AR glasses have seen a steady growth in interest over the last year, with some impressive advancements in the space showing genuine potential for the wearable some ten years on from Google's initial efforts to popularize this form factor with the ill-fated Google Glass.
Since then we've seen VR headsets grow in popularity and smart glasses make a grand comeback in the form of AR frames like XREAL's Air 2 or VITURE's Pro XR.
However, it's the surprise popularity of Meta's camera-touting Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and the successes of the company's Quest 2 and Quest 3 VR/AR headsets that are propelling this form factor to all-new heights, with the company reportedly preparing to unveil its long-rumored Orion glasses as early as next month's Meta Connect event.
Meta's Orion AR glasses are said to be the most advanced version of this technology we've seen to date, offering a more immersive "true" AR experience with a wider field of view than its contemporaries and a deeper integration of its Meta AI assistant.
Everything seemingly points to Meta showcasing an enormous leap in technology with its upcoming wearable, and hype has been building around a potential reveal of these glasses for some time. However, we may be treated to more than one major AR glasses reveal next month, and it may even beat Meta to the punch.
Is Snap set to steal Orion's AR thunder?
Just as last year saw Meta take on Apple's Vision Pro with the announcement of its Quest 3 VR/AR headset, this year the Mark Zuckerberg-fronted company will have another rival to concern itself with surrounding the announcement of its latest smart glasses.
However, thankfully, Meta won't have to contend with the might of Apple this time around, as the Cupertino company's smart glasses need more time in the oven and will reportedly follow a similar formula to Zuckerberg's provenly popular Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses.
Instead, The Verge's Alex Heath claims that Meta will be pipped to the post at unveiling a next-gen AR glasses product by Snapchat's parent company, Snap. Snap plans to reveal its fifth generation of Snap Spectacles on September 17 during its annual Partner Summit in Los Angeles — a week ahead of Zuckerberg's intended Orion AR glasses debut at next month's Meta Connect event, which will be hosted at the company's Menlo Park, California stomping grounds.
Meta is confident of Orion's impact
In the domain of consumer electronics, it might be the most advanced thing that we’ve ever produced as a species.
Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, Meta CTO
To usurp the growing buzz surrounding Apple's Vision Pro, Zuckerberg rushed to reveal the Meta Quest 3 to the world through his Instagram just four days before Apple's headset would be officially shown off at the company's WWDC on June 5, 2023.
This time around, it might be fair to say that Meta and Zuckerberg won't be too worried about Snap getting there first. The company appears to be in no short supply of confidence over the potential impact that its new "true" AR smart glasses could have.
Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth is often quoted over comments made to The Verge earlier in the year, where when talking about the Orion next-gen smart glasses he stated: "I might get myself in trouble for saying this; I think it might be the most advanced piece of technology on the planet in its domain. In the domain of consumer electronics, it might be the most advanced thing that we’ve ever produced as a species."
That's no small claim and raises the bar for expectations to a uniquely high level, especially as CEO Mark Zuckerberg teases the company's next pair of smart glasses by referring to them as a "Holy Grail" device.
However, with Meta reportedly dumping billions of dollars into its AR/VR projects over the years, you'd expect the company to have seen plenty of fruitful results behind closed doors to make all of that research and development worth it.
The reality of Meta's AR glasses
Sadly, while Bosworth's quote is often repeated with fervor, he himself has been quick to reign in the excitement. While Meta may be ready to showcase its AR glasses in 2024, a commercial release won't be viable until closer to the end of this decade — meaning that no matter how impressive of a product Zuckerberg and co. are eager to reveal to the world, it'll still be several years before we can actually lay our hands on a version of it.
More unfortunately, when we eventually do so, it may cost a small fortune, with Bosworth telling The Verge, "It’s prohibitively expensive. There isn’t a real path to making it cost-effective. We thought maybe there would be breakthroughs on the drivers of cost, and that just hasn’t materialized and doesn’t look like it’s going to materialize."
Thankfully for Meta, it would appear that Snap isn't ready to bring its latest Spectacles to market either. Making September more of a platform for both companies to showcase their vision of the future of AR glasses and get the ball rolling early to ensure interest grows in these products as it has in the wider smart glasses market in recent years.
For now, all we can do is eagerly anticipate the unveiling of Meta's Orion AR glasses at this year's Meta Connected event, scheduled to take place on September 25.
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