Meta Unveils 'Orion' Augmented Reality Glasses

[Daul]

Which is what Vision Pro should have been.

It’s more like a public beta or DTK. It was clearly ready enough at a reasonable enough price for a large enough group of customers to start playing around with it and experimenting. Apple gets feedback on the design and the UI. Developers can start building the ecosystem beyond apps merely ported from iPhone and iPad. Use cases can be uncovered.
It’s all preparation for a mass market version.

 

[MacTiki]

But it is also Meta, which means you are the product…

If you thought FB was invasive can you imagine Meta seeing everything you look at.

 

[Daul]

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...

Very this. You can’t really use both at the same time anyway.
It doesn’t even need to be wireless right away. As long as the AV needs to be connected to an external battery that battery may as well be the iPhone providing the processing power. This could easily help get it under $1000 not including the iPhone.

 

[iRizz]

Why do these things always have to look so dumb?

 

[Unregistered 4U]

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.

This won’t push Apple, though. I mean, if it was actually coming to market… maybe? Apple DOES lack innovation, and they’re going to do what they want to do because they have a Vision they’re working to(😁). Things they’re offering, like the environments, that’s something glasses like these will never offer as they’re see through.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

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. 😝

Probably slower for folks that don’t take to change and are easily confused.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

It’s more like a public beta or DTK. It was clearly ready enough at a reasonable enough price for a large enough group of customers to start playing around with it and experimenting. Apple gets feedback on the design and the UI. Developers can start building the ecosystem beyond apps merely ported from iPhone and iPad. Use cases can be uncovered.
It’s all preparation for a mass market version.

This is what Vision Pro should have been, a thing that’s not for sale LOL!

 

[HylianKnight]

Pretty cool. I’ll never buy any hardware from Meta, but still cool.

 

[cwedl]

I assume that the screen technology in the future would be something like this: https://www.lg-informationdisplay.com/oled-signage/brand I.e you want to be able to see through your display instead of using cameras. This is what I think apple would be aiming for, for the Apple Vision Pro 10

 

[Velli]

These are gross. This whole category is for ride or die AR nerds. There is zero broad, consumer appeal or even desire for anything in this market segment. Maybe if one day you can't discern them from regular glasses. Until then, think what you want, but statistically nobody cares.

Meanwhile, regular glasses:

I happen to like the thick design, and these aren’t that much bigger than my own. Style is the least of my concerns with this product.

What I would like to see though, is Apple not trying to make it a standalone product. Show me one person who would buy one without also owning an iPhone. And it will never fully replace the phone, because you can never fully replace touch input. Make it a companion product to the iPhone, and I’m in.

 

[Velli]

The RayBan Meta glasses are genuinely awesome - I love them! Excited to try these...they resonate more with the masses than VR at this time.

I am genuinely interested, what are the top use cases that you like? I’ve seen many state they like them, but no good explanations why. Not saying I don’t believe them, I’d just genuinely like to know what people use them for in the real world.

We do have a Quest in the household. It is basically a Beatsaber delivery device at this point.

 

[svish]

Interesting to see AR glasses. Waiting for Apple to launch this.

 

[Velli]

Probably slower for folks that don’t take to change and are easily confused.

More like, slower to people who haven’t bought one and are just pulling guesses out of the air (at best).

 

[jordii]

I knew they’d be hideous before I even glanced down at the photo from the headline. Apple has taught no one nothing.

 

[lilkwarrior]

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.

…Just say you don’t like headset form factor.

It will always coexist alongside XR glasses with glasses always being more approachable, portable, and compatible with “most people” with different trade-offs that enable headsets to be more appropriate like high-end spatial computing use cases like gaming.

It’s not that different than desktops/laptops vs phones.

 

[lilkwarrior]

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

Nonsense: You clearly have not done serious photography or multi-tasking involving photos such that modern DSLR enable that benefits a lot from the button Apple introduced with their new phones.

It’s a you problem if it’s longer or more steps than “normal usage” .

Meta has enabled approachable entry headsets to those with modest interest in the category but they’re medicore headsets not even on par with non-XR hardware consuming the same non-VR content in addition not enabling the very kind of mainstream software usage it primarily markers for (gaming) being feasible being close to non-VE hardware.

That’s always been a hard sell for mainstream users who would absolutely pay for XR headsets that actually accomplishes that.

This is validated by the fact that their problematic price loss leader says—selling headsets at unrealistic prices at a loss for early market abundance capitalizing on success outside the actual XR industry—has lost 14 billion in a single year.

Also the fact they have spectacularly failed also trying to real the prosumer segment in similar ways via the Quest Pro.

In comparison the Vision Pro actually meets the needs of prosumers and actually innovative in that segment enabling XR experiences previously impossible nor available in a massive way to that segment.

Quest headset don’t even have HDR nor the hardware or the software integrations the Vision Pro has—Meta is admirably catching up with much needed OS updates though…

The Vision Pro also innovated for all XR headsets having components and supply chains set up other XR manufacturers could not establish at Apple’s scale benefiting all XR manufacturers.

The Vision Pro has encouraged and established new XR hardware/software to be made by the likes of Canon and Blackmagic to accommodate its innovative new peaks in the category Meta nor other XR manufacturers could not influence.

You clearly overrate innovations in affordability for the device category for a device category or spatial a computing that is fundamentally supposed to be more expensive than non-XR computing platforms.

This is sobering to modest tech enthusiasts and average people when they see actual good spatial computing hardware priced they way they are…

There are more expensive spatial computing hardware in the world than the Vision Pro—like this Meta prototype that is $10,000 per unit for a reason that seems to elude the understanding of such people that may very well include yourself

 

[SoldOnApple]

Le Zuck actually seems pretty passionate about AR/VR. They keep pushing updates and features to their Quest and Ray-Ban devices. I wanna see how these glasses evolve.

Zuck is convinced that AR/VR will be the future of all consumer technology. Apple is convinced it could be too. Early mover advantage could put you in charge of the next generation's App Store, could be worth trillions.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Say what you will about Meta but this tech is pretty impressive.

It is impressive and Meta's approach is better than Apple's for vision pro.

Meta won't sell this to the public for $3k, instead it will be used as a closed beta to gather feedback and inform the R&D for an affordable version.

Hopefully there will be lens covers so that I can block out the world when I feel like it.

 

[Kaptajn Haddock]

Apple's look like something from the 1990's. The tech is awesome, but I don't want to experience whiplash when I nod off during a flick.

 

[peterdev]

I am genuinely interested, what are the top use cases that you like? I’ve seen many state they like them, but no good explanations why. Not saying I don’t believe them, I’d just genuinely like to know what people use them for in the real world.

We do have a Quest in the household. It is basically a Beatsaber delivery device at this point.

I don’t have them, but I like the classic design of Ray-Ban Wayfarers. And I would enjoy the camera, which would be cool for capturing (video) where you’re looking. I’m not sure if I’d buy anything from Meta, but if Apple made Wayfarers with AR, even with the same limited capabilities, I would.

Be My Eyes could be a use case for some people, I am positive there would be many others.

 

[Anaxarxes]

Great first step in true AR experience. Not really comparable to AVP as one is a limited audience prototype and the other is a matured consumer product.

But, this is what Apple envisions AVP to mature to - and even beyond. A lightweight, small, indistinguishable from normal glasses product that runs all day and enhances reality with AR.

Feels like early 80s PC revolution vibe with these.

 

[wanha]

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

what I am reading between the lines is that all Apple needs to do is show you some prototype without announcing a price, launch date date or battery information and you'll immediately place Apple back on top of the tech world, yes?

 

[ShiftHappens]

Is that a framed QR code on the wall?

 

[Marbles1]

This device is close to what people talk about - actual transparent lens glasses. As a prototype is great. Imagine just thinning the technology down.

 

[Ctrlos]

so… a research prototype

In the first instance this is the potential for the technology. At the prices Apple and Meta are/could charge it is easily swallowed by HE, research grants and industrial firms. A Quest 3 did the job for my needs but if I had asked for a Vision Pro my employer wouldn't have batted an eyelid. I went with the cheaper hardware because I was aiming to democratise the end result which is a lot easier at $300 than $4000!