Meta has begun to offer the world its first glimpse of Orion, its full-on AR Glasses product that leaked last year. Still in its prototype stage, Meta’s timeline doesn’t see quantities of Orion glasses available to the public until 2027. This hasn’t dissuaded the company from peeling back the curtain of the product’s development, however, as Meta has invited some members of the media to come get a hands-on look at its upcoming glasses, as well as released a few clips of how Orion could be used. The first clip is a render of what multitasking on the Orion will look like, which includes a video call in the center of the user’s field of vision, accompanied by a text chat room, as well as a media center for playing music, videos, or browsing social media.
Another clip is aimed to showcase using the glasses to come up with ideas, as the user looks at a group of ingredients and asks Orion to come up with a smoothie recipe utilizing what they have on hand. While this isn’t anything groundbreaking, having a pair of glasses visually identify ingredients for you and then pull up a recipe within such a short amount of time does seem impressive. Engadget’s Karissa Bell was able to spend some time with Orion, and gives a write-up of her thoughts. Bell reveals that, in addition to the glasses, the current version of Orion is made up of a wireless puck, as well as an EMG wristband used to control Orion’s interface with gestures.
“Orion’s displays rely on silicon carbide lenses, micro-LED projectors and waveguides,” notes Ball. “The actual lenses are clear, though they can dim depending on your environment. One of the most impressive aspects is the 70-degree field of view. It was noticeably wider and more immersive than what I experienced with Snap’s AR Spectacles, which have a 46-degree field of view. At one point, I had three windows open in one multitasking view: Instagram Reels, a video call and a messaging inbox. And while I was definitely aware of the outer limits of the display, I could easily see all three windows without physically moving my head or adjusting my position.”
