Leaked roadmap reveals Meta plan for a smartphone-free future

Last month, Kuba Wojciechowski published leaked images of a second-generation Meta-branded wearable, dubbed the Meta Watch V2. Subsequently, The Verge has elaborated on Meta's intentions for the device, which it instead refers to as one of the company's 'wrist device' prototypes. While Wojciechowski claimed that Meta still wants to ship the device, The Verge claims a public release could be years away. 

Purportedly, the smartwatch may not reach the public until 2025. Even then, it will be an optional upgrade over a 'neural interface band' that will accompany a third-generation pair of smart glasses. For reference, the Ray-Ban Stories serve as Meta' first generation model. Supposedly, these third-generation smart glasses will feature a viewfinder display for reading text and QR codes, which sounds like a more advanced version of Google Glass.

In the meantime, Meta hopes to bring second-generation smart glasses to market later this year; The Verge has not provided any specifics about this yet, though. Both generations will lead into a fourth-generation model, codenamed 'Orion'. In development since 2015, Orion will receive an employee-only 'internal launch' in 2024 before a public launch in 2027. Reputedly, Orion will be capable of projecting 'high-quality holograms of avatars onto the real world', which is something that none of Meta's other products are capable of at this stage.

In other words, Orion will be expensive. Meta's plan to also offer a cheaper set of smart glasses with a second-generation neural smartwatch suggests that Orion will be out of reach for most consumers, though. Ultimately, Meta wants its AR glasses to replace smartphones. The aim is for these 'holy grail devices' to replace smartphones by the end of the decade, which appears to be overly ambitious for now. 

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