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Meta Connect 2024 recap: Mark Zuckerberg reveals ‘Orion’ smart glasses, new AI features, transparent Ray-Bans, and an affordable Quest 3S
September 25, 20240
Zuckerberg says the public will have to wait to get their hands on full holographic glasses.
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Zuckerberg says that early testers of the Orion glasses were left “giddy” by what the device could do.
He rolls a video of various big names in tech and Silicon Valley trying them out early.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was among the tech CEOS, media personalities, and Olympians who praised Orion — calling its 100-gram weight “a big deal” and praising the visuals and field of view.
Zuck’s vision for the AI future includes a “neural interface.”
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There’s a bit of theatrics to introduce the bulky eyewear — they’re brought in under lock and key in a briefcase.
Zuckerberg shows off “Orion,” fully holographic glasses that he says are the most advanced device of their kind.
Zuck drops limited-edition Ray-Ban glasses.
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Zuckerberg said that Meta AI will be able to translate conversations live for those wearing their smart Ray-Ban glasses, and he demonstrated as much by carrying out a conversation in Spanish onstage with Brandon Moreno.
The glasses will translate in your ear what someone is saying, and your responses can be translated via the companion app.
Now here’s what’s new with Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses.
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Meta is expanding its AI creator tools.
Technologist Don Allen Stevenson III joined Zuckerberg onstage to demonstrate a video calling feature during which he spoke to an AI version of Stevenson.
An AI avatar who looked and sounded like Stevenson answered questions about his creative process.
In another demonstration, creators speaking in one language could use AI to dub their videos in a new language.
Natural voices are the ‘biggest AI’ announcement of the day.
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Zuck mentions a partnership with Microsoft to allow seamless use of a Windows PC while on the Quest.
And in the Metaverse, avatars have gotten a makeover and portals that allow users to jump around worlds will be available.
Hyperscape is another new feature for Quest users. It allows users to create photo-realistic spaces to virtually explore with photos.
He jumps “right in” with a demo in the crowd.
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“It’s been a busy year. It’s been an exciting year,” Zuckerberg said.
He then jumped right in with a new $299 Quest 3S, an entry-level mixed-reality headset.
And here we go!
The Meta Connect keynote is finally kicking off, and it’ll be headlined by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
It looks like things are running late…
The keynote was supposed to kick off at 1 p.m., but things haven’t started yet. Can’t be long now, though!
CTO Andrew Bosworth is pulling up to Meta Connect in style.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Business Insider first reported in February that Meta was aiming to show off and demo its first true AR glasses in the fall at Connect and that the prototype was referred to internally as “Orion.”
Publicly, Zuckerberg hasn’t held back from teasing that a new pair of AR glasses are in the works. A February photo on Threads was called out this summer for having a pair of mystery glasses in the background.
The Meta CEO responded to the question about the glasses with, “Will be ready to share more later this year.”
The Connect keynote could be the time to officially introduce the public to these glasses, which are reportedly separate from the Meta Ray-Ban’s, which don’t feature a screen in the lenses, and the bulkier Quest headset, which is all about the VR screens and AR passthrough cameras. The “Orion” AR glasses, which are expected to integrate visuals into the lenses, aren’t expected to go on sale in the near term — but seeing them demoed would offer an interesting glimpse into where Meta envisions the future of AR glasses is headed.
Zuckerberg said in an interview earlier this year that the Orion glasses won’t be as stylish and slim as the Meta Ray-Ban product.