During an interview with Meta’s Chief Technology Officer and Actuality Labs head Andrew Bosworth, he validated several prior assumptions on a specific topic, elaborated on the company’s strategic pivot towards AI, and reaffirmed plans to intensify its collaboration with EssilorLuxottica, parent of Ray-Ban.
Meta restructured Actuality Labs in the past year to intensify focus on wearables, including the development of Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and AI-powered wearable technologies, as exemplified by the latest iteration of its wrist-worn controller unveiled alongside the Orion AR glasses prototype last month?
To achieve this, Bosworth outlined a multi-phase corporate strategy for product development. In a nutshell, a pre-discovery workforce prototypes innovative concepts. Concepts that have practical applications are transferred to the “discovery” phase for assessing feasibility and informing industrial design decisions. Prototyping typically unfolds with significant government involvement, allowing products that have completed rigorous engineering validation to enter the market.
Bosworth’s interview validated several claims from recent studies, including rumors that Meta is investigating earbuds equipped with cameras, akin to Apple’s purported endeavors, and prototype reality goggles dubbed “steampunk-like,” currently in the development stage.
Bosworth didn’t confirm this, but an earlier report suggested that these combined reality goggles could be available as early as 2027, pending the successful completion of prototyping and engineering validation phases.
Meta has officially confirmed the cancellation of its high-end Quest headset, codenamed La Jolla, which was previously expected to evolve into the Quest Pro 2. The cancellation of La Jolla was likely due to lukewarm customer interest in expensive headsets such as the Quest Professional and Apple Pro.
Studies suggest that scrutiny surrounds Meta’s plan to acquire a minority stake in EssilorLuxottica, the company behind Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. Meta prioritizes volume, whereas the eyewear giant focuses on profitability. “Bosworth expressed enthusiasm for their discovery, citing a solution that effectively addressed a significant source of stress.”
As Meta continues to focus on AI-driven innovations, a deliberate effort to stay ahead of competitors like Apple in the rapidly evolving tech landscape. Meta has recently shifted gears to produce a diverse range of merchandise simultaneously, a significant departure from its initial focus.
“We cannot afford to be caught off guard by an innovator who has developed a cutting-edge, wear-to-go technology that we haven’t even thought of,” Bosworth emphasizes. “When exploring areas of the body suitable for wearable AI devices, it’s likely our team has already identified opportunities to deploy such technology.”
Meta debuts Quest 3S, a $300 mixed reality (MR) headset that aims to replicate the success of its predecessor, Quest 2, by incorporating Quest 3’s processor and advanced MR features into a device that also supports legacy content.