It looks like Meta could finally hit the nail on the head with their Orion augmented reality (AR) glasses, but they are still years away from mainstream adoption.
For years, companies have been racing to create a mainstream device that would allow users to immerse themselves into digital worlds and interact with them.
We saw hyped attempts from big tech players, including Google with its Google Glass, Microsoft with HoloLens, and Apple with its Vision Pro, as well as startups such as Magic Leap.
Meta, which bought the VR startup Oculus Rift a decade ago, has been particularly active in the space, releasing several different VR headsets and smart glasses made with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica.
The company’s Reality Labs division, which is responsible for creating VR and AR products, has been racking up losses trying to pursue Metas CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of creating the metaverse. The losses now amount to a staggering $50 billion.
While Meta’s Quest devices gained some traction among gamers, they are far from mass adoption. Others, including Apple's Vision Pro spatial computing device, also remain niche products.
The prototype of Meta’s new AR device, Orion, which the company unveiled on Wednesday in its Meta Connect event, stands out from the rest. Meta managed to squeeze a ton of sensors and cameras into a wearable with innovative controls that looks closer to a device humans could actually wear.
What can Orion do?
During the announcement event, Zuckerberg promptly called Orion the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen.
When wearing them, users will be able to interact with holograms portrayed in the real world, including fully-sized avatars of people when talking to them. According to Zuckerberg, the device will enable users to see notifications and reply to them without taking out a smartphone.
It will also feature contextual AI integration, which will help with daily tasks. For example, Meta says that users will be able to open a fridge when wearing Orion and get a recipe based on what’s inside.
Thanks to a neural wristband, the device will be controlled via voice commands, eye movements, or hand movements. The wristband will send impulses from skin to brain, allowing users to control content with gestures without showing their hands to Orion’s cameras.
Here’s a sneak peek at Meta’s new small form glasses, called Orion. They’re fully standalone and feature eye, hand, and even neural tracking. Can’t wait to try these! pic.twitter.com/gIN2NOllMW
undefined Nathie @ Meta Connect (@NathieVR) September 25, 2024
Meta managed to put all of their sensors and cameras into a device that weighs only 100 grams, which is pretty impressive. In comparison, Apple’s Vision Pro and Microsoft’s mixed reality device Holo Lens weigh in at around half a kilo and look much bulkier.
However, Orion, even though much smaller, still looks awkward with its thick eyeglass frame. This is one of the two major issues that may determine Orion’s success.
Because no matter how advanced and fancy a device is, when it comes to wearables, aesthetics are important.
I remember testing out Google Glass in public when they were still a thing. All the looks from strangers, with some questioning whether I was not secretly filming them, made me feel uncomfortable.
While Orion’s AR glasses feature a more natural look, they are still quite different from a typical pair of spectacles and clearly reveal that one is wearing a computer.
Meta is aware of the issue. During Orion’s announcement, Zuckerberg said that the company would work on design to make the glasses smaller as well as improve the display resolution and reduce price.
However, there are clearly limitations to how much electronics can be shrunk in a short time, so I doubt that we will see significant aesthetic improvements until the official announcement.
Pricey smartglasses
The second main issue to address is the high manufacturing price. According to The Verge, it costs nearly $10,000 to make one pair of Meta’s smartglasses and a significant amount of that goes to manufacturing silicon carbide lenses.
How much cheaper should the device be for users to buy it? If we look at Apple’s $3500 Vision Pro, the price appears to be too high even for Apple’s expectations.
Apple Vision Pro was much anticipated and received lots of positive feedback, though the company has reportedly cut its yearly forecasts nearly twice.
Initially, Meta may not want to sell the device for a high margin. Instead, it could try to attract consumers and earn from their data, showing them ads or including subscriptions for additional services.
For a company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, such an approach would make sense, as it could open new revenue streams later.
However, it’ll probably take a few years to finally bring the Orion to consumers, and many challenges will arise along the way. There are also plenty of competitors racing to shape the future of the digital world, and some may outpace Meta.
Yet, after seeing Meta’s Orion announcement and its capabilities, it began to feel like Meta could win this VR/AR race and bring Zuckerberg’s ambitions to life.
Even if Orion isn’t a huge success – which is quite likely – the company now has enough knowledge and experience in the field to manufacture both VR and AR tech. At least, it should have, having spent upwards of $50 billion dollars on its experiments.
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