Everything You Need to Know About Meta’s New “Orion” Glasses

Meta's new "Orion" glasses introduce innovative wearable technology with advanced capabilities designed to enhance user interaction and functionality (Meta).

When Apple unveiled its mixed reality glasses last year, attention quickly turned to its main competitor in this field—Meta. CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg has long promoted the importance of virtual and augmented reality, going so far as to rename the company Meta in line with this vision.

At that time, however, Meta had no direct response to Apple’s new mixed reality glasses. Zuckerberg defended Meta’s Quest 3 glasses, calling them the most powerful and best-value option in a post on Instagram. Now, a year and three months later, Meta’s answer has arrived with the reveal of the new “Orion” augmented reality glasses.

A Prototype of Augmented Reality's Future

Meta has unveiled Orion as a prototype, showcasing the company’s technical capabilities in augmented reality. While it may never reach consumers as a finished product, Orion reflects Meta’s forward-looking vision for AR technology and hints at the potential future of augmented reality eyewear.

With Orion, Meta leveraged a decade of experience gained from the Quest series and a comprehensive testing process to combine multiple innovative features. Notably, Orion’s design is closer in size to standard glasses, while integrating a new control mechanism and interaction methods, or human-computer interaction models, as described in Meta’s official announcement.

Orion’s frame is slightly thicker than Meta’s previous Ray-Ban smart glasses but is expected to slim down in its final iteration. For control, users can operate Orion via voice commands, eye movement, and a specialized wristband that tracks arm movements and sends this data to the glasses. Instead of relying on wired connections to an external processing unit, Meta has opted for a wireless external processor that links directly to the glasses.

Innovative Lenses

Meta has introduced innovations across every aspect of Orion, from design to the lenses themselves. Rather than using typical glass or plastic lenses, Meta employs a compound called silicon carbide, a mixture of carbon and silicon that boasts unique properties, including a high refractive index and the ability to serve as a wide-bandgap semiconductor.

Orion’s lenses feature an array of small projectors that emit a nearly invisible beam onto the lenses, which then reflects a clear image in front of the user. While slightly tinted, the lenses allow the user to view their surroundings or see the facial expressions of those around them.

With a 70-degree field of view, Orion surpasses competitors like Meta’s recently launched Quest 3s, which offers a 96-degree field of view. A smaller field of view translates to a more immersive display, akin to extremely wide-angle lenses.

A New Operating System

In recent months, Meta made its virtual reality operating system open-source. However, it has kept Orion’s OS a secret. Zuckerberg has highlighted the device’s capabilities without revealing its system’s name or type.

CNBC offered a hands-on review of Orion, with journalist Julia Boorstin describing the experience. The glasses display app icons for Facebook, Instagram, an internet browser, and various games, seamlessly integrated with the surrounding environment, giving a transparent “hologram-like” effect. Boorstin noted that the experience felt incredibly natural. During the demo, Orion recognized some ingredients in front of Boorstin and suggested recipes, and she tried a realistic ping-pong game displayed over a table.

The most standout feature, however, was video calling, which provided a unique, high-quality, three-dimensional experience that made the other person appear as if they were sitting across from her. Zuckerberg emphasized this feature during Orion’s reveal, marking it as one of its defining aspects.

Additionally, Orion can play videos, music, and display news articles in a highly natural way, and users can control it effortlessly with the electric wristband.

When Will Orion Be Released?

Meta has yet to announce a release date for Orion. As it stands, Orion is only a prototype and a testing tool for developers to experiment with the glasses’ new operating system and functionality. Consequently, predicting a final price is challenging, but Meta has promised that the cost will be comparable to that of an iPhone 16 Pro Max or a high-end laptop.

A Strong Competitor for Apple

Last year, Apple impressed with its mixed reality glasses, known for their proprietary software and distinctive design. However, the high price and bulky design were barriers for many users. If Meta can deliver on its promises, offering a final product that’s affordable, compact, and user-friendly, it could present a significant challenge to Apple’s position in the market.

These advantages alone would make Orion accessible to various communities, akin to owning a reasonably priced smartphone packed with strong features. The question remains: can Meta fulfill its promises and bring Orion to the masses?