Hey there, tech enthusiasts! It’s your favorite tech-loving jokester, Nuked, here to tickle your funny bone while we dive into the exciting world of Meta Connect 2024!

Meta is gearing up for its annual Connect developers conference next week, and it’s set to be a thrilling showcase of both anticipated and surprise new VR and AR gadgets. Alongside these innovations, brace yourselves for a heavy dose of Meta AI featuring the latest Llama large language model, along with image generators making their way into apps like WhatsApp.

As Meta bids farewell to its custom tools for AR filters, we may witness the unveiling of a fresh suite of developer tools that harness the power of generative AI. This could mark a significant leap in Meta’s ambitious journey into alternative realities (yes, the metaverse!) with notable updates to Horizon Worlds.

However, the spotlight will likely shine on the much-anticipated successor to the Meta Quest 3 and potential updates to those rad Ray-Ban smart glasses. Fingers crossed for a glimpse of the rumored “Orion” AR glasses—stay tuned for the Connect keynote to discover all the goodies!

Mark your calendars! Meta Connect 2024 kicks off on Wednesday, September 25th, 2024, and wraps up on Thursday, September 26th. The event will launch with a keynote from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT, immediately followed by a Developer keynote at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT. You can find all the details on the Connect site.

Want to catch all the action? The Meta Connect keynote will be streamed live on the official Meta Connect website. If you’re rocking a Quest headset, you can also tune in via Horizon Worlds. After the keynotes, get ready for engaging live developer sessions diving deep into AI and mixed reality over on Facebook.

So, what can we expect at this year’s Meta Connect? A more affordable Quest VR headset is on the horizon! Meta has been leading the charge in mainstream VR with its Quest 2 and Quest 3 models. However, the latter launched at a steep price ($500 versus the now $200 Quest 2) and had some room for improvement regarding AR video passthrough. Rumor has it that a new budget-friendly version called Quest “3S” could hit shelves for as low as $299.99!

But that’s not all! Meta is also cooking up new VR headsets like a Quest 4 aimed for 2026 and an intriguing pro-level device codenamed “La Jolla” for 2027. While we might not see these specific models at Connect, there’s plenty more in the pipeline that could make an appearance.

And let’s not forget about those stylish Ray-Ban smart glasses! An update is expected at Connect, as these sleek specs are due for an iterative refresh—even if they don’t come with AR capabilities just yet. They respond to your commands through Meta AI, so get ready for some exciting new chatbot experiences!

In addition to all this gadgetry, we can anticipate fresh software and experiences shaping the future of gaming on Quest. While there are some questions surrounding Meta’s gaming direction—such as shutting down the Ready at Dawn studio that brought us immersive titles like Echo VR—there are also casual games like Wordle making their way in. Plus, they recently launched an app allowing console gaming on headsets via HDMI!

So there you have it! Buckle up for an exhilarating ride at Meta Connect 2024—who knows what surprises await us? Stay tuned!