Meta, which once made a bold move by changing its company name to demonstrate its determination, has recently had to bow to market realities. According toBusiness InsiderAccording to reports citing sources familiar with the matter, Meta is planning to lay off staff at Reality Labs, its core division responsible for metaverse development, and will redirect the saved resources to AI smart glasses and wearable devices that have recently seen booming sales.
The Metaverse division is undergoing restructuring, with potential layoffs reaching up to 30%.
This wave of layoffs has been described as a precise "surgery," and is expected to begin as early as next month. Reports indicate that the team primarily affected will be responsible for developing VR headsets and VR social platforms, with layoffs estimated to fall between 10% and 30% of that department.
While Meta hasn't completely abandoned the metaverse, it has clearly decided to stop endlessly investing in that "cumbersome" VR dream.
The $700 billion lesson: Consumers want "fashion," not bulky "headgear."
Over the past four years, Reality Labs, as the hardware embodiment of the Metaverse vision, has accumulated losses exceeding $700 billion. However, what truly brought Meta a glimmer of hope for profitability was not the high-end Quest Pro, but the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses launched in collaboration with Ray-Ban.
This product, which looks like ordinary sunglasses but has a built-in camera and AI voice assistant, has been a huge success in the market. This proves that consumers are more willing to pay for "lightweight and fashionable" tech gadgets than bulky VR headsets that isolate them from the world. Meta spokesperson Nissa Anklesaria also confirmed that, given the current momentum, the company is adjusting its investment portfolio, shifting resources from Metaverse to AI glasses.
Poaching Apple's design veteran to strengthen its "aesthetics" capabilities
To win this new battle, Meta even poached...Former Apple senior designer Alan DyeHe will lead a new creative studio within Reality Labs, focusing on the fusion of design, fashion, and technology, and will report directly to Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated on Threads that AI glasses will change the way humans connect with technology, and the new studio will be dedicated to making every interaction "natural and thoughtful."
Analysis: From "Ready Player One" to "Cloud Lover"
In my opinion, Meta's strategic shift this time is actually in line with the changing overall technology trend. In 2021, both Apple and Google were aggressively pushing VR/AR, and Meta heavily invested in Metaverse in an attempt to gain a voice. However, with Apple's Vision Pro generating more hype than substance, and with industry players like HTC gradually slowing down their VR application development, and with Apple and Google clearly also intending to enter the smart glasses market for XR and AR applications, Meta should realize that it no longer needs to bear the heavy burden of VR development alone.
Instead of forcing users to wear helmets and enter a virtual world like Ready Player One, it would be better to provide AI assistance in real life through lightweight AI glasses, similar to Her. For Meta, this is not only a way to mitigate losses, but also the most pragmatic and shortest path to the mass market.
