What are the new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses?

During Meta Connect, Mark Zuckerberg announced the release date of the Meta Quest 3 as well as several AI enhancements. The company also unveiled a new pair of smart glasses as part of its partnership with EssilorLuxottica.

What are the main takeaways?

• Basically everything about the glasses is better than the previous version, from video and audio quality to the weight of the frames.

• What’s interesting is that you can also speak to Meta AI to answer contextual queries about what you are seeing. One example was asking it how to fix a leaky faucet.

• The glasses are available to preorder for $299, and will release on 17 October.

Analysis

The Meta Quest 3 was an interesting announcement and positions Meta well against Apple. But what struck me about the unveiling of the glasses is Mark Zuckerberg’s enthusiasm for the specs and its potential for “holograms.” That word kept appearing throughout the keynote, and it shows his hand on where he wants the technology to go.

The AI itself is the closest we have seen Meta’s vision of blending the virtual and real together. It acts as a bridge between the two, which users can beckon to answer queries or conduct analysis while on the move. I like the application; it is easy and frictionless, and looks genuinely useful too. It is also a big leap above the previous version.

Retention will be a key metric. 90% of previous Ray-Ban users do not use its smart features, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meta bets that its AI features will boost that figure — and based on its possible applications, I suspect the company might be right.

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