Hands-on with Meta's Orion AR glasses prototype and the possible future of computing

The astir awesome facet of Meta's Orion augmented reality glasses has much to do pinch size and comfortableness than flashy machine graphics.

CNBC elder media and tech analogous Julia Boorstin was capable to usage Orion this week astatine Meta's yearly Connect conference, and she was captivated by nan prototype's compact shape comparative to nan various Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro virtual reality headsets.

"What was really striking to maine astir these was that they were incredibly lightweight," Boorstin said.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed nan Orion glasses connected Wednesday and sounded them arsenic "a glimpse of a early that I deliberation is going to beryllium beautiful exciting." The glasses are achromatic and heavy framed and travel pinch a wireless "puck" that allows nan instrumentality to tally apps for illustration a holographic crippled of integer chess aliases pingpong that look arsenic integer graphics spliced into nan existent world.

The experimental glasses are portion of Zuckerberg's multibillion-dollar plans to build nan adjacent procreation of individual computing for nan alleged metaverse, a word utilized by Meta to picture group interacting pinch 1 different online successful virtual 3D spaces.

While Orion is not tin of putting users successful afloat virtual worlds, nan glasses tin overlay integer graphics onto nan existent world. And dissimilar VR headsets that tin beryllium cumbersome to deterioration for extended periods, Boorstin said she recovered nan Orion glasses to beryllium a bully fit.

"The shape facet didn't consciousness meaningfully different than wearing a brace of heavy, mean glasses, and they were not uncomfortable to wear," she said.

Though nan existent incarnation of nan Orion AR glasses could walk arsenic a movie prop for nan movie "Revenge of nan Nerds," Boorstin said she believes they're only going to get smaller arsenic exertion improves.

"This is nan first procreation — 4 years from now, really overmuch smaller will they be?" Boorstin said.

When wearing nan AR glasses, Boorstin was capable to spot integer holograms displaying nan ocular icons of apps for illustration Instagram, Facebook, and immoderate extras for illustration a browser and a video crippled mixed pinch nan surroundings wrong a mini agency astatine Meta's headquarters.

Boorstin saw those integer icons overlaid atop her real-world surroundings pinch her ain eyes. That's an betterment complete "passthrough" techniques utilized by existent VR devices. For passthrough, companies usage cameras connected nan extracurricular of their headsets to show users a integer practice of nan existent world blended pinch machine graphics done their instrumentality screens.

Orion is capable to overlay integer imagery connected nan existent world utilizing a overmuch much costly method. Its lenses aren't made from accepted solid aliases integrative but alternatively a refractive worldly called silicon carbide. When nan Orion's miniaturized projectors, built successful to nan arms of nan glasses, beam ray into nan silicon carbide lenses, users tin spot "holograms" successful their section of vision, an acquisition Boorstin said "felt wholly normal and very natural."

When nan holograms were turned off, "it felt arsenic if you were wearing glasses aliases sunglasses, and it wasn't distracting aliases nauseating," Boorstin said.

Boorstin was capable to open, adjacent and scroll done nan apps pinch nan thief of a wristband, that she said felt akin to an old, lightweight Fitbit.

"The wristband tin consciousness your digit and manus movements, truthful your manus tin beryllium by your side," Boorstin said, describing really her digit movements and gestures manipulated nan integer icons. "I was amazed that it was truthful meticulous and that I could fig retired these manus motions, and it picked them up exactly."

In 1 demo, nan Orion glasses were capable to place various nutrient ingredients, for illustration chia seeds, that were dispersed retired connected a table. It past projected a suitable look that appeared digitally supra nan real-world seeds. In different demo, Boorstin played a elemental crippled of pong, isolated from nan video crippled graphics were projected onto a real-world table successful beforehand of her.

One demo that really impressed her progressive seeing nan look of Stephen Desaulniers, her producer, digitally look successful beforehand of her while he called from different room. The wide acquisition of nan 3D video telephone "felt very clear" to Boorstin, who noticed that nan graphic's solution would alteration depending connected wherever she placed it wrong her section of vision. It was capable to startle her into questioning whether aliases not nan shaper could really spot her successful existent life since it appeared arsenic if he was location successful beforehand of her (he could not).

"I could spot him perfectly, and he could not spot me," Boorstin said. "But I could perceive him, and it was for illustration I was FaceTiming pinch him, but he was successful my glasses."

By experiencing Orion, Boorstin said she has a amended consciousness of really Meta's investigation and improvement is straight benefiting nan company's different products, for illustration its Quest headsets and Ray-Ban smart glasses.

"They've been moving truthful difficult to make these components teeny, tiny, efficient, weightless," she said.