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Should Apple worry about Meta's AR glasses product Orion?

Published 09/26/2024, 08:17 AM
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Investing.com -- Oppenheimer analysts believe Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s Vision Pro remains unthreatened by Meta (NASDAQ:META)'s recently showcased AR glasses prototype, Orion.

Despite Orion's impressive features, including its lightweight design (around 100 grams) and a wide 70-degree field of view (FOV), the analysts suggest it is not yet a competitor to Apple's Vision Pro.

The key reason for this, according to Oppenheimer, lies in Orion's cost and market readiness.

"Our checks indicate that Orion's bill-of-materials cost easily exceeds $3,000 compared to the Vision Pro's $2,000," the firm states.

A significant portion of this cost is said to come from the silicon carbide (SiC) wafer used in Orion, which is priced at over $350 per pair of glasses.

Oppenheimer explains that this is before considering additional costs for coating and lithography.

They add that while Meta's use of SiC contributes to Orion's impressive FOV, it also drives up costs, making the product less commercially viable in the near term.

Most AR glasses on the market use glass with a high refractive index, which is cheaper but offers a smaller FOV.

"Higher refractive index enables higher FOV in AR glasses," Oppenheimer explains, noting that Meta's choice of SiC gives Orion a competitive edge in terms of FOV but complicates cost management.

The analysts also point out that while Orion's light weight and FOV are impressive, its display resolution and refresh rate lag behind those of Apple's Vision Pro.

They assert that "resolution and speed of display are as important to good user experience as weight and FOV."

Oppenheimer concludes that Orion's advanced design is years away from reaching the commercial scalability that Apple's Vision Pro will achieve by 2024, keeping Apple in a strong competitive position.

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