The Meta Connect 2024 Developer Conference will be held tonight. According to the agenda posted on Meta's official website, CEO Mark Zuckerberg will give a keynote speech at 10am local time (1am Beijing time on September 26th) and share the latest developments in mixed reality (MR), artificial intelligence (AI), and wearable devices.
Specifically, based on reports from foreign media such as Business Insider and The Verge, this conference will introduce details related to the open-source model Llama and launch the Meta Quest 3S headset. In addition, Meta's first AR glasses will also be launched, confirming the previously announced news that Meta is applying for AR glasses related patents. It is reported that the patent combines machine learning, AR, and AI agents, and is said to expand users' visual experience and provide auxiliary functions for some visually impaired users.
It is reported that Meta's first AR glasses, codenamed Orion (meaning Orion), will be officially announced by Zuckerberg during a keynote speech. Meta claims that the device "combines research and development achievements in XR and AI fields", while the company's CTO Andrew Bosworth describes it as "the most advanced consumer electronics device to date".
According to the information, this pair of glasses will be manufactured by Luxottica, the manufacturer of Ray Ban glasses. However, it is worth noting that the device seems not yet ready for mass production. According to technology media The Verge in August, this conference will only be used as a demonstration and will not be sold to the public. It will be provided to developers for experimentation first.
Regarding the launch date of Meta AR glasses, Business Insider reported in March this year that the future consumer oriented version may be released as early as 2027.
Although the Orion glasses have not yet been released, there has been much discussion about their appearance. Currently, the market has no consensus on the appearance of this AR glasses. On the one hand, technology media Techloy, combined with pictures shared by Zuckerberg earlier, pointed out that the shape of the Orion glasses seems to be closer to ordinary glasses; On the other hand, market rumors cited by foreign media Patently Apple suggest that the device is more similar in form to Meta's Quest headset - each pair of glasses is equipped with an independent holographic display.
In addition, the AI functionality of the device is expected by the market to be a major highlight of its release. It is reported that this pair of glasses is expected to be combined with AI models such as Llama 3.1, while using Meta's visual recognition model to analyze real objects, in order to provide users with a true digital augmented reality experience.
In fact, there have been frequent news about AR glasses recently. Snap recently released the fifth generation Spectacles AR smart glasses, which integrate OpenAI's multimodal AI model into application functions. Like Orion, this smart glasses will only produce less than 10000 pairs and will be distributed to selected developers and partners first. Users can apply to join the developer program and subscribe for at least one year at a cost of $99 per month to obtain the right to use Spectacles glasses.
The intensive release of AR smart glasses indicates that the combination of AI and AR is expected to become an industry development trend. According to Dongwu Securities' September research report analysis, glasses+multimodal AI is one of the best forms of personal AI agents. Currently, smart glasses represented by RayBan Meta glasses have been equipped with some AI applications and other effective functions;
On the other hand, the growth rate of AR glasses shipments is higher than other XR products. Specifically, in 2023, VR device shipments decreased by 10.7% year-on-year to 7.6 million units, while AR device shipments increased by 63.5% year-on-year to 500000 units. According to IDC data, the CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of global AR glasses shipments from 2023 to 2027 is expected to reach 96.5%.
From an investment perspective, a research report by Western Securities on September 22 stated that the Ray Ban Meta AI smart glasses have become a successful example in the smart glasses field. With the empowerment of end-to-end AI, glasses products are expected to accelerate iteration, and the market size is expected to expand rapidly. Companies related to the industry chain have a promising future. Suggested focus: 1) Brands and OEM: Doctoral Glasses, GoerTek, Huaqin Technology, Longqi Technology, Jiahe Intelligence; 2) Optics: Crystal Optoelectronics, Lante Optics, Huacan Optoelectronics; 3) SoC: Xingchen Technology, Juxin Technology, Ruixin Micro.