CNBC senior media and tech correspondent Julia Boorstin experienced Meta’s Orion AR glasses prototype, and was impressed by how lightweight they were.

Companies like Meta and Snap aren’t ready to sell their AR wearables to consumers yet—but their latest devices show significant progress.

Although Meta Connect 2024 lacked a marquee high-end product for the holiday season, it still included a new budget VR headset and a tease of the “magic glasses” Meta’s XR gurus have been talking about for the better part of a decade.