Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta has just come out with its latest smart glasses, the Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses, that, apart from being a leap forward from their predecessors, are a tad bit more creepy than before.
The glasses feature a 13MP wide-angle camera that can take photos of whatever you are looking at and post them on Instagram with a simple voice command. Yes, anything or anyone you are looking at. While the stalking possibilities are endless with this innovation, let’s focus on its technical specifications for now.
The camera records 1080p videos at 60fps, enabling users to capture and share their life’s moments. Yeah, sure.
The company also said that users can share photos with family and friends directly from the glasses.
Not just photos and videos, the camera also captures sound, thanks to five microphones for spatial audio. The built-in speakers have been upgraded for louder sound, with extended bass, higher maximum volume, and improved directional audio.
The glasses can charged by putting them in a sleek charging case that is capable of providing up to eight additional charges, totalling up to 35 hours of usage.
The smart glasses have been launched at $299 and will be set to ship from October 17.
Meta Quest 3
The company also unveiled its next-generation AR headset, the Meta Quest 3, at its Connect 2023 event. It was first teased in June, just before Apple’s Vision Pro reveal.
The mixed reality headset comes with a full-colour passthrough and integrates augmented reality elements into your surroundings.
The AR headset is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip that claims double the performance of its predecessor, the Quest 2.
The company has also claimed that the headset will offer higher resolution and an expanded depth of field while maintaining a 90Hz refresh rate.
Those who wear glasses can relax as the company has also considered them by adding a dial to adjust inter-pupillary distance.
Pre-orders for the Quest 3 are now open, starting at $500 for the 128GB model, while the 512GB variant, bundled with a six-month trial of Meta Quest+, is priced at $650.
Meta has also announced that Xbox Cloud Gaming will also be available on the Meta Quest 3 from December.
Meta AI
Meta has also marked its entry into the artificial intelligence race with Meta AI, a chatbot that will be integrated into a number of products, including WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and the Quest 3.
The Meta AI can also generate images from text, not unlike Dall-E and Midjourney. Both image generation and the chatbot would be free to use.
Using the AI features, WhatsApp users will soon be able to send personalized stickers based on text inputs. At the same time, Instagram users should expect an AI-powered image editing and restyling feature coming as early as next month.