After Google Glass tanked 10 years ago, who would have thought the age of AR glasses would be upon us? But that seems to be the case as we head into September, where two social media titans, Meta and Snap, are rumored to showcase their latest AR frames featuring the most advanced capabilities we've seen yet.
Meta will unveil its long-rumored Orion AR glasses as early as next month's Meta Connect event, the Verge reports. Given its previous success with the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses as well as the Quest line of VR/AR headsets, Meta seems primed to deliver on its first "true" AR glasses. Meta's Orion AR glasses are said to offer a wider field of view and deeper integration of its Meta AI assistant than we saw on the Ray-Ban collab.
Earlier this year, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth described the Meta Orion AR glasses as "the most advanced piece of technology on the planet in its domain."
"In the domain of consumer electronics, it might be the most advanced thing that we’ve ever produced as a species," he continued.
However, Meta's Orion AR glasses will have to share the stage with another competitor. The Verge reports Snapchat's parent company is also planning to unveil its fifth generation of Snap Spectacles during its annual Partner Summit in Los Angeles, which takes place one week ahead of the Meta Connect showcase. While it's not exactly clear yet what upgrades the latest model will come with, you can expect a continued emphasis on AR tech and integration of new features.
But keep in mind that as exciting as these announcements are, the public won't be getting their hands on these AR glasses anytime soon. Snap will reportedly stick to last year's approach for the Snap Spectacles, focusing on developers and partners, with plans to produce fewer than 10,000 units. Meta's Orion is tipped to produce even fewer units, though no specific numbers have come to light yet. Odds are Meta will take a similar approach, using this limited release to test the waters and drive hype while working out plans for a commercial release in the future.
