Meta: Half of Reality Labs’ operating expenses go to AR

The Meta Corporation is directing ‘about half’ of Reality Labs’ operating expenses to augmented reality, according to CTO and head of Reality Labs, Andrew Bosworth, as reported by The Verge.

He said that despite billions in investment, it could be years before Meta’s fully fledged AR glasses appear.

“Our vision of true augmented reality glasses will require years of progress to make our devices thinner, lighter, faster and more powerful, while consuming far less battery power and generating far less heat,” Bosworth said.

In June, The Verge reported that the first version of AR glasses would be intended only for developers. The company is working on three iterations of devices to be released over the coming years.

According to The Information, Meta’s augmented reality glasses could be paired with additional hardware. One such device the company is testing takes the shape of a phone and can be used to “send commands to the AR device or to access greater computing power for them”.

Meta also attempted to make smartwatches to pair with the glasses, but ran into power consumption and design issues.

Bosworth also spoke about Reality Labs’ plans for the coming year. He reiterated that the company is working hard to improve the avatar system and “in 2023 there will be something to share”.

Meta will also continue to support the Horizon Worlds social VR network and focus on helping the community thrive.

In the spring the tech giant plans to launch the “Meta Quest game storefront” and unveil the “successor to the Meta Quest 2”.

The company expects new competitors to emerge, “joining the development of augmented and virtual reality”.

Earlier, Reality Labs’ loss amounted to $3.7 billion in July–September 2022.

In December, Meta urged policymakers to refrain from regulating metaverses.

In July, the tech giant reorganized the AI division, bringing the FAIR research group into Reality Labs.

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