Meta Unveils Advanced AR Glasses, Orion, During Meta Connect

Meta has made headlines after revealing its first pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses, tagged as Orion, at its Meta Connect event. The glasses come across as being a push to “the most challenging consumer electronics device produced since the smartphone.”. Unlike early AR devices, which have mostly looked like enormous headsets, Orion enables the layering of digital information over the real world with a fluidity that brings holograms right up before one’s very eyes.

Orion is being developed under the mantra of breakthrough inventions in virtually every field of modern computing as described by Meta. This prototype showcases a rare combination of both display technologies and advanced computer chips, through which it is possible to deliver experiences that are typically associated with bigger, more cumbersome headsets in a lightweight, glasses-like format. Users will then be able to seamlessly interact with the device itself and the worlds inside using voice commands, eye movements, and hand gestures, providing an interface that makes sense to the users.

In an effort to further develop the product, Meta plans to begin prototype testing by bringing in employees and other external users. This will enable it to garner feedback to iterate over and refine the glasses, ultimately providing a route to its more general consumer launch sooner rather than later.

The event features several major announcements, including an updated version of the Meta Quest headset from Meta and integrating voice interaction with the company’s AI tools for users in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Further in that direction, the company introduces new releases of its open-source AI models, known as Llama 3.2. Experts from Forrester, such as Mike Proulx, already commented on Orion and the great probability it will change consumer interaction with the brand by putting computing power into a familiar, everyday form factor.

Unlike most VR headsets, which look clunky and near impossible to use on a daily basis, Orion glasses could become ubiquitous when technology catches up. It might be one of those revolutions that introduces a fully transformed 3D computing platform in a way consumers are better equipped to connect with digital content.