Meta’s Vice President of Engineering and Head of its Augmented Reality Software, Don Box, has announced his resignation. This move has sparked questions about the fate of Meta’s planned augmented reality glasses’ custom operating system. According to a report by Reuters, Box has stated that he will be stepping down without elaborating on what he plans to do next. A Meta representative revealed that Box will be leaving the company at the end of the week due to personal reasons, and that his departure will not affect the product strategy.
There has been speculation about whether the operating system being developed by Box’s team will be included in the first-generation AR glasses, which are expected to be available next year for internal usage and chosen developers. Meta hopes to release a consumer version of the glasses by 2027.
Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s CTO and leader of the Reality Labs division, mentioned that the company is facing challenges in developing an AR device for the market, and that it will take a few more years. Additionally, Meta has experienced setbacks in producing custom silicon for its AR/VR devices, resulting in layoffs in its Reality Labs custom silicon business FAST. These layoffs could potentially jeopardize Mark Zuckerberg’s project to develop immersive virtual reality products that provide access to the metaverse.
Before joining Meta in 2021, Don Box had an impressive career at Microsoft, where he oversaw mixed reality engineering, including the creation of software for HoloLens2 headgear and related AR/VR services. Box was recruited by Meta to lead the XROS project, an effort to develop a proprietary operating system for virtual reality headsets, smart glasses, and augmented reality glasses.
Meta seems to be facing some challenges in advancing its augmented reality projects, but it remains to be seen how its plans will unfold in the future.
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