Summary
- Meta’s holographic AR glasses prototype is “almost ready” and could change the tech landscape.
- The glasses will use transparent lenses to display holographic images, creating a 3D hologram effect.
- A public launch is not expected until 2027, but a demo at the Meta Connect conference this fall is likely.
In an interview with YouTuber Kallaway, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that a prototype of Meta’s holographic AR glasses is “almost ready”. He describes the product as “frame-breaking” and states that the reaction of everyone who has tried the product is “giddy”.
A lot of the stuff we saw in sci-fi from the 70s and 80s is already here. Computers you can talk to, cars that drive themselves, communicators in our pockets and video calling have all crossed the divide from fantasy to reality, but there’s one thing we’re still missing: little floaty see-through video holograms like the one that caused so much trouble for Luke Skywalker. Now it seems, we may not have to wait much longer to see these become reality. The wait to actually get our hands on the AR glasses may be a little longer, however.
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Packing an AR headset into a tiny form factor
Meta already has a big presence in the AR/VR field. The Meta Quest 3 headset represents the fourth generation of what started out as the Oculus Quest and offers passthrough cameras that can blend computer-generated content with the real-world environment to create mixed reality.
One thing that’s holding back AR/VR headsets such as the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro is that they’re large and cumbersome. They’re not something you’d feel comfortable wearing when you’re walking around outside. That’s why Meta has been working hard at creating true AR glasses that fit all the benefits of mixed reality into something the size of a pair of glasses. In order to do so, the company has been working on using hologram displays.
In products like the Meta Quest 3 and Vision Pro, the inside of the headset is a solid physical display. Put on the headset with the power off, and you can’t see through it. Cameras on the device are used to display the view of the outside world onto this screen, with computer-generated images added to the mix, to create augmented reality.
The reaction of every person he’s shown the prototype to is “giddy”.
Meta is working on glasses that use transparent lenses just like standard glasses. You could put them on and walk around without a problem. In order to create augmented reality, the glasses will generate holographic images that you can see through the lenses. This gives the illusion of 3D holograms in your field of view and the see-through floaty hologram princess finally becomes reality.
In the interview, Mark Zuckerberg states that the reaction of every person he’s shown the prototype to is “giddy” and refers to the glasses when discussing products that change the tech landscape in a major way. Meta genuinely sees this product as potentially changing the way we use tech and possibly starting the shift away from the smartphone as the dominant tech device. That said, this is the same company that tried to make the Metaverse happen.
Will we see the holographic glasses any time soon?
A demo is likely but a product is a long way off
As reported by The Verge, Meta has a roadmap for its VR hardware, and it’s not good news if you want to get your hands on a pair of holographic glasses. According to the roadmap, Meta’s AR glasses aren’t scheduled for launch to the public until 2027.
However, with Mark Zuckerberg stating that the prototype of these holographic glasses is almost ready, it’s highly like that we may see a demonstration of the new product at the Meta Connect developer’s conference this fall. It will be interesting to see just how giddy we all get at the reveal of this new tech.