Meta Connect 2024 Recap

Key Takeaways

• Orion AR Glasses: AI-powered with Holographic display.
• Quest 3S: Affordable Quest 3 version.
• Ray-Ban Glasses: Real-time translation & hands-free calling.
• Llama models are now multimodal.
• AI Integration: Avatars in 2024, NPCs in 2025.

Meta’s Latest AR/VR Products

On September 25th, 2024, Meta revealed new AR and VR products at its Connect conference. These include the Orion AR Glasses, featuring a 70-degree holographic display and AI-driven features like recipe suggestions and hands-free video calls. The glasses can be controlled via voice commands, hand gestures, and an EMG wristband that tracks finger movements. 

Meta also introduced the Quest 3S Headset, a more affordable version of the Quest 3, which offers the same performance but uses Fresnel lenses to reduce costs. The Quest 3S will start at $299 and launch on October 15.

The price of the 512GB Quest 3 has been dropped to $499.99, with plans to phase out the Quest 2 and Quest Pro by the end of the year. 

Additionally, the new Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses include real-time language translation, hands-free calling, and QR code scanning, with 7,500 limited-edition styles available.

Meta AI Speaks and Llama 3.2

Over the past year, Meta has made its AI assistant, Meta AI, widely available across its apps. The company is now adding new features, including voice chat capabilities with celebrity voices like Awkwafina and John Cena, as well as the ability to edit images via text commands on Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

The upgrades come with Meta’s latest Llama 3.2 model, which includes vision capabilities for image recognition and captioning. Meta is also testing AI-generated content recommendations on Facebook and Instagram, along with AI-driven translation and dubbing for Reels, and plans to introduce personalized AI-generated images in users’ feeds.

Customizable Avatars & AI Integration

On October 1st, 2024, Meta will launch customizable avatars, powered by generative AI. Users can personalize their avatars through written prompts, offering more control over features like body types and facial expressions. 

In 2025, Meta will also enable developers to create AI-powered non-player characters (NPCs) in Horizon Worlds. These NPCs will interact with users in real time, making virtual environments more immersive. Meta’s vision to integrate AR, VR, and AI into spatial computing aims to make these immersive technologies as commonplace in everyday life as smartphones.