Orion – Meta’s $10,000 smart glasses are paving the way for the future of augmented reality

Several announcements were made at the Meta Connect 2024 conference, including the launch of the Meta Quest 3. However, the highlight of the event was the unveiling of the Orion glasses, touted as the company’s first fully functional prototype. This announcement quickly captured the attention of everyone in attendance and overshadowed other updates with the promise of groundbreaking technology.

The Meta Orion glasses arrived in a special armored case and according to Mark Zuckerberg, they are fully holographic AR glasses. Despite some initial doubts from critics, the introduction of Orion is generating a lot of excitement. These glasses could represent a major leap forward in AR technology and could even pave the way for a future where smartphones are no longer necessary.

What makes Orion special?

Orion walks around with a working prototype that combines augmented reality technology with a cool design. The hardware consists of three main parts: the glasses, a neural wristband to control them, and a computer puck that looks like a large phone battery.

One of the coolest features of Orion is its 70-degree field of view. This allows you to see a larger area than many other AR glasses, which often feel cramped.

Control and display functions

The glasses weigh 98 grams, making them heavier than regular glasses, but much lighter than mixed reality headsets like Meta’s Quest or Apple’s Vision Pro. Orion has seven cameras built into the frames. These cameras help track your hand and eye movements, allowing the glasses to anchor virtual objects in real space. They also help Meta’s AI assistant understand what you’re looking at.

The display quality is surprisingly good for glasses. Video calls look clear and engaging, and you can read text from a website a few feet away. However, the battery only lasts about two hours, which can make it difficult to use it for things like watching a movie.

How do you control Orion?

Controlling Orion is more than just using your hands. You can use eye tracking, hand gestures, voice commands and the neural wristband. This wristband, which looks a bit like a screenless Fitbit, reads signals from your hands and converts them into actions on the glasses in just milliseconds.

The future of Orion

Currently, Orion is still a $10,000 prototype, meaning it’s far from a product that everyone can buy. Although the technology shows great potential, there are still challenges that need to be addressed, such as reducing costs, making the glasses smaller and improving battery life to meet daily needs. Meta understands that it may take several years to develop Orion into something that mainstream consumers want.

Meta has now launched the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. These are easier to use, include cameras and sensors, and cost $299. These glasses aim to provide a more hands-on experience, and Meta will use feedback from the Ray-Ban Meta to help refine Orion and create a truly immersive AR experience to create.

Conclusion

In short, Orion represents an exciting step forward in AR technology. While there is still a long way to go, it offers a fascinating glimpse into a future where smart glasses could become part of our daily lives, potentially replacing smartphones and changing the way we connect to the digital world. As Meta continues to improve both Orion and the Ray-Ban Meta, it is clear that wearable technology will play a vital role in shaping the next generation of our tech experiences.

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