Meta to Release AR Glasses in 2027, Report Says

Meta on Tuesday reportedly told employees about its latest strategy for augmented and virtual reality development, with the company’s roadmap presentation outlining launch plans for its first pair of fully operational AR glasses. Employees can begin testing them in 2024, The Verge reported, with the public launch to follow in 2027.

Back in 2021, under a partnership with Luxottica, Meta released augmented reality Ray-Ban smart glasses that integrated technology for phone calls, photos, videos and music. The tech giant will release two new follow-up generations of those glasses in fall 2023 and 2025, according to The Verge. 

But a new, more-expensive set of AR eyewear has been dubbed the “Innovation” line and features more-sophisticated technology and the ability to generate “high-quality holograms of avatars onto the real world,” the news outlet said. The development effort — once revealed in 2021 as Project Nazaré — has been in play for years. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expects the AR glasses experience to stand out as the holy grail compared with Apple’s and Google’s products. 

Additionally, there are reportedly plans to launch a follow-up to the Meta Quest 2 later this year. The new Quest 3 VR headset will be a high-powered slimmer model that costs more, according to The Verge. It’s also expected to include more than 40 new mixed reality experiences, apps and games. This news follows Meta’s announcement that it’ll no longer provide support for its original VR headset, the Quest 1. 

Last year, CNET’s Scott Stein had a chance to visit the company’s Reality Labs Research office and check out Meta’s developments for a next-gen Quest Pro, lifelike avatars and neural input wristbands. 

Meta didn’t immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.