Meta is rumored to launch its first AR glasses in 2024, using military-grade materials and plans to produce 1,000 units

According to The Information, Meta plans to launch its first AR glasses called Orion in 2024 and plans to produce 1,000 units. The device uses high-strength materials and will be produced in factories in China, Taiwan and the United States

It is understood that Meta originally planned to produce 50,000 units of the Orion launched next year and sell it to the public. However, due to the high cost and complexity of manufacturing, Meta has decided to only produce about 1,000 units for internal development and public display.

According to The Information, Meta used an expensive and complex arrangement to manufacture the glasses, involving factories in China, Taiwan, and the United States. This is mainly because Meta decided to experiment with a special and expensive compound in the lenses, but due to U.S. government restrictions, this compound cannot be easily exported to other countries

As a result, Meta is forced to assemble its glasses in the United States, while other components such as the wristband used to control the glasses and the wireless computing package that serves as the brain of the device will be manufactured in China and Taiwan, respectively

Orion’s lenses use a special silicon carbide, which is produced by an American company and has superior optical properties, but is currently not allowed to be exported to China

This special synthetic compound is very expensive to produce and is mainly used in space telescopes, U.S. military radars and sensors, etc.

According to The Information, Meta plans to assemble the AR glasses at a former HP printer factory near the border of Oregon and Washington. The reason for this arrangement is that the facility is close to Meta’s Reality Labs campus in Redmond, giving Meta certain advantages in U.S. manufacturing

It is worth noting that The Information further disclosed Meta’s AR glasses plan. According to the roadmap, Meta’s second-generation product, codenamed Artemis, will be their first AR glasses sold to the public. Planned to be released in 2027, with initial production volume of 50,000 units

Although Artemis will debut three years later than Orion, due to cost considerations, it will use more traditional, more economical, and more mature technologies. For example, in terms of display, the device will use the more economical LCoS technology instead of Plessey's MicroLED; at the same time, the lens will be made of glass instead of silicon carbide, resulting in a lower image brightness and a narrower field of view (50 degrees instead of 70 Spend)

In addition, the third generation of Odyssey AR glasses will also continue to use glass material

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