Why Mark Zuckerberg thinks AR glasses will replace your phone

Meta CEO Zuckerberg sits down with Verge deputy editor Alex Heath during the company’s Meta Connect conference to talk all things AR, AI, and social media. The two discuss Meta’s new Orion AR glasses, the company’s partnership with Ray-Ban, why Zuckerberg is done with politics, and much more. #MetaConnect #MarkZuckerberg #Technology

00:00 Orion AR smart glasses
00:27 Platform shift from mobile to AR
02:15 The vision for Orion & AR glasses
03:55 Why people will upgrade to AR glasses
05:20 A range of options for smart glasses
07:32 Consumer ambitions for Orion
11:40 Reality Labs spending & the cost of AR
12:44 Ray-Ban partnership
17:11 Ray-Ban Meta sales & success
18:59 Bringing AI to the Ray-Ban Meta
21:54 Replacing phones with AR glasses
25:18 Influx of AI content on social media
28:32 The vision for AI-filled social media
34:04 Will AI lead to less human interaction?
35:24 Success of Threads
36:41 Competing with X & the role of news
40:04 Why politics can hurt social platforms
41:52 Mark’s shift away from politics
46:00 Cambridge Analytica, in hindsight
49:09 Link between teen mental health and social media
53:52 Disagreeing with EU regulation
56:06 Debate around AI training data & copyright
1:00:07 Responsibility around AR as a platform

[bcus]

Meta is investing money like crazy here because they want to break free from the restrictions that android and iOS impose on apps, they want to own the platform and use it for doing their marketing stuff. And at the same time Meta appears to be the only big tech company doing real innovation these days

[JDefends]

AR is one set of tech I really do believe in

[thedudeabides]

I think it is interesting. Nice to see their prototype and hear their ideas and reasoning. I agree with him that this can potentially be much better than a smartphone. Because it can see what you see. One out of many examples: imagine getting directions in these - on top of what you actually see - this is clearly better than looking away from the world to a screen that is showing an abstract representation of the world. This is just one example. But it needs to be nice to wear, meaning not heavy and with really clear displays so it does not feel like your eyesight is worse with these on.

[jedidiahanarfi]

Basically, Mark is resilient! He is the true definition of never giving up!

[blek]

Mark is such a clear thinker, who happens to be super determined, competitive, and long term player. What a guy.

[uramfekete]

Feels weird seeing the CEO of Meta doing an interview in a Dustin Poirier t-shirt.

[janetwoodville]

I love the Meta Quest 3. It’s lighter and I also love the mixed reality and color pass through.

[VREmirate]

Gotta respect the commitment, from VR, to AR, and AI - Zuckerberg continues with his vision with unwavering belief. Others like Google, Samsung, Microsoft seem to just go in and out, as a result Meta is ahead and rightfully so.

[percy]

If Meta is already showing the world Orion can you imagine what they have in development?...

[nwgverified]

Mark is going heavy on the rebranding, seems to be working on people.

[nmadcre]

I like the new Zuck, more relaxed and tech oriented, but man some answers were harsh ... "I think some content creators overestimate the value of their content" is poorly worded. I get he was aiming at big editors trying to pressure him into retrieving, but the remark alone *will* be taken out of context and farmed to hell. For sure.
Other than that, I absolutely loved the format. And the fact that Meta are casually dropping the biggest LLM models version after version for free, all while working on VR/AR.

[frankfilippelli]

Zuckerberg always gets a bad rap but I just don’t believe all the hate is justified. He’s definitely a clear thinker with determination and vision. And above all he seems to really put his money where his mouth is.

[Calakapepe]

If they just added a 1080p camera to a smart watch that doesnt need the phone... Id let that replace my phone..
Working too hard

[noha]

Great interview, it's good to hear Marks unfiltered take on the future

[ИванИванченко-ъэ]

The next significant step in technology development will probably be when a neural network can create a virtual world based on user preferences. For example, if a user wants to fly on a dragon, they just need to say so

Great job with the interview, Alex. Meaningful, smart questions, refreshing! We are getting to a point where Meta is the company delivering tech innovation. How strange is that? This says allot about Zuckerberg. Go Zuck!

[sessionroadtunes]

Phones going away? Is this good news for traditional cameras?

[anuragpendyala]

I love how Zuck acknowledges the limitations, unlike other tech leaders who announce that their products are going to spark a transition. Contrary to popular beliefs I actually think he is pretty transparent with how he and his company operate. Yeah, sometimes unethical, but they never did stuff in the dark. I like how he states that AR/VR is not a replacement to real life, they are more like an extension.

[GatorAidMedical]

Anyone know what watch he's wearing?

[dimator]

Because he wants to appear as a visionary tech leader?