January, the month of CES, brought its share of AR announcements. But before diving into the news, a quick reminder: if you’re still waiting for your Meta Ray-Ban Display in France, prepare for disappointment. Meta seems to have other fish to fry, such as a patent infringement lawsuit that could prove very costly and a slight reorganization :)
Following CES, Meta announced a reorganization of its Reality Labs, which will focus on glasses and slow down development of its VR division. The company is maintaining its B2C focus, prioritizing Horizon Worlds and discontinuing its purely B2B services. One might argue that a 10% staff reduction doesn’t really change things and that Meta remains the trendsetter in XR. That’s true, but it also overlooks the fact that the message sent to professional users and investors isn’t exactly optimistic. We’ll see the effects of this within the year. Meta is also facing patent infringement charges from Solos Technology. The company is seeking damages « in the billions of dollars, » a mere pittance in the balance sheet. At the same time, the company is also launching a support program for initiatives using its smart glasses to promote social and economic progress, with « Accelerator Grants » of up to $200,000. Finding uses for these devices is essential, especially if the stated goal is to double or triple sales and, incidentally, to protect against Chinese manufacturers who are advancing rapidly and are about to launch an assault on Europe. Rayneo, in fact, raised $140 million to achieve this.
Beyond Meta, other developments are happening in the XR sector! Snap has created a subsidiary dedicated to its augmented reality glasses, named Specs Inc. With Spectacles version 7 expected soon, the company is strengthening its ecosystem. We can also welcome two funding rounds in the sector (AlphaLum at €3.6 million and Nucleus4D at $1.5 million) that offer essential software and hardware components. Another important development: the Lynx-R2, a European headset bucking the trend set by the mixed reality giants, was announced in San Francisco. Lynx is positioning itself by prioritizing openness, repairability, and accessibility. The headset stands out with its curved pancake lens optics, offering a 126-degree horizontal and 103-degree vertical field of view. This contrasts sharply with Apple’s Vision Pro production discontinuation announcements.
This roundup also includes several announcements of new smart glasses, and we’re preparing a list that’s as comprehensive as possible of the models presented at CES. The announcement that caught our eye? Perhaps the Pickle 1, which promises to be your « Soul Computer, » much like the friend.com pendant that will become your friend! The idea is to continuously film your surroundings to feed an AI assistant.
The uses of augmented reality are diversifying and multiplying. Snapchat and the Australian Open are collaborating to improve fan engagement during the tournament, while Distance Technologies has unveiled the Field Operator HUD (FOH), a system integrated into military vehicles. In France, we also have many interesting initiatives in the field of culture and heritage. Immersive Techs and Realillusions are being highlighted in the press for their work in this sector.
See you next time for more augmented reality adventures!
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Future events
- AWE Asia – February 2-4, 2026 – Singapore
- Immersive Days 2025 – 4 and 5 March 2025 – Luxembourg
- iMMERSITY – March 18 and 19, 2025 – Angoulême
- XR EXPO – April 28 and 29 2026 – Stuttgart
- SPIE Photonics Europe – 12 – 16 April 2026 – Strasbourg
- Laval Virtual 2026 – April 8-10, 2026 – Laval, France
- Shift Medical 2026 – May 20 – 22 – Heidelberg
- ICVR 2026 – July 28th to 30th – Cardiff
- SXSW London 2026 – 1-to-6 June – London
- International XR-Metaverse Conference 2026 – Converging Realities – June 17-19 – Tallinn
- XRSalento 2026 – June 16 – 20 – Otranto (Italy)
- Immersive Tech Week – June 23 to 25 – Rotterdam
- International Conference on Virtual Reality in Medicine and Healthcare ICVRMH – October 26-27 – Paris
- XR DAYS 2026 – October 13 and 14 – Vénissieux
- IHM’26 – October 2026 – Villeneuve d’Ascq
- EuroXR 2026 – November 3rd to 6th – Valencia
- Immersive X 2025 – November 10 to 12 – Virtual
