At its recent Meta Connect 2024 conference last week, Meta unveiled a new budget VR headset and teased its augmented reality “magic glasses.” Engadget put together a list of everything the company announced at the event:
- Orion AR Glasses – these augmented reality glasses, which aren't set to debut for several years, were the highlight of the event for many journalists who have since raved about their capabilities. The glasses include tiny projectors that display holograms onto the lenses, and sensors that can track voice, eye gaze, hand movements, and wristband input to control the device. Unfortunately though, Orion glasses won't be available anytime soon because Meta needs to work on bringing their cost down (which is reportedly over $10k to manufacture).
- Meta Quest 3S – a new entry-level VR headset priced at $300, which offers lower resolution and smaller storage in exchange for a smaller price tag over last year's Quest 3. The headset includes Fresnel lenses instead of the higher-end pancake ones in Quest 3, with a smaller field of view. However one perk to a lower tier machine is higher battery life. Meta estimates the battery will last 2.5 hours.
- Quest 2 and Quest Pro – both older headsets will be discontinued by the end of the year to make room for the Quest 3S in the heart's and wallet's of consumers.
- Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses updates – Meta added an AI Assistant to its smart glasses which let you set reminders based on objects you see. The glasses can also scan QR codes and dial phone numbers from text it recognizes. The assistant can also now respond to more natural commands such as “What am I look at?,” as well as handle complex follow-up questions.
- Meta AI Updates – Meta AI now supports voice chats across all devices, a feature that was previously limited to the Ray-Ban glasses. Meta also partnered with celebrities to voice its AI including John Cena, Dame Judi Dench, and Kristen Bell.
Check out photos and videos of Meta's Orion AR Glasses here. Would you wear these bulky devices in order to tap into all those AR features? I certainly would!