. With an emphasis on comfort and usability, the Quest 3S is positioned to attract both casual gamers and serious virtual reality (VR) enthusiasts. According to a Wednesday blog post from Meta, consumers can try its entry model 128GB Quest 3S, upgrade to the 256GB SKU for more storage, or try the 512GB Quest 3 for $500. Additionally, all three headsets will include the game "Batman: Arkham Shadow," as well as other content that includes access to streaming services and fitness apps. Meanwhile, earlier this month at the China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE), Gyges Labs unveiled DigiWindow, the world's smallest near-eye display, the Singapore-based company said in a Tuesday (Sept. 24) news release. The launch marks a significant advancement in AI glasses and addresses the current market's challenges, as many existing models remain bulky and impractical for everyday use. DigiWindow, measuring less than 0.1 cc, integrates seamlessly into regular eyeglass frames, providing a discreet way to display information visible only to the wearer, the company said. This feature enhances user privacy and comfort, offering a full week of battery life. DigiWindow "offers clear advantages in weight, size, light leakage, and cost," ensuring a more user-friendly experience, according to the release. Gyges Labs' officials want to make AI glasses as ubiquitous as smartphones. Founder Jia Jieyang emphasized the goal of empowering individuals with this technology, stating: "Our aim is to make AI glasses as common as smartphones, moving beyond niche tech enthusiasts and into everyday life."

Mark Zuckerberg Revealed His Vision for Smart Glasses at Meta Connect -- and It Involves Holograms: 'Beginning of a Big Thing'

The Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses that Meta released at last year's Connect were a surprise hit, outselling the previous generation's two-year sales in just a few months. Imagine putting on a pair of glasses and a bracelet that tracks your thoughts by sensing electrical impulses from your skin. Instantly, your field of vision overlaps with the digital world. You see holograms (3D digital avatars of real people), can project your own hologram, and even answer calls and play games while still being able to see what's happening in the physical space around you. This is the future that Mark Zuckerberg wants. At Meta Connect on Wednesday, Meta's CEO revealed Orion, the company's first, fully functioning prototype of holographic glasses. Meta claims it is "the most advanced pair ever made." Zuckerberg teased these glasses in previous interviews, telling YouTuber Kallaway in July that Orion, and its accompanying neural interface wristband, left early testers "giddy." At Meta Connect, the glasses were delivered to Zuckerberg on stage in a metal briefcase. Zuckerberg explained that about a decade ago, he started assembling a team to develop a pair of glasses that weighed less than 100 grams, operated wirelessly, had a wide field of view, supported holographic displays, were bright enough to see in different lighting conditions, and could be seen through. "This is the physical world with holograms overlaid on it," Zuckerberg said. Related: Mark Zuckerberg Does a Better Job Than His Rivals at Explaining AI -- And It's Helping Meta Outperform Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft The glasses also had to support neural tracking. "I think you need a device that allows you to send a signal from your brain to the device," Zuckerberg said, adding that Orion "isn't just the first full-screen wide field of view holographic AR glasses." "These are the first glasses to be controlled by a wristband that picks up on thoughts," Zuckerberg said. Zuckerberg and his team have achieved "most" of the goals they set out to accomplish with Orion. But before this prototype hits the shelves, Meta still has to fine-tune it. Employees and select outside testers will have access to Orion starting today as the company works on creating a better display, making the glasses smaller, and minimizing costs. "We still have a few things that I want us to keep pushing on before we ship this as a consumer product," Zuckerberg said, adding that the glasses were best thought of as "a time machine." Orion ties into Zuckerberg's broader smart glasses strategy. The Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses that Meta released at last year's Connect were a surprise hit, outselling the previous generation's two-year sales in just a few months. Related: She Sent a Cold Email to Meta Judging Its Ray-Bans. Now She Runs the Wearables Division. "For a little while we were struggling to keep up with demand," Zuckerberg said on Wednesday. "But we're on top of that now." Zuckerberg's plan for the Ray-Ban Meta glasses is to keep updating the AI and the look and feel. Over the next few months, the glasses will get a series of AI updates, including one that makes talking to Meta AI through the product more natural and conversational (so no need to keep saying "Hey Meta") and another that adds real-time help from Meta AI with multimodal video (so you can look at your closet and ask the AI what kind of outfit you should wear to a party). According to Zuckerberg, Meta AI has about 500 million monthly active users and is on track to be the most-used AI assistant by the end of this year. "This is the beginning of a big thing," Zuckerberg enthused.

Everything announced at Meta Connect 2024

Meta has revealed its Orion augmented reality glasses, and they look almost like a trendy pair of frames you could pick up without all the tech inside. Orion uses Micro LED projectors inside the frame and beams images in front of your eyes via waveguides in the lenses. Orion has the same kinds of generative AI capabilities as the current Ray-Ban smart glasses -- but adds a visual element to make it more helpful, like adding labels on top of ingredients you're looking at on a table.

Mark Zuckerberg unveils new hologram smart glasses with a 'neural interface'

Zuckerberg showed off a prototype of Orion holographic smart glasses that allow users to see digital objects overlayed over the real world and which can controlled via a neural interface. While the glasses are not currently available, Zuckerberg said the prototype provides a glimpse of the future that the company is working towards. The glasses "do voice and AI, hand and eye-tracking, but theres one more way you'll be able to interact w the thats pretty neat - neural interface - send a signal from you brain to the device," Zuckerberg said. The 40-year-old Facebook founder, sporting the black T-shirt and dark, slim cut jeans of a recent image makeover, said the company's AI products now have nearly 500 million monthly active users, claiming that Meta AI is on track to be the most used AI in the world. Zuckerberg kicked of the event by showing off a new, $299 version of the Quest mixed reality headset. But he soon shifted to the Ray Ban smart glasses the company makes in a partnership with EssilorLuxottica. "Its been a very busy year. A lot of the stuff we've been talking about for a long time - it's happening - we can start to see how the future of computing, human connection are gonna look and it's pretty awesome," Zuckerberg said on stage at the Meta Connect event.