Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, talked about the future of its VR and AR hardware on Thursday...sort of.
At the Connect 2021 keynote event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a very brief overview of what's to come from the company's hardware division going forward.
First up is Project Cambria, a future VR headset that Zuckerberg confirmed would be both more technically capable and more expensive than current Oculus products. Cambria is set to launch in 2022.
Aside from that, Meta offered little else of substance regarding Cambria's capabilities. The headset will apparently be able to simulate natural eye contact and the real-time facial expressions of its users, though how it will accomplish this remains to be seen. Full color mixed-reality passthrough (AKA the ability to see what's physically around you while wearing the headset) will also be possible, as opposed to the limited, black and white passthrough view you can use on Oculus Quest right now. Lastly, something called "pancake optics" will be used to construct better VR lenses that stay slim enough to wear comfortably.
The other piece of hardware Facebook teased is a pair of AR glasses codenamed Nazaré. Even less was said about what Nazaré will be capable of or when we'll be able to get our hands on it, but Zuckerberg said the glasses will be roughly five millimeters thick.
Sorry if you expected a more tangible or imminent new hardware announcement from Connect. Leaks hinted towards the announcement of a so-called "Oculus Quest Pro" headset, but it was not to be this time. Maybe Quest Pro is Cambria, or maybe it's something else entirely. For the time being, get ready to hear the word "metaverse" approximately three billion more times between now and the launch of Cambria.
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