Meta Unveils 'Orion' Augmented Reality Glasses

[zemaker]

This is what Apple Vision should have been, and needs to be. Also as someone who returned his, mainly due to the weight, Apple need to copy the feature of having the processor be detached and streaming to the device just like Meta has done here.

Also, lots of salty people here with their comments. This is amazing technology that is needed to push Apple so they don’t become complacent. Which to be honest here, Apple has started to stagnate and lack innovation. Case and point iPhone 16.

 

[Harvey Zoltan]

So all Meta have to do is produce millions of these things and sell them at affordable price. That’s not happening, so maybe they should have waited till they had something to ship. This is just tech fantasy land stuff at the present time.

 

[drrich2]

Apple has struggled with getting the power of an iPhone into a device that uses only a fraction of the power to prevent overheating.

Here's a thought...don't do that.

How many people who'd be in a target demographic for such a device (this, or the Apple Vision Pro) don't have a powerful smart phone on or near their person most of their waking hours? A phone that has great computational power and is already paid for, rechargeable, on them, and not being used for much else while they're using the glasses?

So, how about making the glasses connect wirelessly to the iPhone or Android phone, which would do the heavy lifting of processing and send video signals to the glasses?

Why does someone with an Apple Vision Pro need it to contain independent processing capability when that adds greatly to the cost and most people have a powerful smart phone close at hand?

This would lead to cheaper, less bulky/heavy vision products that, as accessories, might help sell more iPhones, etc...

 

[kaycrystal626]

Even META is innovative, come on Apple! Get with the program make something average consumer can afford!

 

[subjonas]

Apple need to copy the feature of having the processor be detached and streaming to the device just like Meta has done here.

Are you talking about the wrist band? That only streams user input. The glasses have the processor built-in.

Edit- ah looks like there is puck (mentioned very obscurely) that goes in the pocket. The processing is split up between the glasses and the puck.

 

[sloheim]

Love the idea. Thats when AR will really take off.

Meta? Hard pass.

 

[jdoyle]

These look like Lego glasses scaled up. Boy, they’re thick.

I think you should compare to AVP and not normal glasses. They are incredible thin and light compare to that monstrosity

 

[paradox00]

Are you talking about the wrist band? That only streams user input. The glasses have the processor built-in.

There are three parts. The processor is a device that goes in your pocket, not on the glasses. In the Apple world, an iPhone could perform this role, and already does for Meta's (audio only) Ray-Bans. A first party offering from Apple could be fantastic.

 

[boss.king]

I think you should compare to AVP and not normal glasses. They are incredible thin and light compare to that monstrosity

Why? The Vision Pro is huge and heavy, but it's not trying to be glasses. I compare it to other VR headsets because it's a VR headset. This clearly is trying to be a pair glasses, so I compare it to glasses.

 

[subjonas]

There are three parts. The processor is a device that goes in your pocket, not on the glasses. In the Apple world, an iPhone could perform this role, and already does for Meta's (audio only) Ray-Bans. A first party offering from Apple could be fantastic.

Ah you’re right there is a puck. Not mentioned in the explainer video, but only in one little section near the bottom of the press release! But looks like the processing is split up between the glasses and puck—the perception processing in the glasses, the app processing in the puck.
An Apple version of this would indeed be intriguing.

 

[JesterJJZ]

At least it's actual AR. VisionPro is just a fancy VR visor with camera passthrough. Real AR requires actually being able to see the real world.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

This looks like a really impressive prototype, and immediately seems like it has more potential than Vision Pro or Quest products. This just gets me excited to see what Apple can do in this space, though it will likely be a while before we see what they are working on.

That's assuming that the use of these products will be mostly on the go. Quest/Vision Pro can offer complete immersion when it chooses to, while these can only do half opaque overlays like the hololens. I think VR/XR route is going to be more versatile in the long run when the hardware shrinks down.

 

[heretiq]

Meta is doing so well, Apple is falling behind in everything

/s — got your back bruh. 😉

 

[coolfactor]

This looks like a really impressive prototype, and immediately seems like it has more potential than Vision Pro or Quest products. This just gets me excited to see what Apple can do in this space, though it will likely be a while before we see what they are working on.

I thought Meta issued a full-stop on their AR/VR product development?

As for "more potential", that is highly subjective on the use case. Vision Pro creates a completely enclosed and isolated environment which makes some things possible that aren't with transparent lenses. There's a use case for each type of product.

 

[coolfactor]

All Apple can do is a camera button that is slower than normal usage, and Vision Pro is way to expensive, Meta is really pushing innovation and I love the quest 3 and this will be epic, gone are the days of Apple being the leaders in tech

Slower? All of the reviews I've seen suggest the Camera Control makes taking photos much faster.

And Vision Pro is only "too" expensive for those that can't afford it. 😝

 

[aforty]

This is where I see Apple going eventually. They have the Apple Watch already for gesture input and iPhone for off-loading the processing.

 

[Ursadorable]

They're just missing the masking tape on the bridge of those glasses.

 

[fontman]

Facebook parent company Meta today unveiled "the most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made," called Orion. Meta claims Orion looks and feels like a regular pair of glasses, but with augmented reality capabilities.

The glasses have been in development for the last five years, and Meta describes them as lightweight and great for indoor and outdoor use. Unlike a VR headset, AR glasses augment the real world rather than shutting it out, providing digital experiences that are not constrained by the display of a smartphone or headset.According to Meta, Orion is a "feat of miniaturization," featuring components that are sized down to a fraction of a millimeter. The glasses have clear lenses that allow the wearer to see other people's eyes and expressions.

Orion includes built-in contextual AI that is able to "sense and understand" the world around the wearer to "anticipate and proactively address" the wearer's needs. Meta AI can do things like craft a recipe from what's inside your refrigerator, or phone a friend while the user washes dishes.

Orion is not a consumer focused product, but it is also not just a research prototype. Meta is providing its employees and "select external audiences" with access to Orion, so that it can use the data to "learn, iterate, and build" toward a consumer AR glasses product line.

Going forward, Meta wants to improve the AR display to make visuals sharper, optimize for a slimmer form factor, and work to build at scale to make the AR glasses more affordable.

Apple too is rumored to be working on AR glasses, but the product is still many years away from launching at this point. Apple has struggled with getting the power of an iPhone into a device that uses only a fraction of the power to prevent overheating.

Along with AR glasses, Facebook today introduced new AI features for its Ray-Ban Meta Glasses and unveiled a super cheap $300 Meta Quest 3S mixed reality headset that is a successor to the Meta Quest 3.

Article Link: Meta Unveils 'Orion' Augmented Reality Glasses

No thank you looks like a toy of some kind

 

[RavynArcadia]

Those look really ugly and bulky.

 

[surferfb]

Sure.
But this thing is supposed to be in the $300 range.

Apple could sell a much better setup for $499.
And make an entirely new ecosystem.
The Vision Pro is amazing.

But when you’re trying to sell the world a Bentley and they have a Kia budget……

Things move slow.

Where on earth do you see this is supposed to be in the $300 range? I’ve seen anywhere from $10k per $50k per unit in this thread. It’s an incredibly expensive prototype.

I’m sure Apple has something like this in the labs. But they’re not going to show it until they can produce it at a price and in quantities that make sense.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Meta pushing boundaries here. Apple needs to keep an eye out, this could easily be the next big thing. The use cases for this when polished seem self-evident, the user experience would be very low friction and replace a lot of what phones do. Of course Apple might have similar plans, but Meta Ray-Bans already have that low-friction vocal AI tech today. Compare it to pulling out your phone for Apple visual intelligence (which is already great - but this leapfrogs that).

On the other hand, Apple could be positioned well here. They've got the "fashion wearable" history with the Apple Watch initial launch, something similar could work for smart glasses and then AR. (Though Meta has RayBan collaboration which was a smart move.) Then they've got to shrink down that Vision Pro tech and just make sure they're not getting outpaced or hung up on their current phone format.

Apple will most certainly be outsold. They always are. They will also score the lion’s share of the profits. They always do.

 

[CrysisDeu]

I sold all of my Apple stock after WWDC and bought Meta

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Really? But … “According to Meta, Orion is a "feat of miniaturization," featuring components that are sized down to a fraction of a millimeter.“ 😀

What you don't realize is that the girl is only 4 inches tall.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

At the same time it sure doesn’t seem like vaporware.

Vaporware is a term used to describe a product that has been widely advertised but has not been released to the public, or may never be released. You’re right, this hasn’t been, and likely won’t be, widely advertised.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

$300
You listening apple.

Making your next generation of ecosystem AFFORDABLE makes its far more accessible.

I mean, the Vision Pro is accessible to people with money. Which, really, is not a bad group of folks to be accessible to. It’s a strategy that’s kinda worked for them for a few years now.