Because we’re not spending enough time on social media as is, Facebook is working on making AR glasses a reality. They’re hoping to bring them to market by 2025, claims a new report by CNBC.
According to insiders working at the Facebook Reality Labs in Redmond, Washington, and speaking under condition of anonymity with CNBC, augmented reality glasses are the future. Moreover, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a vested interest in his company’s product.
To that end, Facebook has partnered with eyewear company Luxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban, Oakley and Persol, to develop and market AR glasses. They would act as a solid replacement for current smartphones, allowing owners to make calls, show information on a small display and – of course – connect on social media.
As per the report, the glasses are internally codenamed Orion. "Facebook is also developing an artificial intelligence voice assistant that would serve as a user input for the glasses,” CNBC writes. “In addition, the company has experimented with a ring device that would allow users to input information via motion sensor. That device is code-named Agios.”
Facebook hopes to put the product on the market between 2023 and 2025, and despite the relatively distant timeline, there is a chance they might miss it. For all the hope they have in AR glasses as the future of connectivity, they have had little progress so far, or so the same insiders claim.
“Thus far, Facebook has struggled to reduce the size of the device into a form factor that consumers will find appealing, a person who worked on the device told CNBC,” notes the same media outlet.
If the Luxottica name rings a bell, it’s because it’s not new to the tech game. It previously partnered with Google for the Google Glass, and we all know how that panned out. Here’s to hoping Orion will be able to surmount the safety and privacy concerns that put a damper on the launch of the Google Glass device.
To that end, Facebook has partnered with eyewear company Luxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban, Oakley and Persol, to develop and market AR glasses. They would act as a solid replacement for current smartphones, allowing owners to make calls, show information on a small display and – of course – connect on social media.
As per the report, the glasses are internally codenamed Orion. "Facebook is also developing an artificial intelligence voice assistant that would serve as a user input for the glasses,” CNBC writes. “In addition, the company has experimented with a ring device that would allow users to input information via motion sensor. That device is code-named Agios.”
Facebook hopes to put the product on the market between 2023 and 2025, and despite the relatively distant timeline, there is a chance they might miss it. For all the hope they have in AR glasses as the future of connectivity, they have had little progress so far, or so the same insiders claim.
“Thus far, Facebook has struggled to reduce the size of the device into a form factor that consumers will find appealing, a person who worked on the device told CNBC,” notes the same media outlet.
If the Luxottica name rings a bell, it’s because it’s not new to the tech game. It previously partnered with Google for the Google Glass, and we all know how that panned out. Here’s to hoping Orion will be able to surmount the safety and privacy concerns that put a damper on the launch of the Google Glass device.