Reportedly, Meta, the name Facebook took to signify its efforts towards the metaverse, may launch its first augmented reality glasses in 2024.
Meta’s first AR glasses are reportedly a part of the company’s Project Nazare and will likely emerge as a marquee product as CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants them to represent an “iPhone moment” for Meta.
These AR glasses will work independently, meaning they will not require a phone to work, but a “phone-shaped device” may be needed for computing while an electrical pulse-based wearable would be required to control it.
According to The Verge, Meta’s first AR Glasses will be based on Android and offer an immersive augmented reality experience with 3D visuals. The glasses may feature an outward-facing camera and support eye detection, stereo audio, a wide field of view on cameras, and a “socially acceptable look.” The highlight of these glasses could be the feature that would allow users to communicate with others’ holograms — exactly like Zuckerberg previewed when announcing the company’s rebranding last year.
The first marquee wearable from Meta will be technologically advanced. Zuckerberg apparently believes that the technology, which the company is working on currently, would provide a more interactive experience for users rather than letting them make video calls simply. And because the company is investing heavily in its first AR glasses, it is expecting the sales to be modest, to say the least. Meta might only sell the glasses in “low tens of thousands” to interested buyers and developers initially.
Zuckerberg is seeing the company’s first augmented reality glasses as a product that would create an “iPhone moment” for it. Essentially, he is referring to the launch of the first iPhone by Apple’s then CEO, Steve Jobs. The iPhone became the trendsetter for the phone industry — something Zuckerberg wants for its upcoming wearable.
For that to happen, the company is looking to iron out even the slightest issues that may hamper the launch. For instance, Meta was apparently facing challenges in the prototype design, which, although including the use of cutting-edge microLED projectors and waveguide technology, was about four times heavier than the conventional glasses and had a weak battery life of just four hours. It has also scrapped plans for a custom OS for its wearable in the past. The wearable, currently in development, therefore, needs to meet the company’s high and buyers’ even higher expectations.
Meta is apparently planning to create an entire lineup of glasses that work on technologies such as augmented reality and mixed reality. That is why, the report said, Meta would launch a trimmed-down version the same year, 2024. Nicknamed Hypernova, this wearable would be packed with fewer features and might also need a phone to work. Then, Meta could launch a “lighter, more advanced” wearable sometime in 2026, while the third-generation glasses could arrive two years later in 2028.
