


What do glasses, smartwatches and video chat devices have to do with the metaverse? Here's what you need to know about Meta's consumer hardware efforts. Meta didn't respond to a request for comment. "As is common in our industry, we iterate on multiple prototypes in parallel & shift resources as we learn." "The path to groundbreaking products is not a straight line," he said in the tweet. Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who oversees the company's hardware projects, tweeted on Thursday that Meta still plans to release hardware, such as wrist wearables and AR glasses. Apple is rumored to be working on an AR/VR headset, though analysts don't expect the company will release the product this year. "A lot of it is going to be dependent on not just the technology that to market, but overall the consumer adoption is going to be driven by other companies as well," said Jeremy Goldman, director of marketing and retail briefings at Insider Intelligence. Though Meta has created a multibillion dollar ad business and the world's largest social network, it doesn't have the reputation for developing hardware that Apple or Samsung has. Wearables such as smartwatches and AR glasses, which have yet to become as ubiquitous as smartphones, are key to how Meta expects people to enter the metaverse. The delays mean consumers will likely have to wait longer than expected for Meta's homegrown wearables, and it highlights the challenges the company faces as it focuses more on consumer devices. Additionally, the company plans to market its Portal video chat devices to businesses with remote workers rather than to consumers, the reports said. Meta is also pausing the development of a dual-camera smartwatch, opting to work on other wrist devices, Bloomberg reported. Meta scrapped plans for a 2024 release of its first version of augmented reality glasses and will instead focus on a second version of the glasses, according to The Information, which cited both a note to employees and people familiar with the matter.
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But a series of reported product cancellations suggests it will take some time before the wager pays off. The shift in business strategy means consumers will likely have to wait longer for these wearables, and it underscores some of the challenges Meta faces as it spends billions of dollars on the metaverse.įacebook parent company Meta is betting big on the metaverse, the virtual worlds it wants people to work, play and socialize in. The company said it still plans to release wrist wearables and AR glasses. Facebook parent company Meta reportedly no longer plans to release AR glasses in 2024, has scrapped plans to release a smartwatch and will market its Portal video chat devices as a device for businesses rather than for consumers.
