It seems that Meta has succeeded. The company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, Orion showed this afternoona prototype of holographic lenses that look like slightly thicker sunglasses, but that allow you to see holograms. The device, which is not yet ready to be marketed, is accompanied by a kind of bracelet that reads the user’s movements and that would replace the controls that usually accompany virtual reality viewers. This is the big novelty presented this afternoon at Meta Connect 2024, the big annual event where the company usually presents its flagship products or reveals what it is working on.
There were rumours that Zuckerberg, the event’s master of ceremonies, could present today a new version of the augmented reality glasses (those that show digital elements in the physical environment) Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, which look very similar to conventional sunglasses. The rumours were confirmed: the company’s CEO showed an advanced version of the smart glasses, capable of translating a conversation in real time into 200 languages. The lenses incorporate other functionalities, such as voice control of applications such as Spotify. He first showed these and then the Orion prototype.
It would be difficult for a major technology company to present new products without mentioning artificial intelligence (AI), the technology of the moment. The announcement was the multimodal Llama 3.2 model. Meta’s applications, such as WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram, will incorporate an intelligent voice assistant that will speak to the user with personalised voices, such as those of the wrestler and actor John Cena or the actress Julie Dench.
There was also speculation that, instead of releasing better glasses, Meta was going to present a cheaper and lighter version of the Meta Quest 3. The aim would be to start democratising access to this technology, which is still very expensive for the general public: the Quest 3 is sold from 500 euros and the Quest Pro, the most advanced model, from 1,200. And so it was. Zuckerberg announced that the new Quest 3S will cost 299 dollars. “It is the first affordable quality mixed reality experience. We want to bring this Exuberance to everyone,” said Zuckerberg.
The big bet of the metaverse
The metaverse has lost visibility in recent years due to the emergence of AI, but its development remains a priority in the top offices of Menlo Park. Facebook decided to rename itself Meta in October 2021 (it announced it precisely at that year’s event, Facebook Connect), at a time when it was mired in a serious reputational crisis triggered by the leaks of its former employee Frances Haugen, which revealed that Facebook and Instagram executives knew that their products caused psychological damage among minors.
Beyond the facelift, the name change showed the seriousness of the commitment to the metaverse, that immersive virtual world that is accessed through special viewers. The name change was accompanied by an initial investment of 45 billion dollars. It was not a whim: this year marks ten years since Facebook bought the company Oculus, one of the main manufacturers of virtual reality viewers. This technology has been an obsession for Zuckerberg for some time.
Despite the emergence of generative AI, the great shaker of the technological sector in the last two years, Meta executives say publicly and privately that the metaverse remains the beacon. The continuous allusions to AI in Zuckerberg’s speeches show that it is a key technology for the company, but they can also be read as a wink to investors. The news shown today confirms that Meta’s main objective remains to advance in the metaverse.
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