Meta plans to release real AR glasses in 2024

Facebook, now Meta, has repeatedly publicly confirmed that it has been working on augmented reality glasses since 2016. At the end of 2019, the company called the launch of the product "in a few years."

Korean news portal Electronic times stated that Samsung will produce a dedicated tracking chip for the Meta glasses, and Information reports that Meta has agreed to buy all products from AR microLED display maker Plessey over several years.

Project Nazare: expensive augmented reality glasses

At the Connect 2021 conference in October, Meta announced Project Nazare, "our first full-fledged augmented reality glasses." However, the company did not show a prototype or even actual footage, instead showing a brief "simulated" concept video.

“We still have Nazaré paths, but we are making good progress,” Mark Zuckerberg said.

Heath writes that Meta plans to release Nazare as a product in 2024. It apparently weighs 100 grams, about four times the size of regular glasses, and resembles the thick black frames of Clark Kent. The Nazare will apparently have a battery life of just 4 hours and will be powered by an included wireless puck that can fit in your pocket. The idea here is that Nazaré can completely replace your smartphone. The original target field of view was 70 degrees, but "this target is likely to be missed," writes Heath.

The components to enable this true augmented reality experience, including eye-tracking cameras, special waveguides, and microLED projectors, appear to cost "several thousand dollars." Thus, Nazare, at least the first generation, will be a niche product for early adopters and developers.

Meta has already spent billions of dollars developing the Nazare and plans to release a lighter and more advanced second-generation model in 2026, as well as a third-generation model in 2028, Heath reports.

Hypernova: available HUD points

While Nazare will be very expensive real AR glasses, Heath says that Meta is also planning cheaper regular glasses in the same year (2024) codenamed Hypernova.

Hypernova will presumably pair with your smartphone to display notifications and contextually useful information on a small head-up display - similar to Google Glass but with a regular eyeglass frame.

Last week Information reported that Meta plans to release the second generation of its Ray Ban Stories smart glasses in 2023. Basically, Stories are camera glasses: they have speakers for music and phone calls, but no display. This report says that the second generation will also not have a display.

Heath seems to describe Hypernova as a separate product from the Stories line. Could Hypernova be a third generation Ray Ban released a year after the second generation? It would seem more logical, but it is not clear.

Neural bracelet for both

Both Nazaré and Hypernova appear to be connected to the Meta's neural bracelet. Meta's Quest headsets today support hand tracking without an optical controller, but it requires a well-lit room and only works when your hands are in view of the cameras.

Another approach to hand tracking is to read the neural signals passing through your hand with a wristband using EMG (electromyography). Such a device can detect finger movement before it even happens, and can even pick up incredibly subtle movements that may not be clearly visible to others.

Facebook filed a patent for such a device in early 2019. New York-based startup CTRL-Labs was working on the same idea, which is why Facebook acquired the company in late 2019. Last year, the company showed off its progress on this device in more detail.

Heath's report says that Meta plans to launch regular smartwatches this year, followed by a second generation a year later. But in 2024, the third generation is expected to integrate this EMG technology and be linked to both Nazare and Hypernova as a control method.

“Everyone I've talked to who's tried the prototype of the band Meta is working on says it's one of the most impressive tech demos they've ever seen. If it works at scale, the company believes it could have the next mouse and keyboard,” Heath writes.

Meta becomes a hardware company

If Heath's report is accurate and Meta can keep up with Mark Zuckerberg's ambitious timeline, the company could slowly transition from being known primarily for its software to being just as well known for its hardware.

Of course, these plans will not be without competition. Apple is reportedly planning to launch its own augmented reality glasses in 2025, and Google is acquiring vendors to do the same. Other tech giants like Amazon are likely to join in too.

But Meta has been working on these technologies for almost 8 years, and Heath wrote that Zuckerberg still invests more than any other company.

"Tsuka's ego is intertwined with [the glasses] Hit's source apparently said, 'He wants it to be an iPhone moment.'

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