Thousands of division employees Reality Labs of Meta were able to participate in a detailed presentation of the roadmap (or roadmap in French) which will define, as its name suggests, what Mark Zuckerberg’s firm will work on in the coming years.
Despite the series of setbacks regarding the construction of its metaverse, Meyour seems on track to continue investing in equipment AR/VR General public, while refusing to listen to or respond to the comments (yet legitimate) of those who mention the fiasco related to it. Now that the presentations are made, here without further ado, point by point, the announcements that have been reported by The Verge with no less than three new Quest and glasses AR galore.
Meta Quest 3
As had been anticipated via many leaks that we had reported in our articles, the headset should be twice as thin, at least twice as powerful and cost a bit more than the Meta Quest 2 (more than €449.99).
The Meta Quest 3 will obviously be focused on mixed reality. Mark Zuckerberg believing that this one should make it possible to widen its publicwho is relatively already won over to the cause Meta since Mark Rabkin, vice-president of the firm, mentioned during this presentation that the Meta Quest 2 has sold 20 million copies worldwide since its release in October 2020. It is three times more than the Playstation-VR first of the name in almost seven years.
Stinson is the internal code name for the next consumer headset from Meta. The latter will have to succeed in convincing as many people as possible, whether or not they are already initiated into virtual reality (or even mixed):
We need to generate enthusiasm about it. We have to prove to people that all this power, all these new features are worth it.
Mixed reality will be a huge selling point, and Mark Rabkin said there will be a new “smart guard” to help wearers navigate the real world while wearing the device :
From the moment you put on this headset, mixed reality should not destabilize you, the headset should be easier to wear, more natural. You can walk effortlessly through your home knowing you can see perfectly well. You can put anchors and things on your desk. You can have your coffee. You can stay there much longer.
No less than 41 new applications and games are planned for the Meta Quest 3with of course many of them in mixed reality.
Helmet Ventura
If the Meta Quest 3 is planned for this end of the year, in 2024, it will be necessary to expect to see landing another helmet, responding to the code name Venturawhich will be offered at a very aggressive price in comparison to the other helmets of the firm:
The objective of this headset is very simple: to put the package on the price of the headset in order to make it as attractive as possible in the consumer VR market.
You would have understood it, this headset would be a leader for those who hesitate to start. However, we hope that the concessions that will be made will not give a bad impression to those who would be tempted to try it.
Helmet LaJolla
A worthy successor to the Meta Quest Pro, the helmet codenamed LaJolla would be a hyper boosted version of the Meta Quest 3if only to display the famous Avatar Codecs photorealistic.
We want to have a very high definition, the professional world needs it to work properly, if only to read the texts clearly, among other things. We want to pick up on a lot of things that make Meta Quest Pro comfortable to use, like the way it sits on your head, its architecture, and so on.
The Meta Quest 2
The vice-president of Meta admitted that its latest consumer headset struggled to keep new users engagedunderstand by this that they buy and use it little:
Right now we’re in year three of Meta Quest 2. And unfortunately, despite new people constantly coming to this headset, despite people buying it for Christmas, those people just aren’t as involved than those who bought it earlier.
To respond to this, Mark Rabkin told employees that it was necessary to make content sharing VR more accessible, easier and on social networks that everyone uses. It encourages employees to review the shop Meta Quest Storemaking it more dynamic, while allowing developers to make automated promotions.
We need to be better at growth, retention and recovery. We need to be better at social and make these things more reliable, more intuitive for people to rely on.
Eyeglasses AR and neural interfaces
Apart from the Meta Quests, Meta employ people to build future glasses AR and smartwatches. And for good reason, Mark Zuckerberg wants them to be worn all day long to possibly replace our smartphones, as he indicated last fall. Qualified as the Holy Grail, the CEO of Meta is certain that it will redefine our relationship to technology.
Alex Himel, Vice President of the Department ARexhibited a roadmap involving a multitude of devices, which extends to 2027. The first launch will take place this fall with the second generation of smart glasses equipped with a camera, a logical continuation of the Ray-Ban Stories.
In 2025 will come the third generation of smart glasses, which should have a screen to view incoming messages (notifications), while being able to scan QR codes and translate text on the fly. Of course, the pair of glasses will be associated with the bracelet with neural interface which will allow the wearer to control their optical device with the movements of the hand, like sliding their fingers on a D pad imaginary.
Enthusiasts? At the house of MetaYes. The bracelet will allow the wearer to use a virtual keyboard and, according to Alex Himel, this would allow us to type the same number of words per minute as on a smartphone., which is quite intriguing. There smart watch will of course integrate applications specific to the social networks of Meta and will also offer health and fitness features:
We don’t want people to have to choose between an input device on their wrist and the smartwatch functionality they’ve come to love. We are therefore in the process of building a watch with a neural interface. First, this device will do input: to control your glasses, the functionality on your wrist, and control the world around you.
The smartwatch will be an optional upgradeunderstand by this that the glasses and the bracelet will be included in the future package.
Glasses Orion
It’s been 8 years since Meta working on these glasses, which are much more technically advanced and expensive than those we have mentioned so far. They are designed to project high quality holograms to display avatars on the real world. The device looks promising, but we will have to wait a few more years before we can take advantage of it. In fact, employees working at Meta will be able to test the product in preview next year, but for the general public, it will be necessary to wait at least 2027 to obtain it.
If we can put a great product on the shelves, with a great price and with good value in use, then we think we can enter this market and achieve great growth. It’s up to us to make this possible!
The advertisement
Last point that makes your teeth cringe, advertising. And for good reason, data protection has never been the strong point of Meta And it will be necessary to be cunning to accept the idea of wearing glasses that will superimpose advertising on a real world already well polluted at this level.
Alex Himel said that Meta thinks he can achieve a much higher average user income than he already did with social networksincluding through sales of virtual goods, backups in the clouds and advertisements AR.
We should be able to handle a very good ad business. I think it’s easy to imagine how ads would look in space when you’re wearing AR glasses.
If we achieve results close to forecasts, we will have extraordinary activity. A business unlike anything we’ve seen on mobile phones before.
Clearly, the announcement of advertising, from the consumer’s point of view, is a real emotional liftbecause the latter could be interested in the innovative and avant-garde side of the device, while legitimately wondering if it is interesting to live with a screen, whatever it is, at any time of the day, in an already hyper-connected world.
So of course, it is certain that the heart of the communication will be focused on the practical side of the thing : know the name of the plants and flowers you see in a walk in the forest, know if the mushroom you are about to pick is edible or not, look at the birds and be able to name them quickly.
What do you think ? Will your curiosity take precedence over your sense of ethics? Do not hesitate to give your opinion in comments.