While Meta Connect 2024 doesn’t have the high-end product for the holiday season, it still includes new budget VR headsets and the elegance of the “magic glasses” that Meta’s XR gurus have been talking about for the better part of a decade. Additionally, the company continues to push forward with new AI tools for Ray-Ban eyewear and social platforms. Here’s everything the company announced at Meta Connect 2024.
Orion AR glasses
The best mixed reality device today – like Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 — are headphones with passthrough video capabilities. But the tech industry eventually wants to squeeze this technology into something that looks like prescription glasses. We will let you decide the Orion AR glasses pictured above pass this test, but they’re closer than any other full-fledged AR device we’ve seen.
First, the bad news. These puppies will not be available this year and have no official release date. A leaked roadmap from last year suggested they would arrive in 2027. However, Meta said on Wednesday that Orion will be launched “in the near future,” so take that from what you will. For its part, Meta says that a full-fledged product prototype “represents something that can actually be shipped to consumers,” rather than a research device decades away from shipping.
The glasses include small projectors to project holograms onto the lenses. Meta describes them as having a wide field of view and immersive capabilities. Sensors can track voice, eye gaze, hand tracking, and electromyography (EMG) wristband input.
The glasses combine this sensor input with AI capabilities. Meta gave the example of looking in the fridge and asking the AI to spit out a recipe based on your ingredients. It will also support video calling, the ability to send messages on Meta platforms, and location versions of Spotify, YouTube, and Pinterest.
This year’s new VR headset focuses on entry level rather than early adopters he wants the latest technology. The Meta Quest 3S is the $300 baby sister of last year’s Quest 3, and cuts the entry fee of the top-end model in exchange for cheaper lenses, higher resolution and cheaper storage.
Instead of the high-end pancake lenses on the Quest 3, the headset includes the Fresnel lenses familiar to Quest 2 owners. It has a resolution of 1832 x 1920 (20 pixels per degree), down from 2064 x 2208 (25 PPD). ) in Quest 3. Meta says the budget model’s field of view is also slightly lower.
The Quest 3S starts with just 128GB of storage, which can be quickly filled after installing some of the platform’s biggest games. But if you’re willing to pay $400, you can upgrade it to a more respectable 256GB. (Along with the announcement, Meta also dropped the price of the 512GB Quest 3 from $650 to $500.)
The Quest may be superior to the Quest 3 in one respect: battery life. Meta estimates the Quest 3S to last 2.5 hours and the Quest 3 to last 2.2 hours.
Those who order headphones will get a special Bat-bonus. Between now and April 2025, Quest 3S (and Quest 3) orders will receive a free copy. Batman: Shadow of ArkhamThe VR action game is coming next month.
The Quest 3S is now available for pre-order. It starts shipping on October 15th.
Along with the old
To celebrate the arrival of the Meta Quest 3S, Meta is ditching two older models. Quest 2 and Quest Pro will be suspended by the end of the year. The company says the sales will continue until inventory runs out or until the end of the year.
The company is now looking at the Quest 3S as a new budget model with better mixed reality capabilities. $200 Quest 2 there is no place anymore. The Quest ProNever a big hit with consumers, the Quest 3 has lower cameras and pass-through video than the two entry-level models. The Pro launched two years ago as a Metaverse-centric device — when the industry was hitting the word as hard as it’s pushing “AI” now. The headset was sold for $1,500 and later reduced to $1,000.
While the hardware remains the same, Meta adds new AI features to the tech-packed sunglasses. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses will receive an updated artificial intelligence assistant.
Assistant will let you set reminders based on the objects you’re currently seeing. For example, you can say “Hey Meta, remind me to buy that book next Monday” to get an alert for anything you see in the library. The glasses can also scan QR codes and dial phone numbers from text it recognizes.
Meta’s assistant should also respond to more natural commands. You’ll have to worry less about remembering the official instructions to get it up and running (“Hey Meta, look and tell me”). It’s like, “What am I looking at?” will allow you to use more casual phrases like AI can also solve complex tracking questions for more fluid conversations with your robot friend living in your sunglasses.
According to Meta, the live translation of the glasses is also getting better. While last year’s version struggled with longer text, the company says the app will translate larger chunks more effectively. Live translations will arrive in English, French, Italian and Spanish by the end of 2024.
the company said Met AI now supports voice chats. Although this ability was previously available, it was limited to Ray-Ban sunglasses.
Meta also partners with celebrities to attract customers to their chatbots. That’s right, folks: You can now hear Meta’s chatbot responses in the dulcet tones of the one and only John Cena! Other famous voices include Dame Judi Dench, Awkwafina, Keegan Michael Key and Kristen Bell.
Meta’s AI system can now edit photos with text prompts, performing tasks such as adding or removing objects or changing details such as backgrounds or clothes. AI photo editing will be available on Meta’s social apps, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, Meta’s Llama 3.2 AI model introduces visual capabilities. It can analyze and describe images, rivaling similar features in ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.
Stay up to date with all the news Meta Connect 2024!
