Amid its broader metaverse push, Meta is also developing AR glasses, within its expanding scope of digital wearables that will open up a range of new opportunities, for both the company and consumers.
But its AR project, an extension of its current Ray Ban Stories glasses offering, isn’t going as smoothly as hoped, and could be delayed, and even downgraded, according to latest reports.
As per The Information, Meta has been forced to take a different approach to its AR heads-up display elements due to challenges in integrating more advanced microLED technology, which would have given it an advantage on its competitors.
Back in 2020, Meta acquired microLED leader Plessey, which gave it access to a key component for its AR glasses, while also keeping Plessey’s technology from Apple, in what appeared to be a savvy move in fending off AR competition.
But Plessey’s technology has reportedly not easily integrated into Meta’s intended use case, which has since forced it to move away from Plessey’s tech, and revert to lower spec display elements, which are more akin to the same being used in other AR wearables.
That lowers Meta’s potential moat in the AR race, and could harm its prospects of dominating the AR market – especially as Apple moves to the next stage with its VisionPro mixed reality device, which will be commercially available from early next year.
In many ways, VisionPro seems like a lesser version of Meta’s Quest VR headset, with a much higher price tag ($3,499 versus $499 for the coming Quest 3 unit), but many industry insiders are excited for the possibilities of Apple’s ‘spatial computing’ shift, which could see Apple lead the way on the next stage of mixed reality experiences.
Meta’s AR glasses, code-named ‘Orion’, will seemingly play a key role in countering that hype, offering a more stylish, day-to-day wearable, that would augment your worldview with digital enhancements. But maybe, that’s not actually possible – maybe, due to cost blow-outs and compatibility issues, Meta will be more limited than it had anticipated in this respect, which could dampen its hopes of leading the upcoming AR race.
Still, Meta’s AR project is going ahead. Meta plans on making the first iteration of its AR glasses available to developers next year, with a view to launching commercial AR glasses by 2027.
Will they be as good as Apple’s VisionPro? Will Apple have already won over the market by the time Meta makes it to the party?
There’s still a long way to go, but Meta’s AR ambitions have clearly taken a hit of late, which could see it shift focus again in future, in favor of its broader VR push.
