Meta Connect 2024: Orion glasses, Quest 3S headset, Meta AI upgrades, Ray-Ban Meta real-time video, and more

Meta Connect 2024 is a developer-centric event featuring a keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He showcased new hardware and software to support two of Meta’s big ambitions: AI and the metaverse. This included everything from new Quest headsets, updates to Meta’s Llama AI model, and even a new fully AR glasses prototype.

Meta Connect 2024 kicked off live at 10 a.m. PT Wednesday, September 25. You can watch the archive via Meta Connect’s site, on Meta’s developer Facebook page, and you can still dive into Horizon Worlds from your Meta Quest headset if you really want to feel the full immersion.

We’ll be compiling all of the announcements and reveals out of Meta Connect 2024 below and will keep it updated throughout the event and after as more reactions and analysis arrive.

Meta reveals Orion, “the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen”

In a surprise announcement, Zuckerberg dramatically revealed Orion, which Meta says will eventually become the company’s “first consumer full holographic AR glasses,” though they won’t be arriving on any consumers’ faces anytime soon. Touting Orion’s light weight, compatibility for hand-tracking and eye-tracking, and most ambitiously, a neural interface, Zuckerberg also touted some impressed, and famous, early testers (including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang). The Orion glasses were presented as the future of Meta’s AR efforts, with our own ongoing coverage of Meta Connect’s final big reveal here.

Meta’s Quest 3S headset launches for $299

Meta’s reveal of the Quest 3S was indicated by several pre-event leaks and confirmed during Connect 2024. The Meta Quest 3S comes as a less expensive alternative to the Quest 3, starting at $299 for a 128GB version and 256GB for $399. The entirely wireless headset is compatible with the existing library of Quest apps and games, though Meta was particularly enthusiastic about its mixed-reality features. With the reveal of the Quest 3S, the Quest 3 will drop from $649 to $499. Get our early impressions of the new Quest 3S here ahead of its October 15 ship date.

Quest 2, Quest Pro discontinued

“With Quest 3S on the shelf, we’re officially winding down sales of Quest 2 and Pro. We’ll be selling our remaining headsets through the end of the year or until they’re gone, whichever comes first,” Meta told TechCrunch about the discontinuation of two of their headsets in the wake of the Quest 3S announcement.

Meta AI gets vocal

Meta AI is finding its voice. Users can ask a question or otherwise chat with Meta AI out loud through Messenger, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get simulated vocal responses in return. The digital voice assistant will roll out with multiple voice options to choose from, including the AI voices of celebrities like Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Awkwafina, Kristen Bell, and Keegan-Michael Key.

The reveal comes a day after OpenAI announced the long-awaited rollout of its Advanced Voice Mode feature, with a new look and five new voices. And speaking of vocal announcements, Zuckerberg touted that Meta AI now has 500 million users.

Ray-Ban’s Meta sunglasses get real-time AI video and reminders

Ray-Ban’s Meta smart glasses are getting upgrades as the company continues to try and make the case that the smart glasses can become the next big consumer device. At the forefront of the pitch is the addition of real-time AI video processing, which lets you to ask the Ray-Ban Meta glasses questions about what it can see in front of you.

The sunglasses will also be getting a smartphone-like reminder feature; live language translation between English and French, Italian, or Spanish; and full integration with music streaming apps like Amazon Music, Audible, and iHeart Radio.

Meta’s new VR pitch for mobile devs

Amid the big AI reveals and hardware and announcements, Meta did dive into the broader purpose of Connect — building ties with its community of developers. As it continues to pitch developers on helping build out the Quest app store’s offerings, Meta released new support for Android apps on the Quest, along with support for 3D and spatial apps.

Batman, Wordle, and the rest of the games announcements

A number of new experiences were revealed for the Quest ecosystem at Meta Connect 2024, led by Batman: Arkham Shadow, which launches October 22 and will also be bundled with new Quest 3 and 3S purchases until April of next year. Beyond games with familiar concepts like Alien: Rogue Incursion for Xenomorph-filled horror and a remake of the zombie game Arizona Sunshine, Wordle of all things was announced for the Quest. The VR version of the daily puzzle will be free to play without a New York Times subscription.