Lowering weight and increasing efficiency are key factors in propelling standalone XR headsets forward. While Meta has successfully demonstrated its personal Orion AR glasses prototype using a wireless compute unit, Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth suggests that this approach may not be the silver bullet for standalone VR gaming.
Bosworth, who can be head of the corporate’s Actuality Labs XR group, held one other one in every of his Instagram Q&As earlier this week, the place he usually delves into all kinds of subjects—some skilled, some private.
During the latest session, Bosworth elaborated on Wi-Fi computing models, expressing skepticism about their suitability for the company’s standalone virtual reality headsets.
We’ve thoroughly examined numerous cases. Wi-Fi computer puck solutions fail to resolve the problem altogether. For wireless users, however, the presence of a battery in their headsets remains a significant contributor to overall weight. As Bosworth notes, the system is indeed generating more thermal energy, which could potentially boost its efficiency; however, its current bandwidth limitations, necessitated by the use of radio transmission, pose significant restrictions.
While technical obstacles remain, Meta’s core focus lies in creating a seamless experience for users, with its latest Quest 3S offering a tantalizing price point: a mere $300 for the 128GB model, making it an attractive prospect for customers seeking affordability and accessibility. Bosworth continues:
Although the initial cost has increased significantly, the added expense is justified since the Wi-Fi compute puck still requires some silicon to power the display, perform native corrections, and manage the data stream. Unfortunately, the mathematical framework falls short of delivering a satisfactory outcome. It doesn’t find itself in saving you that much weight and significantly decreasing the price and simplicity.
Unlike Meta’s Orion prototype, this one features a distinct absence of a wifi compute unit. Orion’s high price tag – reportedly $10,000 per unit due to the challenging production of silicon carbide lenses – makes productization unlikely, but it’s evident that wireless pucks can still provide value in certain scenarios, such as delivering non-immersive graphics for AR glasses.
Bosworth has revealed that its inaugural AR glasses won’t be priced similarly to Quest’s offerings when they become available at an unspecified date. Despite stating that such tools will not be low-cost, Bosworth noted in September that corporate goals aim to make them accessible at a minimum within the range of phone and laptop prices.
