Tech giant Meta debuts eyewear featuring integrated screen, aiming for AI advancements towards 'super intelligence'
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has entered the smart glasses market with the launch of its first consumer-ready product, the Meta Ray-Ban Display. The glasses were unveiled at the annual developer conference, Connect, in September 2021.
Priced at $799, the Meta Ray-Ban Display will be available in stores starting from September 30. The glasses feature a small digital display in the right lens for basic tasks such as notifications. They also come with an included wristband that translates hand gestures into commands such as responding to texts and calls.
Meta's entry into the smart glasses market is driven by the demand for the cheaper Ray-Bans it makes with Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica. This move has contributed significantly to Meta's growth in this market.
IDC, the research firm, forecasts worldwide shipments of augmented reality/virtual reality headsets and display-less smart glasses will increase by 39.2% in 2025. Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, considers the Display glasses to be great value for the tech you're getting. However, he notes that the software for the glasses needs to catch up.
The Meta Ray-Ban Display is not Meta's only foray into the world of smart glasses. The company has also been working on the "Orion" glasses, planned for a 2027 launch. However, these were not mentioned in the current launch.
Meta trails rivals such as OpenAI and Alphabet's Google in rolling out advanced AI models. This could potentially hinder the popularity of the Meta Ray-Ban Display until the software catches up. Until then, the glasses might not be a device that the average consumer might know about or care to purchase, according to Jitesh Ubrani.
The Meta Ray-Ban Display is not the only product Meta unveiled at the Connect conference. The company also revealed a new pair of Oakley-branded glasses called Vanguard, aimed at athletes and priced at $499.
However, Meta is facing scrutiny over its handling of child safety on its social media platforms. Reuters reported in August that Meta chatbots engaged children in provocative conversations about sex and race, and whistleblowers said this month that researchers were told not to study the harmful effects of virtual reality on children.
Despite these challenges, Meta is investing heavily in AI technology. Zuckerberg has kicked off a Silicon Valley talent war to poach engineers from rivals and promised to spend tens of billions of dollars on cutting-edge AI chips. With the launch of the Meta Ray-Ban Display, the company is taking a significant step towards realizing its vision of the AI promise of "superintelligence".
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