Meta Unveils New Mixed Reality Headset and AR Glasses

(Reuters) – Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday unveiled an affordable mixed reality headset and the prototype of its first augmented reality glasses at the company’s annual “Connect” conference.

Meta also showcased a series of features built on generative AI that will come to its devices and social media platforms such as Instagram.

Key Announcements:

Augmented Reality Glasses

Meta introduced Orion, which the company claims to be the most advanced AR glasses in the world, weighing less than 100 grams.

The see-through glasses allow users to see virtual objects superimposed on their environment. Wearers can access WhatsApp and Messenger, make video calls, and retrieve information on things in their line of sight.

Meta said Orion is powered by a custom chip and is working on a consumer version of the glasses.

Affordable Mixed Reality Headset

Meta unveiled an affordable Quest 3S mixed reality headset, offered in two storage capacities – the smaller one priced at $299.99 and the larger at $399.99. The headset is set to hit the shelves on Oct. 15.

The company also dropped the price of its 512GB Meta Quest 3 to $499.99 from $649.99. Meanwhile, the older Quest 2 and high-end Quest Pro devices are being discontinued.

Multimodal Llama 3.2

Meta announced its first open-source multimodal AI model Llama 3.2, which can generate content from both image and text prompts. It also introduced light-weight versions of Llama 3.2, capable of running natively on mobile devices.

New Voice Capabilities to Meta AI Chatbot

Meta AI will now support voice, offering an option to select celebrity voices such as those of Judi Dench and John Cena. This capability can be accessed through Meta AI in Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram direct messages.

Updates to Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses

Meta is updating Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with AI tools for reminders and the ability to scan QR codes and phone numbers with voice commands. The company will also add AI video capability and real-time language translation later this year.