Meta Doubles the Number of Wearable Augmented Reality Devices
Meta Connect 2024 is the end. Mark Zuckerberg took the stage on Wednesday to announce a slew of product categories.
While there were some new features in familiar apps like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, Meta Connect was mostly about the company’s other projects, namely Meta Quest, smart glasses, and, of course, artificial intelligence.
Cheaper Meta Quest 3
There’s finally a version of Meta Quest 3 that doesn’t cost $500. The Meta Quest 3S combines much of what made the Quest 3 valuable into a device that’s almost as cheap as the Quest 2 was in its heyday. Starting at $299, it features the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip and the same Touch Plus controllers (minus the finger ring), and it actually has slightly better battery life (Meta claims it gives 2.5 hours versus 2.2 hours). in the original quest 3). The camera layout with three sensors on either side of the device is also a bit more attractive, at least in my opinion as a Quest 3 owner.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any compromises compared to a cheaper model. While the 3S can run all the same apps as the standard Quest 3, plus you still get full color output, the display has a lower resolution. Instead of a per-eye resolution of 2064 x 2208, you get the same numbers as the Quest 2 – 1832 x 1920. The field of view has also been reduced from a maximum of 110 degrees to a maximum of 96 degrees, and there is no depth sensor. But hey, there’s now an actual button to go from AR to VR, so you don’t have to double-tap the side of the device.
The Quest 3S officially replaces the Quest 2, and Meta is also discontinuing sales of the Quest Pro, so I guess the Quest 3 is now technically a pro-grade headset (at least it has a higher resolution). The company says it will continue to sell the Quest 2 and Pro until supplies run out (or until the end of the year, even if supplies remain), so if you want them, now is your last chance.
But you’ll probably be better off if you go for the Quest 3 version. The $299 Quest 3S has 128GB of internal storage, or you can upgrade to the 256GB version for $399. The regular Quest 3 will still cost $499, but all versions will now be bundled with Batman: Arkham Shadow , which releases on October 22. Pre-orders for the Quest 3S are active, and the full release will take place on October 15th.
New version of Llama 3.2, Meta’s artificial intelligence model.
Meta also announced the latest version of Llama, its artificial intelligence model. Llama 3.2 follows the July release of Llama 3.1 and comes in several different forms: two conceptual LLMs (small and medium), as well as two text models (1B and 3B), depending on how the model is to be implemented. Meta reports that these models are ready to work with Qualcomm and MediaTek hardware today and are optimized for Arm processors.
Meta says the two text models support 128KB tokens and are “state-of-the-art in their class” when used on a device for tasks such as summarizing, rewriting, and following instructions. On the other hand, vision models can replace their text model equivalents, and Meta argues that they can compete with closed models such as Claude 3 Haiku . Models are available for download at llama.com and Hugging Face .
While this is great for developers, for the rest of us Llama 3.2 is also available through the Meta assistant, Meta AI. By the way, the chatbot was also the focus of a number of announcements at Meta Connect 2024 .
What’s new in Meta AI
For AI companies, text messaging with your AI bots isn’t enough: the new trend is chatting with your digital companion. Meta will soon introduce this feature to Meta AI and when it does, you will be able to chat with the assistant on Meta apps like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and the bot will respond in kind. These are all the same answers you usually get from the Meta AI, just spoken out loud. As with other AI conversation bots, you can choose from a variety of AI voices, including celebrity options such as Awkwafina, Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Keegan Michael Key and Kristen Bell.
This announcement comes on the heels of the full rollout of OpenAI’s Enhanced Voice Mode , which offers paid subscribers a more “natural” chat experience with ChatGPT.
Meta AI now also understands images better. You can upload an image and ask Meta AI to identify items, such as a certain type of flower, or post a photo of a dish for which you need a recipe. (I’m skeptical about how well Meta AI can create a recipe from a photo, but we’ll see.) Meta AI can also “Photoshop” your images: Meta says the bot can change your outfit or replace your background entirely. For example.
Speaking of backgrounds, when you share a photo from your feed to your story, Meta AI can analyze the photo and create a free background for your post.
Meta also says it is working on a live translation feature for Reels. Once implemented, this feature will translate Reels audio into the target language with automatic dubbing and lip-syncing. According to Meta, Meta AI can essentially clone a speaker’s voice, translate it, and match it to their speaking style, which is both cool and pretty scary.
Currently, testing of these features is very limited and limited to English and Spanish content from creators in Latin America and the United States.
Meta is also adding more generative AI features to its apps. You can use the Imagine feature to create an image of yourself in any number of situations (superhero, royal, astronaut, etc.) and share it on your feeds; you can use AI to create new chat backgrounds for Messenger and Instagram private messages; and Meta tests Meta AI-generated content in your feeds, personalized for you. (I’m careful to call this last point a “feature” because it means your meta channels will get even more AI spam.)
Finally, Meta gives “thousands” of companies the ability to create AI-powered bots to interact with customers. These bots can be activated by the customer through click-to-message ads on WhatsApp and Messenger.
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Clear Glasses
Fans of the Wayfarer smart glasses that Meta makes with Ray-Ban will have to wait a little longer for an all-new model, but the tech company has shown off a few updates. Most of them have been software-focused, like the more conversational Meta AI, but transparent tech fans should be happy: with the addition of the ” Shiny Transparent ” frame, you can now get Wayfarer glasses with a crisp, clear look. , although they only come in standard sizes.
A black charging case and adapter lenses are included, but you’ll pay $429 for the privilege, rather than $299 for the standard pair. Meta is also only making 7,500 pairs of these glasses, but if you miss out, don’t worry—transition lenses will also be available for at least some of the regular lineup of frames.
As for these software updates, all Wayfarer glasses now also come with unique Meta AI integration: Meta says you can now say “Hey Meta” once and chat with the AI assistant, instead of having to say a hot word for every question. . These glasses will also remember where you parked your car, set reminders based on voice requests, and take actions based on the text in front of you. Lastly, you can ask Meta AI to call the phone number listed on the flyer you are viewing.
Meta AI can also record and send videos directly to WhatsApp and Messenger chats without requiring any action from your phone. Meta AI will also integrate with video through your glasses: you can use video to ask Meta AI for help in real time, and Meta AI will remember past events so you can ask questions with context.
Perhaps the coolest concept is live translation. If you are talking to someone in Spanish, French or Italian, your glasses will translate their speech into English, which you will hear through the speakers of the glasses. The glasses now also support Be My Eyes, so users can help people who are blind or have low vision via video feeds streamed into their glasses. Finally, you can control music playback from Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, and iHeart using Meta AI.
The first “real AR glasses” from Meta
Before shutting down Meta Connect this year, Zuckerberg hinted at a product that wasn’t quite ready to go to market. According to The Verge , this should have been the case, but the company is not satisfied with its size and complexity, so for now it remains internal.
Meet the Orion , a pair of AR glasses that aim to capture the core benefits of the Apple Vision Pro, but in a much smaller and more affordable form factor. This means virtual computer displays, AR objects placed in the real world, and even tracking technologies to facilitate interaction and light gaming.
Meta calls this experience “holographic,” although it’s not too different from what you can get from XReal’s similar Air devices . The difference is that everything here is proprietary rather than dependent on your phone or computer, and Zuckerberg envisions a future in which AR glasses replace phones.
This means they will also feature Meta AI features similar to Ray-Ban smart glasses, as well as ways to make calls and surf the internet. There’s also a bracelet to help with driving and a “wireless commute package” that allows you to reduce the size of your glasses by offloading processing tasks to another device. The downside is that both of these add-ons are needed at this point – there’s no device-free hand tracking like there is in Vision Pro.
Perhaps that’s why they’re still in the oven, although Mehta insists that Orion “is not a research prototype,” instead calling it “one of the most advanced product prototypes we’ve ever developed.” For now, its testing is limited to Meta employees and “selected external audiences,” with the company saying it wants to “focus on internal development first,” although it said Orion “really represents something that can be delivered to consumers ” In other words, the company thinks it could ship the Orion as is, but wants to improve a few things first, perhaps due to the poor consumer response to the similar Apple Vision Pro . These goals include sharper images, an even smaller form factor and, most importantly, a lower price.
This is intriguing, but unfortunately we’ll have to take Meta’s word for it that Orion will ever materialize. The company says we “can expect to see new devices based on our research and development efforts” over the “next few years,” so fingers crossed.