“Although much of Meta’s presentation will focus on artificial intelligence features, I’m told there will also be new mixed reality headsets and smart glasses,” Gurman said in his latest Power On newsletter.
In fact, the event page states that you can join Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg “who will share Meta’s vision for AI and the Metaverse, including Meta’s latest product announcements.” It says there will be sessions with in-depth insights into mixed reality, AI, and more.
Meta Connect 2024: AI, AR glasses and new mixed reality headset
Gurman says the biggest debut will be a preview of Meta’s future augmented reality (AR) glasses. The company will reportedly showcase a prototype called Orion that it hopes will form the basis for a possible AR glasses Product.”
“Meta executives have been teasing this preview for weeks, and it’s meant to show their vision for the future of computing. Creating true AR glasses – something lightweight that consumers can wear all day – is no easy task. Apple has struggled with its own efforts, and now all signs point to Meta coming out on top,” he said.
It is worth noting that Meta is already active in the smart glasses market, offering glasses without AR in collaboration with Ray-Ban. At the upcoming Connect event, Meta intends to unveil new AI-powered software features for these glasses, in addition to new styles and colors.
In addition, the company wants to expand sales of the device to other areas.
“By next year, Meta plans to integrate an AR-like display into smart glasses, but it will not be as ambitious as the Orion prototype“I would expect these two products to eventually merge once AR technology is advanced enough,” he said.
In addition, Meta is expected to unveil a new version of its mixed reality headset, possibly called Quest 3S. Notably, several names have been discussed internally, Girman says.
The new headset will be a new entry-level device designed to bring more people into the Meta ecosystem. Meta could offer this budget version for $300 or $400 – cheaper than Quest 3, which costs $500.
“The company has considered reducing costs by selling the controllers separately, but at least some models of the new hardware will include them,” he said.
