It’s hard to believe that it’s already been five years since Meta initially told the world it was working on building a set of AR glasses. Finally, after months of speculation and rumors, we officially have a hands-on view of what these new specs (codenamed Meta Orion) will do for Meta’s roadmap.
The Meta Orion glasses were demoed for the first time at Meta Connect 2024, an event that was packed full of other insights into the Meta Quest 3S, and Meta’s AI strategy.
Though Meta had plenty of great updates to share this year, it’s safe to say the Orion glasses stole the show. They represent Meta’s first set of true AR glasses. Meta isn’t just building on its popular Ray-Ban specs, they’re introducing a brand-new experience.
The Meta glasses are powered by a neural interface, deliver truly immersive experiences, and even have an upgraded AI assistant. While, unfortunately, we didn’t get to try these glasses out ourselves (Meta is restricting access at this stage), we did get a behind-the-scenes look at what they can do.
What is Meta Orion? The Meta AR Prototype Glasses
Meta Orion is the name for Meta’s full augmented reality glasses, officially announced at Meta Connect 2024. For the past five years, Meta has been consistently dropping hints that its team was working on specs like these, and finally, we can actually see what they’re going to look like.
According to Meta, while its Ray-Ban specs gave people an insight into how valuable it can be to have an AI assistant packed into their spectacles, they didn’t’ fall into the realm of “true AR glasses”.
Orion represents the first Meta AR glasses that genuinely combine the physical and digital world. But they’re not just your standard pair of augmented reality glasses. These specs have been designed from the ground up to deliver the most advanced “spatial computing” experience in a pair of glasses we’ve ever seen. They’re packed with tech other companies still aren’t tipping into, like EMG capabilities.
They also feature new hardware components we haven’t seen elsewhere, like custom silicon. Meta says these glasses are the result of over a decade of research and development in Meta Reality Labs, intended to reimagine what “smart glasses” will look like in the future.
Meta Orion Glasses: Overview and Specs
Part of what makes the Meta Orion glasses so compelling, is they form part of a comprehensive augmented reality and spatial computing kit. You don’t just get a pair of specs here – you also get a wireless puck. This takes some of the computing load away from the glasses, enabling a longer battery life, and lighter form factor.
That instantly separates the Meta AR glasses from all the other specs on the market that force you to keep your wearables connected to a phone or computer system at all time. There’s also a haptic, EMG-powered wristband included. This wristband senses your movements in real-time, allowing you to swipe, click on, and interact with the content you see in your specs.
Meta hasn’t shared much in-depth information about the technical specifications of its Orion kit – probably because it’s still in the very early stages of development. However, we do know the prototype specs currently have:
- 7 integrated cameras
- A 70-degree field of view
- Micro LEDs with built-in optimization software
- A custom eye-tracking system with miniaturized cameras
- Speakers, and a microphone for voice assistance
- A magnesium alloy frame
- An EMG wristband with built-in processor and haptic feedback
Meta Orion Glasses: The Design
As mentioned above, we weren’t among the few lucky people who got to test the Meta Orion glasses at this year’s Connect. However, the product demos, Meta’s press releases, and our conversations with other tech leaders did reveal some insights.
First, we know these glasses are designed to be as lightweight as possible. Meta wanted to create a pair of specs that look and feel like standard spectacles. While it’s fair to say these specs are still much bulkier than most, they are reasonably sleek.
They look similar to the RayNeo X2 AR glasses, or XReal Air 2 Specs. They have truly transparent lenses (so you can actually see the people around you) and a lightweight magnesium frame. Meta says its team has packed every component of these glasses down to make them as small as possible.
It certainly seems like the company has been successful in its efforts. Although the glasses still look bulky, they only weigh around 98 grams. Despite this, Meta has packed computing power, seven cameras, speakers, and an AI assistant into the specs.
The company has even tackled a common problem in AR comfort: overheating. Stuffing a lot of power into a tiny set of spectacles can often cause an overheating issue, and there’s no way to add a fan to keep users cool. That’s why Meta created a highly specialized, power-efficient silicon system to keep heat minimal without compromising power.
The Displays, Visual Performance, and Audio
The displays offered by the Meta Orion glasses mark a breakthrough for the AR landscape. Instead of glass, Meta made its lenses from silicone carbide to keep the weight as low as possible. Silicon carbide also enables a much larger field of view within the specs. In fact, Meta and Orion’s early testers confirm these glasses have a field of view of 70 degrees.
That’s much higher than some of the more advanced smart specs on the market today, such as the XReal Air 2 Ultra glasses (with a 52-degree FOV). The glasses include intuitive waveguides to help spread light efficiently across your vision. Plus, the included projectors feature a new type of display technology—uLED—which offers clarity with exceptional power efficiency.
According to the lucky few (Meta employees and a few external reviewers) that tested these glasses, the display is incredible – particularly considering the small form factor. You’ll have no problem reading text on the glasses, or engaging in immersive video calls.
From an audio perspective, we still don’t know much. The Meta AR glasses have speakers built into the arms, but no one has shared how powerful they are or whether they offer spatial audio. Still, this could be because the people who got to test the glasses at Meta’s event were restricted to a particular demo experience.
Meta AR Glasses: The Interaction System
In our opinion, the most interesting thing about the Meta Orion glasses is the unique interaction system. Meta has long allowed users to interact with their digital content through voice, with built-in AI assistants in its Ray-Ban glasses.
This functionality is still an option in the AR glasses (more on that in a moment). However, Meta has also introduced a brand-new wristband for EMG control. This wristband, provided alongside the glasses, enhances the voice, eye-gaze, and hand tracking capabilities of the Orion specs on an incredible scale. It’s almost like the accessory can read your mind.
The high-performance EMG sensors inside the wristband track tiny muscular movements in your wrist. They can identify when you’re flipping a coin, pinching your fingers together, or moving your fingers to swipe across screens.
The wristband also has a haptic feedback system that lets you know when the system recognizes a gesture. This, combined with eye-tracking technology that allows you to use your gaze as a kind of “cursor,” makes navigating virtual content feel incredibly intuitive.
Meta’s interaction interface provides a far more immersive experience than you’d get using a set of Quest Controllers. Plus, since your wristband doesn’t have to be visible to send information to your glasses, you don’t have to worry about keeping your hands in front of your face.
The Wireless Augmented Reality Experience
Although plenty of companies have been experimenting with ways to make smart glasses “wireless” in recent years, it’s not easy. Most glasses still need to be connected to a battery system, smartphone, or other device to run smoothly.
The Meta Orion glasses could be the first example of a truly “wireless” experience. The compute puck included with the glasses provides the extra power you need to run your specs. While the Orion glasses handle eye-tracking, hand-tracking, and SLAM, the specialized AR graphics algorithms and app logic run on the puck.
This puck features dual processors, including one that Meta designed within Reality Labs. This ensures it can deliver exceptional computing power for low-latency graphics rendering. It’s also an exceptionally small accessory, compact enough to fit neatly in your pocket.
With this puck, the wristband, and the Meta glasses, you can tap into a new world of AR experiences with Orion. Although Meta’s demonstrations only offered a few insights into what users will be able to do, the potential is endless.
Users can make hands-free video calls in augmented reality, play shared games, and experiment with immersive apps while collaborating with friends. They can even multitask by opening various virtual windows and swiping between them with finger gestures. Meta said its team will be working on developing new AR experiences in the future based on Orion’s capabilities.
The AI Experience and Software
Although Meta didn’t announce any specific software coming to the Orion glasses, this is probably because these specs won’t be available to the public yet. They’re only available to Meta employees and a handful of developers.
We know that the glasses will feature Meta’s AI technology. We predicted this when we initially speculated about Meta AR glasses earlier this year. After all, AI is a core feature of Meta’s Quest headsets, Ray-Ban glasses, and other tech.
Meta AI works in Horizon to deliver a multimodal experience. It can understand what you’re looking at in the physical world, and share insights. For instance, you could look at the inside of your fridge and ask your glasses to create a recipe based on the ingredients you have.
Meta has also shared that users can adjust the Meta AI assistant with famous voices, like those of Judi Dench and John Cena, in other applications. This feature may also come to the Orion glasses when they’re finally released to consumers.
Meta Orion Availability: How Much Will Orion Glasses Cost?
Here’s where things get a little disappointing. Orion was supposed to be a product that Meta would release to the public as soon as possible. However, now we have confirmation that these glasses won’t be available to the public any time soon. They might never be sold in their current form at all. Meta is making their Orion prototype available to a handful of Meta employees and select external audiences (mostly developers).
Their goal is to conduct extensive testing so their development team can learn and build a new set of consumer-grade AR glasses in the years ahead. According to a leaked roadmap, the first set of Meta AR glasses for consumers could be launched sometime in 2027.
However, there’s a good chance a release date will be much further in the future. The reason for this is that these glasses are incredibly expensive to make right now. They cost about $10,000 per unit, which would make it impossible for Meta to price the glasses in a way that makes them appealing to consumers. Meta wants to deliver something that’s affordable but intuitive.
This means it’ll need to find ways to significantly reduce the overall cost of making the glasses. Meta also says it wants to tackle a few functionality issues and make the glasses even more compelling for the AR landscape before it starts mass production.
By the time we see these specs “on shelves,” they could be very different from the prototypes introduced at Meta Connect 2024.
The Outlook for Meta Orion Glasses
Although Meta Orion glasses won’t be in consumers’ hands anytime soon, they’re still an exciting step forward for the tech giant. Meta has confirmed that the Orion specs aren’t just a “research prototype.”
They’re among the most polished prototype devices Meta has ever developed, and they provide clear insight into the direction the company is taking toward XR domination.
If Meta finds a way to transform these glasses into consumer-ready and affordable solutions, it could gain a significant edge over the countless other companies now investing in the smart glasses space.
However, we think Meta will need to act fast. Already, Meta’s biggest challengers, such as Google and Apple, seem to experimenting with their own AR specs. If they bring a consumer-grade option to the market faster than Meta, the key components of the Orion specs that differentiate them from common solutions could become less appealing.
The good news is Meta says it’s working hard to bring these specs to life. Its team is already working on tuning the AR display, reducing form factor elements, and minimizing costs. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long before we begin to see Meta rising through the ranks in the augmented reality world.
