Meta has been a significant player in online social connections for the past two decades. However, the company historically missed the opportunity to create the smartphones that primarily facilitated those connections. In a multiyear, multibillion-dollar initiative to lead in connected hardware, Meta is now focusing on facial computing devices.
At its annual Connect developer event in Menlo Park, California, Meta introduced several products, including the more budget-friendly Oculus Quest 3S virtual reality headset and enhanced, AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The centerpiece of the event was Orion, a prototype pair of holographic display glasses that, according to Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, have been under development for ten years.
Zuckerberg highlighted that the Orion glasses, currently available solely to developers, are not typical smart displays. He argued that these interactive glasses could eventually replace smartphones for many functions.
“Building this display is different from every other screen you’ve ever used,” Zuckerberg stated at Meta Connect. Meta’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, previously described this technology as “the most advanced thing that we’ve ever produced as a species.”
The Orion glasses, resembling many heads-up displays, represent the culmination of work from a highly secretive division known as “Reality Lab.” A WIRED reporter at the event observed that the thick black glasses appeared “chunky” on Zuckerberg.
During the on-stage demonstration, Zuckerberg demonstrated that Orion glasses could project multiple virtual displays, respond quickly to messages, facilitate video chats, and support gaming. For messaging, he noted that users would not need to use their phones, as they could navigate interfaces through voice commands, finger taps, or eye movements directed at virtual objects.
The glasses will also feature a “neural interface” capable of interpreting brain signals via a wrist-worn device, a technology Meta first introduced three years ago. Zuckerberg did not provide details on the operational aspects of this technology or a potential consumer release timeline. He also did not address privacy concerns related to integrating this system with Meta’s vast personal data repository.
Zuckerberg explained that the imagery seen through the Orion glasses doesn’t utilize pass-through technology, nor does it merely display the virtual world. Instead, it operates on a “new kind of display architecture” that uses projectors embedded in the glasses’ arms to direct waveguides into the lenses. These lenses then reflect light into the wearer’s eyes to create volumetric imagery. Meta has internally developed this technology.
The images presented are not flat, 2D graphics but have shape and depth. Anshel Sag, Principal Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, who was present at the event, remarked, “The big innovation with Orion is the field of view.” He noted that the 72-degree field of view makes the glasses more engaging and practical for applications such as gaming, social media, and content consumption, compared to the typical 30- to 50-degree range in most headsets.