Meta's Reality Labs team is preparing an EVT build for a next-generation pair of smart glasses that must support hands-free capture, audio playback, and lightweight on-device AI features integrated with Meta AI. You are the embedded engineering lead working with a 12-person cross-functional team spanning firmware, EE, thermal, systems, and operations. The program has high urgency because the EVT freeze is in 14 weeks, and missing it pushes the DVT schedule by one quarter.
The GM for wearables wants a launchable product profile that can scale to 1M units in year one. The industrial design lead is pushing for a smaller battery and lighter frame weight. The firmware lead wants more headroom for performance to support future Meta AI features, while sourcing is pressuring the team to avoid a PMIC and memory package that would add $6 per unit.
The current prototype delivers 3.8 hours of mixed-use battery life, but the product requirement is 5.0 hours minimum. The thermal limit is 42C skin temperature, peak system power must stay under 2.8W for sustained use, and the target BOM is $72 with only $4 remaining headroom. Only two board spins remain before EVT freeze, and the battery vendor needs final capacity locked by Week 6. The image signal processor team and audio DSP vendor both have firmware dependencies that will not be fully stable until Week 8.