The name Orion conjures up images of greatness. Think about it. There’s the constellation. The Greek mythological figure. The telescope brand. Actually, forget about that last one. There’s a new one in town, however, and he works for Mark Zuckerberg.
Meta earlier this week announced an upgraded but cheaper version of the Meta Quest 3 but it also unveiled what the company considers the future of augmented reality. That would be Orion, a set of augmented reality glasses that are lighter and more manageable than most offerings. Even if they make you look like you had your specs tattooed onto your face.
Master of Orion
Formerly known as Project Nazare, Meta reckons that its new specs are the “most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made”. There might be something to the claim too, provided they work as claimed. That’s a tall order since they’re supposed to dispense with smartphone screens, integrate contextual information with the real world using interactive holographic displays, and offer constant Meta AI assistant access.
Effectively, Meta wants to ensure you have your own Llama (currently in version 3.2) following you around while it connects you to every online service ever. You remember the metaverse?
Read More: Meta’s new Quest 3S is a bigger, cheaper version of the regular Quest 3
Based on Meta’s demonstration this week, the world might have moved a step or two closer to Keiichi Matsuda’s Hyper-Reality, if on a smaller and less stressful scale. Don’t worry, if the world ever invents effective augmented reality, advertising will be along to muck it all up very quickly.
Orion, as it stands now, is a very compact prototype. It’s also one that won’t go into production in its current form but Meta reckons it has nailed holographic displays, controls (there’s a wand-type controller and a wristband for interacting with the virtual OS), and the device’s weight. One thing that isn’t mentioned is its battery life. Orion’s successor must offer an all-day battery to stand a chance at being mass-market. That… probably isn’t possible yet.