MENLO PARK, CA — Meta unveiled updates to the company’s Ray Ban virtual reality headset and smart glasses on Wednesday, as it attempts to demonstrate its artificial intelligence prowess and the next generation of computing platforms beyond smartphones and computers.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg also showed off Orion, a prototype he called “the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen.”
“The technical challenges of making these are insane,” Zuckerberg told a crowd of developers and journalists at Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Holographic augmented reality glasses, for example, needed to be glasses, not a bulky headset. There are no wires and they must, among other things, weigh less than 100 grams (3.5 ounces). And beyond interacting with your voice, typing or hand gestures, Orion has a “wrist-based neural interface”: it allows you to send a signal from your brain to the device , using a bracelet that translates nerve signals into digital commands.
There’s no release date for Orion – Zuckerberg called it a “glimpse into the future.”
Seemingly in his element, speaking to a cheering crowd, Zuckerberg said Meta was striving to “bring the future to everyone” with its headsets, glasses and AI system. As part of an update to its Llama model, people will now be able to interact with Meta AI by speaking, with the voices of celebrities including John Cena, Judi Dench and Awkwafina.
“We are trying to build a future that is more open, more accessible, more natural and more focused on human relationships,” Zuckerberg said. “It’s a continuation of the values and ideas we brought to the applications and technology we’ve built over Meta’s first 20 years.
An AI update for influencers lets them create AI versions of themselves – to interact with fans. On the main stage, an AI version of creator Don Allen Stevenson III appeared on screen and answered a few questions just like the real creator would. When Zuckerberg asked the AI creator about raising livestock, he replied “my expertise is in technology and design, not agriculture.” An earlier version of this tool was text only.
Other AI updates include live translation, which Zuckerberg demonstrated on stage. While wearing the smart glasses, Zuckerberg spoke in English to Mexican mixed martial artist Brandon Moreno, who responded in Spanish – the conversation was translated in real time. People can also dub their videos into another language to make it look like they’re speaking natively – even going so far as to change their lip movements accordingly.
Meta AI now has 500 million users, the company said. Jeremy Goldman of research firm Emarketer called the figure “breathtaking.”
“Meta has grown from just a social media company to an AI powerhouse. Zuckerberg’s move to celebrity voices isn’t just for fun: it’s a direct challenge to OpenAI, with its focus on real-world utility,” Goldman said.
Meta, which introduced the Quest 3 last year, also introduced a cheaper version of the VR glasses – the 3S – which will cost $299. The regular Quest 3 costs $499. The S3 will ship on October 15.
“Meta aggressively undercuts Apple Vision Pro to dominate the mid-tier AR/VR market,” Goldman said. These VR glasses, released earlier this year after much anticipation, cost $3,500.
While VR glasses grabbed headlines, augmented reality Ray Bans proved to be a sleeper hit for Meta. The company has not disclosed its sales figures, but Zuckerberg said during Meta’s July earnings conference call that glasses “continue to experience greater success sooner than expected – in part due to the ‘AI’. Zuckerberg said Wednesday that Meta appears to have overcome the supply issues that hit Ray Bans a few months ago due to high demand.
“They are sort of the perfect form factor for AI,” Zuckerberg said. The glasses, he added, allow an AI assistant to “see what you see, hear what you hear” and help you go about your daily life.
For example, you can ask the glasses to remind you where you parked or shop, to look at a pile of fruit and suggest a smoothie recipe, or to help you choose a party outfit.
Meta, which renamed itself Facebook in 2021, still makes almost all of its money from advertising. In its most recent quarter, 98% of its more than $39 billion in revenue came from advertising. At the same time, the company is investing heavily in AI and what Zuckerberg sees as the next generation of computing platforms such as VR headsets and AR glasses.
“VR headsets, despite Meta’s claim, will not go mainstream,” said Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester. “They are too bulky and people can only tolerate them in short bursts.”
Glasses, on the other hand, “put computing power directly into a common, familiar format.” As the smart technology behind these glasses matures, they have the potential to disrupt consumers’ daily interactions with brands.
Proulx said the Orion prototype “paves the way for a future where a revolutionary 3D computing platform is within reach and can actually be useful to the everyday consumer.”
