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Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

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Re: Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

#201

This is cool from a technical standpoint, but ultimately just feels like another gimmick. This feels like it's doing stuff that I could do faster or better (and definitely, more safely) on a computer or phone. I don't personally see the appeal of hands-free as a paradigm in most cases. Do we really want people talking on and looking at Zoom as they walk around the office? Or as they drive? Or as they are out shopping…

I definitely see the appeal. A vastly larger screen where you don't have to crane your neck down to read the news? That sounds amazing for my daily commute, and so much healthier for my neck and shoulders. And visible directions while cycling would be amazing, when it's unsafe to glance at your phone. (Audio directions aren't nearly as good, and wearing headphones/earbuds while cycling is illegal in a lot of places a…

Probably depends on your area, but when I was bike commuting, I refused to give in to the temptation to wear even one headphone. Staying completely focused and aware of traffic saved me quite a few times. You won't be surprised to know what I think about cycling with AR.

Re: Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

#202

Still kinda dorky looking but 10x better than what Snap unveiled last week.[^1] Software looks miles ahead of the AR glasses competition as well. Nice job FB engineers...keep cooking! [^1]: https://www.spectacles.com/

FWIW, Orion is not for sale. Exciting work! It seems like the main problems are now in miniaturizing electronics (and not optics) into a Ray-Ban form factor? Super cool.

> FWIW, Orion is not for sale.

Neither is Snap's offering. They're renting out Devkits.

Re: Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

#204

Glasses that offer you an AR experience / HUD? Pretty cool Glasses that let you record people without their awareness / consent? Downright creepy I think the best play here would be to release them without any camera functionality at all, or the connotations will be that weird, sweaty guy that no one wants to sit next to on the subway (see: Google Glass).

well they're not going to be sold to consumers (apparently they cost like 10k-ish to make)...but i'm curious how they'd do motion tracking without cameras though...

I think they mean the cameras shouldn't be available in user-space / app-space. But I still bet there would be some sort of jailbreak tutorial available a couple days after the retail launch.

Re: Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

#205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, Orion is not for sale. Exciting work! It seems like the main problems are now in miniaturizing electronics (and not optics) into a Ray-Ban form factor? Super cool.

> FWIW, Orion is not for sale. Neither is Snap's offering. They're renting out Devkits.

Right, though publicly available for $99/mo.

With Orion, no devkits publicly available either.

Re: Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

#206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to say that Snap's offering was probably cheaper or designed for mass marketing because their page looks like something you could actually buy. But that isn't the case! Snap will only rent them to you at $1200/year [0], can't imagine what the BOM is like for either of these products. [0] https://www.spectacles.com/lens-studio

Snap's design is really awful looking - to the point I can't see how it doesn't just damage the brand. Plus Snap's core business is a mess I don't see how they could really compete with Meta on this they'll run out of money first. It's cool to see Meta's continued work/focus in this space - a polished internal prototype is probably the right place for this hardware.

> Plus Snap's core business is a mess

Snap is worth $20B, Meta is worth $1.5T. No comparison.

Re: Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

#207
post #96

This is cool from a technical standpoint, but ultimately just feels like another gimmick. This feels like it's doing stuff that I could do faster or better (and definitely, more safely) on a computer or phone. I don't personally see the appeal of hands-free as a paradigm in most cases. Do we really want people talking on and looking at Zoom as they walk around the office? Or as they drive? Or as they are out shopping…

If you get the opportunity to try the Meta glasses, you will quickly see that it's more than just a gimmick, and they don't even have any display

But timing is everything. If everyone already has a device that is functionally equivalent in most cases, most won't make the switch. Isn't that why investors often look for 10x improvements for disruptive tech - switching costs discount the value of any incremental innovation, however cool the new tech is.

AR via a phone/tablet seems to me to be just as good an interface as any headgear once you factor in the social cues when using AR around other people. Even then, I can't think of non-entertainment contexts where AR is actually worth the effort over a screen interface.

Re: Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

#208
post #100

1. "The name Nazaré is the Portuguese version of Nazareth" ok y'all, I know you're working on edge tech, but lets cool the rhetoric down a little bit. Can't believe the PR-minded execs approved this choice. 2. "It was so challenging that we thought we had less than a 10% chance of pulling it off successfully." Definitely a targeted message to the activist investors urging FB to stick to social media haha. Love it, an…

Might not be related but "Nazar" means vision in Hindi.

Re: Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

#209
post #148

This is cool from a technical standpoint, but ultimately just feels like another gimmick. This feels like it's doing stuff that I could do faster or better (and definitely, more safely) on a computer or phone. I don't personally see the appeal of hands-free as a paradigm in most cases. Do we really want people talking on and looking at Zoom as they walk around the office? Or as they drive? Or as they are out shopping…

> Can you imagine how goofy you'd look sitting at a coffee shop and just sort of staring into the middle distance and talking, as you take a Zoom call? Honestly, people used to say the same thing about Bluetooth hands-free devices years ago, and now no one even bats an eye when someone talks using AirPods.

[deleted]

Re: Orion, our first true augmented reality glasses

#210

How many more millions are these companies going to flush down the toilet before they get it through their heads that normal people do not like wearing technology on their face? 3D TVs failed. VR gaming failed. Even Apple isn't really pulling off AR. They test and develop these products on their techie early adopter employees and are shocked shocked shocked when normal people who care what they look like aren't willi…

According to Zuck people actually do like wearing tech on their face if it has the right form factor, hence the Meta Raybans selling well.

I would wager that Meta RayBans are primarily used by men to discreetly document their one night stands.
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