Mark Zuckerberg is on a mission to combine the physical and digital worlds — and he’s leaving screens out of it.
The future of tech is heading away from them and toward holograms that eliminate the need for the “small glowing rectangle” in your hand, Zuckerberg told Theo Von on the “This Past Weekend” podcast.
“All this digital stuff should just basically be holograms. You shouldn’t need a physical screen,” Zuckerberg said.
His big solution? Glasses.
Meta has seen a positive response to its AI-powered smart Ray-Bans and is working on upping its wearables arsenal with the Orion augmented-reality glasses. That high-powered eyewear, which isn’t yet available for purchase, allows users to view digital images while seeing the world around them. It’s a step forward from owning a TV, smartphone, or computer, he told Von.
In a separate Tuesday interview with Dwarkesh Patel, he said, “It’s like this huge physical thing, and that’s what the holographic overlays allow you to do.”
Facebook, Zuckerberg’s brainchild, has been a game changer in social media. Meta has also grown its online presence with the additions of Instagram and Threads. It’s set to release quarterly earnings Wednesday.
However, Orion is still years away, and its competitors currently include bulkier AR headset options. Zuckerberg told Von that the computer glasses, which reportedly cost $10,000 per pair for Meta to make, are between four and eight years away from production — but he’s hoping for four or fewer.
In the real world, “you don’t want your physical space to be cluttered,” he said. “It wears on you psychologically.”
Zuckerberg said he figures it works similarly when it comes to screens and the digital space.
