Meta strikes while the iron is hot. The officially quantified success of Ray-Ban connected glasses gives the group ideas, which should launch a new model by the end of the year, internally dubbed "Hypernova," according to Bloomberg. These glasses would resemble the current models and retain their connected functions such as speakers, the AI assistant, the ability to to take photos and record videos.
The heavy artillery for Meta smart glasses
But Meta would add an essential element: a small monocular screen located in the lower corner of the right lens. It would display photos and applications: camera, gallery, maps and notifications (there are no app stores planned). Navigating the interface — a row of circular icons — would be done with a touch zone on the arm of the glasses, or with hand gestures.
A "neural bracelet", provided in the box, would be able to recognize hand movements, to scroll by turning the wrist, or select by pinching the fingers. This accessory (code name "Ceres") does not come out of nowhere: the Orion project of augmented reality glasses, presented last September, works in a similar way.
Meta would also consider improving the quality of photos. Currently, the Ray-Ban sensor is considered equivalent to the iPhone 11 camera. The company is aiming for quality worthy of the iPhone 13 (2021).
Such glasses would allow Meta to assert its technological leadership in a field where no other manufacturer has been able to do as well or as stylish (read: socially acceptable) as Ray-Ban's connected glasses. But all this comes at a price: these new models would indeed cost between $1,000 and $1,400, far from the $300 of glasses without a screen.
A second generation would already be in the pipeline, "Hypernova 2", planned for 2027. These glasses would this time be entitled to... two screens! One for each eye, of course. A new generation imagined as a step towards complete augmented reality glasses, like the Orion project.
In parallel, Meta would put the finishing touches to another screenless model, "Supernova 2", derived from an Oakley design. And the company is also working on a commercial version of Orion, which would also be released in two years.
Source: Bloomberg
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