Meta Unveils Orion AR Glasses and AI Innovations at Connect Conference

Meta Platforms showcased its first augmented-reality glasses, Orion, and announced various AI and software updates during its annual Connect conference. CEO Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated the new AR glasses and emphasized advancements in AI assistant features, including new versions of its Llama 3 models. Meta continues to invest heavily in AI and metaverse technologies.

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, unveiled its first working prototype of augmented-reality glasses, dubbed Orion, during its annual Connect conference in California on Wednesday. Alongside the product reveal, Meta showcased updates to its virtual-reality and artificial-intelligence offerings.

During the demonstration, CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the Orion glasses' capabilities, emphasizing their magnesium alloy build, custom silicon, and user interaction enabled via hand-tracking voice and wrist-based neural interfaces. "This is the physical world with holograms overlaid on," Zuckerberg announced.

Meta also introduced enhancements to its AI assistant, making eye-catching updates to Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, including new QR code scanning and real-time language translation features. The company revealed its strategy to flood Facebook and Instagram feeds with AI-generated personalized images. Riding on the AI wave, Meta also launched new versions of its Llama 3 models to boost AI integration across devices.

(With inputs from agencies.)