TikTok parent ByteDance reportedly developing its own XR glasses
TL;DR ByteDance is reportedly working on mixed reality goggles.
Sources compare the size and shape of the goggles to Bigscreen's Beyond headset.
It will come tethered to a puck, similar to Meta's XR glasses.
Outside of AI, the hottest thing in tech these days seems to be smart glasses. We've known for a few months now that Meta is working on XR glasses, internally codenamed Phoenix (previously codenamed Puffin). Not to be confused with Orion, which is the social media giant's AR glasses project. According to a new report, it looks like rival ByteDance has decided to follow Meta's footsteps and create its own XR device.
Sources close to the matter have told The Information that TikTok's parent company is developing a lightweight mixed reality device that resembles a pair of goggles. These goggles will reportedly be tethered to a pocketable puck that may double as a power source and computational device. Additionally, it appears that the company is working on developing specialized chips that will minimize the latency between what the user sees and their physical movements.
It's reported that ByteDance has yet to finalize the design and specifications. However, the report compares ByteDance's goggles to Meta's Phoenix project. Both devices are also described as having a similar size and shape to Bigscreen's Beyond headset. If you're unfamiliar with the Bigscreen Beyond, you can see what they look like in the image below. The company calls it the 'world's smallest VR headset,' with the newest model weighing only 107g.
It's reported that Pico, ByteDance's mixed reality hardware division, is enlisting the help of Chinese suppliers for development. The report claims the division was previously working on a product that could rival Apple's Vision Pro, but Pico pivoted to a lightweight device after Meta began working on glasses.
Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at
Email our staff at news@androidauthority.com . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
4 minutes ago
- CNN
Right-wing activist Robby Starbuck joins Meta as an AI advisor focused on ‘bias'
Conservative influencer and anti-DEI agitator Robby Starbuck has a new role: advising tech giant Meta on how to prevent 'bias' in its artificial intelligence systems. The partnership is part of a settlement agreement Meta announced on Friday, after Starbuck sued the company in April accusing it of defamation by its AI chatbot. In his complaint, Starbuck alleged that Meta AI had repeatedly and falsely produced answers to queries about him stating that he had participated in the attack on the US Capitol on January, 6, 2021. Starbuck and Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan shared a joint statement on Friday, saying the two parties had 'resolved this matter to our mutual satisfaction.' 'Since engaging on these important issues with Robby, Meta has made tremendous strides to improve the accuracy of Meta AI and mitigate ideological and political bias,' the statement reads. 'Building on that work, Meta and Robby Starbuck will work collaboratively in the coming months to continue to find ways to address issues of ideological and political bias and minimize the risk that the model returns hallucinations in response to user queries.' Starbuck is a former Hollywood music video director who gained attention last year for online campaigns against some major American brands' diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, support for gay Pride marches and LGBTQ events, efforts to slow climate change and other social policies. He has targeted brands popular with politically conservative customers — such as Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply Co. and John Deere — and in some cases, claimed credit for companies scaling back such programs. The agreement will give the high-profile right-wing activist a say in one of the most widely used AI systems, and at a time when Meta is investing heavily in the tech as it aims to reach what it calls 'AI superintelligence.' Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in May that 1 billion people are using Meta AI each month across the company's apps, although it's not clear how the company measures use of the tool. The move also follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month as part of the White House's AI action plan that seeks to scrub AI models of so-called 'woke' ideals. The order prohibits the federal government from procuring AI technology 'infused with partisan bias or ideological agendas such as critical race theory' and says AI models should prioritize factors including historical accuracy and scientific inquiry, although experts have said determining what qualifies as bias in an AI system will be tricky. Starbuck originally sought $5 million in damages with his lawsuit. Meta declined to comment on any financial terms of the settlement. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on whether Starbuck is being paid for his advisory work, nor whether the company works with other such AI advisors. Starbuck told CNBC in an interview Friday: 'In terms of the monetary side and everything, I think that the big focus for us is really fixing this. That was the big reason why I decided to move forward not just with the lawsuit but with this settlement… we wanted to fix the problem for everybody.' Starbuck did not return CNN's request for comment. Meta has undergone a broader ideological shift to the right this year. Since January, the company has replaced its policy chief with Kaplan, a prominent Republican who previously worked in the George W. Bush White House; added Trump ally and UFC CEO Dana White to its board; and scrapped its partnerships with third-party fact-checkers that had been criticized by the right as politically biased, despite a lack of evidence to that effect. In a statement posted to X last week, Starbuck said, 'delivering fairness for consumers is the outcome I've always wanted.' 'As we move into a future where AI dominates many parts of our world, now you know that you have an unshakeable voice at the table to advocate for ideological fairness,' he said, adding that he planned to say more 'after we complete our work.' Starbuck told CNN last year that he wants US corporations to take a 'neutral' stance on social issues, describing his activism as 'corporate accountability for companies that depend on conservative consumers.' Experts in business management have noted that companies generally don't take measures on diversity and climate because of a political stance, but rather as a business decision. –Nathaniel Meyersohn and Lisa Eadicicco contributed to this report.
Gizmodo
5 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
One of the Most Prolific VR Headset Makers (Not Meta) Now Has Smart Glasses (Not Ray-Bans)
XR, or extended reality, headsets are on the outs, but smart glasses are eating more and more of what was once VR's slice of the face-mounted wearables pie. HTC, one of the few lingering pioneers of VR headsets with its Vive series, couldn't stand up to Meta's Quest for cheap consumer virtual reality, but it may be able to shoulder in some room with a new pair of smart glasses that goes tit for tat with Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley HSTN smart eyewear. The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have proved popular enough that now many of the longtime staples of VR are coming out of the woodwork to offer their own version. HTC is now fashioning a pair of stylish frames called the Vive Eagle. They come in slick translucent plastic and sport the usual 12-megapixel ultrawide cameras and twin speakers on each arm. It's using a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset and comes with 32GB of onboard storage. In a video, HTC showed off a few of the unique features for the Vive Eagle, including AI noise suppression to keep ambient noise down when you're on a call. Like the Ray-Ban Meta, the Vive Eagle also connects to an AI assistant. The device can use AI image and text recognition if you need it to spell any text you're looking at. Vive is compatible with Google Gemini and ChatGPT for features like translation, though we don't have more details about what specific models users will have access to. HTC said users should also be able to ask the AI to set up calendar events. Like Meta's glasses AI, the Vive Eagle has a 'memory' feature that can recall people you've met or where you parked your car. Users would need to connect through the Vive Connect app to use any of these AI features. HTC hasn't mentioned what apps Vive Eagle will be compatible with, and since the smart glasses are currently only available in Taiwan, it's unclear what sort of compatibility we can expect if it ever makes its way to the U.S. If the AI wasn't already a big copycat scheme, the smart glasses would be practically identical to the Ray-Bans in specs. HTC promised the Vive Eagle can do a full 4.5 hours of continuous music playback, and it should last more than 36 hours on standby on its 235mAh battery. Meta promises users should get up to four hours on the Ray-Bans with moderate usage. The larger Oakley Meta glasses promise a up to five hours of audio playback at 100% charge. HTC promises the Vive Eagle will charge from 0 to 50% in less than 10 minutes with fast charging through its glasses case. VIVE Eagle 🕶️ announced! 🔊 The audio is truly amazing with very little leakage. Loud & bassy.📷 12MP super wide FOV camera🎙️ 4x mic array, with a great directional mic to capture your voice even in noisy environments🔋 Large battery for lasting the entire day. Charges 50% in… — Shen Ye (@shen) August 14, 2025Considering the specs and capabilities, HTC's biggest impediment will be price. It's currently asking for 15,600 new Taiwan dollars, or around $535. The device could cost less if HTC ever brings the Vive Eagle to the U.S., and even then it will face stiff competition. Some China-based companies are going hard into AR glasses, including ones with full screens housed in utterly massive frames. Other Ray-Ban Meta competitors, like these glasses from Xiaomi feature much longer battery life, closer to 8 hours of continuous music playback. Meta has still yet to release a rumored $1,000 pair of AR glasses codenamed 'Hypernova' featuring a small heads-up display. We're still waiting to see what comes out of Android XR and Google's partnership with glasses maker Xreal. HTC's last big product, the Vive Focus Vision, was an expensive $1,000 headset for PC VR with a dated VR-focused chipset and Fresnel lenses, an older style of lenses found on the $300 Meta Quest 3S that are considered worse than pancake lenses found on the $500 Meta Quest 3. If HTC really wants to compete with other big smart glasses makers, it needs to show us a product we truly haven't seen before—preferably at a lower price.
CNBC
6 minutes ago
- CNBC
AI startup Cohere valued at $6.8 billion in latest fundraise, appoints new executives
Cohere was valued at $6.8 billion after its latest $500 million funding round, as the artificial intelligence startup moves to expand its market share in a highly competitive industry. The funding round was led by Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital, with participation from existing investors AMD Ventures, Nvidia, PSP Investments, and Salesforce Ventures, among others. Unlike most AI companies like OpenAI and Meta's Llama, which are focused on broad foundational models, Cohere builds enterprise-specific AI models. In January, it launched North, a ChatGPT-style tool designed to help knowledge workers with tasks such as document summarization. The company said it will use the new funding to advance agentic AI that can help businesses and governments operate more efficiently. Alongside the fundraise, Cohere appointed Joelle Pineau, former Vice President of AI Research at Meta, as Chief AI Officer, and Francois Chadwick, former CFO at Uber and Shield AI, as Chief Financial Officer. The fundraise comes amid a broader surge in AI financing, as private equity and Big Tech channel capital into startups in pursuit of strong returns from innovative AI products.
