Meta Platforms impressed the technorati with a prototype of its Orion augmented-reality smartglasses, but the headset is far from an "Apple Vision Pro killer," one analyst said. Apple stock rose Thursday.
At its Connect conference on Wednesday, Facebook parent Meta called Orion "the most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made." Orion combines the look and feel of a regular pair of glasses with the interactive capabilities of augmented reality.
By contrast, Apple's spatial-computing headset looks like bulky ski goggles.
But Orion is just a technology demonstration device for now. Meta did not announce plans to release a consumer version of the headset.
"Is Orion the Apple Vision Pro killer?" Oppenheimer analyst Martin Yang asked in a client note Thursday. His conclusion was no, it's not.
For starters, Orion would be very expensive to produce, he said.
"Our checks indicate that Orion's bill-of-materials cost easily exceeds $3,000 compared to the Vision Pro's $2,000," Yang said. The Apple Vision Pro has a retail price of $3,499.
Orion's display resolution and refresh rate also appeared notably lower than the Vision Pro's, he said.
Apple Stock Shakes Off Headset Rival
A commercial version of the Orion headset is "likely years away," Yang said. He rates Apple stock as outperform with a price target of 250.
Still, Orion is a nifty prototype, Yang said.
"Orion is an impressive product for its light weight and wide field of view, weighing in at around 100 grams and with a 70-degree field of view (FOV). Most other AR glasses on the market, despite heavier designs, have much narrower FOVs of 40-50 degrees," he said.
BofA Securities analyst Justin Post said Meta's Orion headset is "several years (and $10s of billions) away from general release."
Meanwhile, Meta is having success with its Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses. Those devices don't have displays but respond to spoken commands and questions using Meta AI. They also can place calls, play music, and take photos and videos. Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses start at $299.
On the stock market today, Apple stock climbed 0.5% to close at 227.52.
Apple stock is in an 11-week consolidation pattern with a buy point of 237.23, according to IBD MarketSurge charts.
Further, Apple stock is on the IBD Tech Leaders list.
Follow Patrick Seitz on X, formerly Twitter, at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
