Report: Snap and Meta will soon unveil full-fledged AR glasses
Snap and Meta will reportedly unveil full-fledged AR glasses in September, but they will remain demo devices due to high production costs.
Tech reporter Alex Heath reports in his Command Line newsletter that Snap will unveil a new version of its AR glasses on September 17, which would be the 5th generation of Spectacles.
The wearable is said to be an improved version of the fourth-generation Spectacles (see article image), which were introduced in 2021 and were only produced for internal purposes and developers. They were the first Spectacles with a display, but specs-wise very limited: The field of view was only 26.3 degrees and the resolution 480 by 564 pixels. The battery reportedly lasted only half an hour.
The new Spectacles will have the same design but a larger field of view and longer battery life, Heath reports. Because it will cost several thousand dollars to produce, the new version will not be sold and will only be available to developers. Snap is expected to produce fewer than 10,000 units.
Meta follows a week later with "Orion"
The timing is good, as Mark Zuckerberg is set to unveil the company's first full-fledged AR glasses, codenamed Orion, which reportedly cost billions to develop, at the Meta Connect conference on September 25.
The company has been teasing the wearable for some time. Meta's CTO Andrew Bosworth said late last year in an interview with Heath: "It’s probably our most exciting prototype that we’ve had to date. I might get myself in trouble for saying this: I think it might be the most advanced piece of technology on the planet in its domain. In the domain of consumer electronics, it might be the most advanced thing that we’ve ever produced as a species."
Meta's first AR glasses will also remain a pure demo device due to high production costs.
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
