Mark Zuckerberg Wants Meta's AR Glasses to Be Its 'iPhone Moment'

Mark Zuckerberg wants to make Meta's forthcoming AR glasses an "iPhone moment" that will cast him and the company in a new light, according to a former employee who worked on the project.
facebook meta

The comment was made to The Verge for a report outlining Meta's roadmap for AR glasses, which includes at least four different versions to be launched over the next six years.

According to the report, Meta's first-generation AR glasses, dubbed Nazare, will be designed to work independently from a smartphone with the use of a wireless, phone-shaped device that offloads part of the computing required for the glasses to function.

A marquee feature of the device will be the ability for users to communicate with and interact with holograms of other people, similar to fictional scenes depicted in a video last October announcing Facebook's corporate rebrand to Meta.

The report says Meta intends to deliver the first-generation model of its AR glasses, aimed at early adopters and developers, by 2024. In the same year, the company also plans to release a pair of cheaper smart glasses, codenamed Hypernova, that will pair with a smartphone to show incoming messages and other notifications in a heads-up display.

Looking further ahead, Meta's AR roadmap includes a lighter, more advanced version of the Nazare glasses set to arrive in 2026, followed by a third version in 2028, according to details shared with The Verge by people familiar with the matter.

If the AR glasses turn out to be a success, Zuckerberg reportedly hopes they will cast Meta and himself in a new light and make the company he founded innovative once again, which is why "Zuck's ego is intertwined with [the glasses]," the former employee told The Verge.
apple ar headset concept 1

Apple mixed-reality headset concept render based on purported leaked information by Ian Zelbo

But Meta will have to go up against Apple, which has its own AR ambitions. Apple is working on at least two AR projects that include an augmented reality headset set to be released in late 2022 or 2023, followed by a sleeker pair of augmented reality glasses coming at a later date.

Rumors first suggested that Apple's AR/VR headset would come out in 2022, perhaps at WWDC in June, but there are development issues that Apple needs to overcome. Reliable sources like Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman have indicated that the headset will likely see a 2023 launch date, with the glasses to follow in 2024 or 2025.

For everything we know about Apple's AR plans, be sure to check out our dedicated guide.

Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. ...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...

Top Rated Comments

Velli Avatar
42 months ago
Haha.

Hahahahaha.

Ahhhahahhahhhahhahahahahhahaahhahahahhahahahahahahhahahaa!!
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DFZD Avatar
42 months ago
Excuse my manners but

Lol, Wut?
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pasqualem Avatar
42 months ago
I really hope this crashes and burns faster than anyone could imagine.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
42 months ago
Elon wants to buy Twitter and Mark wants to have his ‘iPhone’ moment. We are truly living in h*ll.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shalev Lazarof Avatar
42 months ago
Meta or Facebook or what ever their name is WILL never have what apple have, core values with the customer in the center of everything.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wayfarer Avatar
42 months ago
Nope. That’s a hard pass from me, Buster.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)