It’s another busy week to kick off February. The motions of 2025 continue to turn towards the year’s next big events, including the run-up to vendor-focused highlights from firms like Apple.

Firms like Meta, Google, and Samsung are making sky-high investments. As vendor events, such as the recent Unpacked, approach 2025, it is fair to expect some massive hardware updates in the XR world following these investments.

The XR space is experiencing billions upon billions of capital being pumped into it, and with enterprise end-users also increasing, prospects are high for AR/VR/MR this year.

Meta Invests $100 Billion into XR

After its recent Q1 earnings report, news emerged that Meta is again committing to investments in immersive technology with a $100 billion spending plan for its XR product portfolio. This portfolio includes augmented reality smart glasses, virtual reality headsets, mixed reality devices, and metaverse services.

In addition to the reported ongoing $100 billion investment in XR, Mark Zuckerberg discussed the past year’s success in distributing Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses, which feature AR-lite capabilities. These glasses are a testbed for new augmented reality functionalities, such as translation visualizations.

Zuckerberg noted:

Our Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses are a real hit, and this will be the year when we understand the trajectory for AI glasses as a category. Many breakout products in the history of consumer electronics have sold 5-10 million units in their third generation. This will be a defining year that determines if we’re on a path towards many hundreds of millions and eventually billions of AI glasses — and glasses being the next computing platform like we’ve been talking about for some time — or if this is just going to be a longer grind.

Zuckerberg stated that smart glasses are “the perfect form factor for AI,” highlighting Meta’s perspective on integrating AI and extended reality. This reflects Zuckerberg’s ongoing interest in the combination of these technologies. Additionally, he emphasized that Meta’s work on the metaverse is far from over, declaring, “This is also going to be a pivotal year for the metaverse.”

The number of people using Quest and Horizon has been steadily growing — and this is the year when a number of long-term investments that we’ve been working on that will make the metaverse more visually stunning and inspiring will really start to land. I think we’re going to know a lot more about Horizon’s trajectory by the end of this year.

Zuckerberg stated that Meta is enhancing its efforts to create “exciting innovations that will shape the future of human connection.”

Apple Ceases AR Smart Glasses Production

Apple is dropping the development of Mac-ready AR smart glasses following internal research into an XR device that could sit next to the Vision Pro headset.

Seemingly, the Apple AR smart glasses device would work alongside and tether to Mac hardware, indicating that computing power would be shared between devices, unlike the Vision Pro’s standalone design. Moreover, rumours suggested that the AR smart glasses product would link to an iOS mobile device.

Details regarding Apple’s pullback from AR smart glasses development are slim. However, it appears that the firm will retain focus on Vision Pro following a positive showing at CES. Ideally, the following steps will drag Vision Pro back into the public’s eye following moments of silence regarding the MR device now that Apple is not moving forward with an alternative AR headset.

The recent developments came after Apple internally researched the prospects of AR smart glasses late last year.

Then, Apple reportedly researched a project named “Atlas,” which aimed to gather feedback from employees and competitors regarding AR smart glasses.

XR Women Celebrate XR Innovation at Florida Symposium

This weekend, XR Women, a leading group focused on innovation and learning in immersive technology, will host the Thrive in 2025 Symposium from February 7-9, 2025, at the Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, Florida.

This event builds on four years of efforts to lead the augmented reality/virtual reality/mixed reality industry by organizing networking events that connect women professionals from around the globe, striving for a balanced and innovative future.

The XR landscape is rapidly evolving, and the next five years are expected to be transformative. This is driven largely by the contributions of women who advocate for learning, innovation, and leadership in immersive technologies. The Thrive in 2025 Symposium seeks to nurture and celebrate this legacy of leadership.

“This milestone event celebrates how far we’ve come and provides an opportunity to make new connections in person, inspire one another, and collaborate on shaping the future of immersive technology,” said Karen Alexander, Co-Founder of XR Women.

Alexander also highlighted that the event will showcase the strengths of the Ringling College of Art & Design and the State College of Florida’s Advanced Technology Center, feature various exhibitors, and feature workshop leaders.