Sources: Meta to release Nazare AR glasses V1, not tied to a phone, and a cheaper pair codenamed Hypernova in 2024; Nazare V2 expected 2026, and V3 in 2028
The VergeAlex Heath
Context & Ripple Effects
This report extends the AR-glasses plan Meta unveiled when it announced Project Nazare in late 2021 into a concrete product ladder: a premium, phone-independent Nazare V1 alongside a cheaper codenamed Hypernova pair, both targeted for 2024, with V2 and V3 slotted for 2026 and 2028.
The later coverage shows how that ladder actually played out: Meta reportedly decided not to publicly release Nazare V1 at all [[a:1155074]], its internal roadmap pushed full AR glasses out to 2027 [[a:836684]], and Hypernova became the near-term product — entering mass production in Q3 2025 [[a:889571]] with a reported $1,000–$1,400 price point.
First-order effects
Meta commits to two distinct AR tracks at once — a standalone flagship untethered from phones and a budget companion — splitting its engineering and supply-chain bets rather than shipping one device.
A phone-free Nazare V1 would make Meta the first mover among the major platforms on truly independent consumer AR, ahead of any comparable Apple offering named in the coverage.
Second-order effects
The Hypernova track forces the pricing conversation: once the cheaper pair lands in the reported $1,000–$1,400 band, rivals' display-glasses plans are benchmarked against that number, and component suppliers orient around Hypernova's production ramp even though its stated target of 150K–200K units over two years is deliberately modest.
Apple's entry timing becomes the competitive variable Meta optimizes against — the later analysis frames Hypernova's Q3 2025 mass production explicitly as a move to beat Apple to market.
Third-order effects
The V1/V2/V3 cadence through 2028 frames AR glasses as a decade-long platform program, not a gadget launch — but the subsequent slip of Nazare V1 to unreleased status and the roadmap's move to 2027 shows these multi-year public targets function as direction-setting rather than ship dates.
If the pattern holds, the market structures itself around a premium standalone line and an affordable display line, with the affordable tier carrying volume and ecosystem-building while the flagship defines the endpoint.
The trend: Consumer AR is shifting from phone-tethered accessories toward standalone display glasses, with Meta's staggered Nazare-and-Hypernova roadmap racing Apple to define the category.
Here are new details on Meta's plans for AR glasses, starting with two pairs in 2024. Sales expectations are low initially, but the company hopes to be shipping tens of millions of smart glasses towards the end of the decade. Going to be a long road. https://www.theverge.com/...
Lots of new info from @alexeheath on Meta's hardware roadmap. Going to be a long time before we get usable AR: “Nazare won't be a mainstream device .. Its current battery life is only four hours, and the glasses are intended to be used mostly indoors.” https://www.theverge.com/..…
Meta's Ray-Ban (not really) smart glasses are flopping: “Meta sold about 120,000 pairs of the glasses with Ray-Ban during the period when it went on sale last September through December, missing its initial goal of 300,000.” https://www.theverge.com/...
Meta is investing the most on building AR hardware, so I set out to see how long it would take for glasses to be mainstream, and to show the stakes at play. Despite the fact that they don't exist yet, they were the connective tissue for Zuck's metaverse vision pitch last October.…
@hrafntho Their chips are really the thing they are the most ahead with. Everything else seem achievable for other big tech, their chips and supply chain? Not sure if it's possible to compete with that.
Another layer is that Facebook has always lived under the thumb of Apple and Google on mobile, and this gives them a chance to possibly not be. The full AR glasses (Nazare) are intended to work without a phone, while Hypernova is intended to lessen the dependence on your phone.
That said, it's about the full package and putting care into making every component fit together flawlessly. Make products deliver maximum value and benefit to the people that use them.
People talk a lot about Apple's hardware superiority being their card in VR/AR, but it's the software side where they really have the superior advantage over anyone. Their team (!), infrastructure and services overall are phenomenally positioned.
“Everyone I've talked to who has tried a prototype of the band Meta is working on says it's one of the most impressive tech demos they've ever experienced. If it works at scale, the company thinks it could have the next mouse and keyboard.” https://twitter.com/...
Smartphones were a very easy sell. I would say that this whole AR/metaverse bullshit being so hard to sell mean that we are obviously on the wrong track. https://twitter.com/...
I hate to school the college dropout from Menlo Park, but the “iPhone moment” already happened on Jan 9, 2007, and history does not repeat itself. ↓ https://twitter.com/...
“He wants it to be an iPhone moment.” Um, I think it will be iPhone's iPhone moment when Apple comes out with its version: Behind Mark Zuckerberg's big plans for AR glasses https://www.theverge.com/...
Has anyone at Meta done the numbers on just how many people have prescription glasses in their target market? Because, like, this feels like a very basic problem to consider in all this https://twitter.com/...
Huge scoop by @alexeheath: Mark Zuckerberg's roadmap for AR glasses. 👓three sets due 2024, 2026, 2028 👓V1 requires wireless CPU puck 👓has eyetracking (!) and control with an EMG wristband (!) 👓only four hours of battery https://www.theverge.com/...
Very cool report from @alexeheath. Meta's AR glasses will likely come in 2024. They'll use waveguides and are going for a 70degree FOV, and Meta wants you to just like....use your brain to control the headset? https://twitter.com/...
The glasses themselves aside, Meta is also planning a wrist device they pair with based on its acquisition of CTRL-labs in 2019. Uses EMG to essentially let you type with your mind. Apparently a pretty wild demo that, if it scales, could be the keyboard equivalent for AR. https:/…