When Meta first began demonstrating Orion earlier this year, it was a reminder of a core belief at the company: "Code wins arguments." According to Meta, real-life demos have provided invaluable insights into product development, surpassing years of prior work.
Orion is not the only product advancing this year. Mixed reality hardware and AI glasses have reportedly achieved new levels of quality and accessibility. This stability enables faster software development for operating systems and new AI features. "This is how I see the metaverse starting to come into greater focus," stated Meta's leadership.
The year 2024 marked significant progress for AI glasses. Initially conceived as a step towards AR glasses, these devices are now viewed as an evolution of mobile computing platforms. The company claims that glasses represent the best form factor for AI-native devices, potentially becoming the first hardware category defined by AI from inception.
Meta anticipates 2025 will see AI assistants evolve into proactive helpers. The introduction of Live AI on glasses aims to transform these assistants into real-time participants in users' daily activities.
An industry-wide push towards AI-native hardware is underway, with companies rebuilding products around AI assistants. Meta believes that devices designed as AI-native from the start present a larger opportunity, with glasses leading this trend. Chief Research Scientist Michael Abrash has emphasized the potential of personalized, context-aware AI assistants on glasses for years.
In mixed reality, having products in widespread use has accelerated progress. Meta Quest 3 improvements continue to benefit newer models like Quest 3S, which launched at $299 compared to its predecessor's $499 launch price in 2023. The Quest 3 family sees ongoing enhancements with each update.
The upcoming year is expected to bring more users into mixed reality through Quest 3S, especially during the holiday season following strong Black Friday sales. A growing user base seeks diverse experiences with their headsets, prompting Meta to fund developers creating new apps and games.
A younger demographic shows interest in social and competitive multiplayer games and freemium content. Titles such as Skydance’s BEHEMOTH and Batman: Arkham Shadow have been successful within this space.
Meta aims to enhance social experiences within mixed reality environments as part of its broader metaverse strategy. Improvements in Horizon Worlds and advancements in Meta Avatars support this goal.
Mixed reality adoption reveals trends such as using virtual screens for multitasking at home—a sign that entertainment experiences are evolving rapidly across Quest devices.
Filmmaker James Cameron collaborates with Meta to develop more immersive 3D content for Meta Quest headsets, recognizing MR headsets' potential for viewing such films.
Mark Rabkin shared at Connect that Horizon OS aims to be a versatile computing platform supporting various software types and creators. Recent updates lay groundwork toward achieving this vision.
Combining AI glasses with augmented reality technology showcased by Orion offers a glimpse into future computing platforms akin to early personal computers observed at Xerox PARC in the 1970s.
The introduction of Orion marks a pivotal moment for Reality Labs' understanding of AR glasses preferences and necessary improvements. Learning from real-world usage continues to drive innovation at Reality Labs—"the most important thing you can do when you're trying to invent the future is to ship things."
As Reality Labs looks ahead to 2025, they aim to capitalize on these advancements with strategic device releases and developer engagement opportunities—"it's time to accelerate."
