Meta Connect 2024 Developer Conference will be held tonight, according to $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ Official website agenda shows that the company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg will deliver a keynote speech at 10 a.m. local time (1 a.m. on September 26, Beijing time) and share the latest developments on Mixed Reality (MR), ai, and wearable devices.

From the perspective of stock price trends, meta platforms has recently performed well, once reaching a historical high, with a year-to-date increase approaching 60%.

Specifically, combining reports from foreign media such as Business Insider and The Verge, this conference will introduce details about the open-source model Llama and launch the Meta Quest 3S head display. In addition, Meta's first AR glasses will also be released, confirming the previously released information that Meta is applying for AR glasses related patents. It is said that this patent combines machine learning, AR, and AI Agent, claiming to enhance user's visual experience and provide assistive functions for some visually and hearing impaired users.

Meta's first AR glasses, codenamed Orion (meaning Orion), will be officially announced by Zuckerberg in the keynote speech. Meta stated that the device "combines the research results of XR and AI fields", while the company's CTO Andrew Bosworth praised it as "the most advanced consumer electronics device to date".

The data shows that these glasses will be manufactured by Luxottica, the manufacturer of Ray-Ban glasses. However, it is worth noting that the device does not seem ready for mass production yet. According to tech media The Verge's report in August, the device will only be demonstrated at this conference and will not be publicly available for sale, being provided to developers for experimentation first.

Regarding the launch time of Meta AR glasses, Business Insider reported in March of this year that the future consumer version may be released as early as 2027.

Although Orion glasses have not been released yet, information about them has been widely discussed. Currently, there is no consensus on the appearance of this Meta AR glasses. On one hand, tech media Techloy, combining images shared by Zuckerberg earlier, points out that the form of Orion glasses seems closer to ordinary glasses; on the other hand, foreign media Patently Apple, citing market rumors, indicates that the device in form is closer to Meta's Quest head display - each glass equipped with an independent holographic display.

In addition, the AI function of this device is expected by the market to be a major highlight of its release. It is reported that this pair of glasses is expected to be combined with AI models such as Llama 3.1, and at the same time use Meta's visual recognition model to analyze real-world objects, thus providing users with a truly enhanced digital augmented reality experience.

In fact, recent AR glasses news has been frequent. Recently, Snap released the fifth generation Spectacles AR smart glasses, which integrates OpenAI's multimodal AI model into its application features. Like Orion, these smart glasses will be produced in limited quantities of less than 10,000 pairs, initially distributed to selected developers and partners. Users can apply to join the developer program and subscribe for at least one year at $99 per month to gain access to the Spectacles glasses.

The intensive release of AR smart glasses indicates that the combination of AI and AR is expected to become an industry trend. According to a research report by Soochow in September, glasses + multimodal AI is considered one of the best forms of personal AI Agent. Currently, smart glasses represented by RayBan Meta glasses have integrated some AI applications and other effective functions.

On the other hand, the shipment growth rate of AR glasses is higher than that of other XR products. Specifically, in 2023, the shipment volume of VR devices is expected to decrease by 10.7% year-on-year to 7.6 million units, while AR devices are expected to increase by 63.5% year-on-year to 0.5 million units. IDC data shows that the global AR glasses shipment volume CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) from 2023 to 2027 could reach 96.5%.

Editor/Somer