Following the news that MediaTek and Meta Reality Labs have announced an exclusive partnership to develop custom chips for augmented reality (AR) glasses; Anisha Bhatia, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, comments:

“Meta and MediaTek’s partnership on co-developing augmented reality (AR) chipsets is a shot in the arm for the AR segment, showing the vital strategic position of AR in Meta’s path ahead. This is Meta’s second big collaboration with MediaTek, after the August 2023 announcement that Meta’s Llama 2-based AI Large Language Models (LLM) will be used in MediaTek’s processors for on-device AI.”

“Meta is bullish on AR, and smart glasses are widely expected to be the next frontier in tech hardware. Working with MediaTek will provide Meta with more control over implementing its AR vision using MediaTek’s silicon versus using chipset giant Qualcomm’s silicon. Meta has tried creating its own mixed reality (XR) system on chips (SoCs) in recent times, without much success, and is rightfully leaving hardware design to the experts.”

“Meta has been working with Qualcomm on all things XR. The entry of MediaTek, one of the foremost chipset companies and a major Qualcomm rival, brings more competition to this segment. Combined with the hoopla around Apple’s Vision Pro AR headset, added rivalry in AR hardware will move the industry forward, which is what this sector needs.”