Meta Is Doubling Down on Augmented Reality Wearables
Meta Connect 2024 is a wrap. Mark Zuckerberg took the stage Wednesday to offer up announcements across a slew of product categories.
While there are some new features coming to familiar apps like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, Meta Connect was mostly about other ventures for the company-namely, the Meta Quest, smart glasses, and, of course, AI.
A cheaper Meta Quest 3Finally, a version of the Meta Quest 3 that doesn't cost $500. The Meta Quest 3S packs most of what made the Quest 3 worth it into a device that's almost as cheap as the Quest 2 was back in its heyday. Starting at $299, it's got the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip and the same Touch Plus controllers (with no ring around your fingers), and it actually has slightly better battery life (Meta says it gives you 2.5 hours vs. the 2.2 hours on the original Quest 3). Its camera layout, which has 3 sensors on either side of the device, is also a bit snazzier, at least in my opinion as a Quest 3 owner.
The Meta Quest 3S (left) next to a Meta Quest 3 (right) Credit: Meta That's not to say there are no compromises to the cheaper model. While the 3S can run all the same apps the standard Quest 3 can, plus you still get full-color passthrough, the display is lower resolution. Rather than a per-eye resolution of 2,064 x 2,208, you get identical numbers to the Quest 2, at 1,832 x 1,920. The field of view has also been lowered from a max of 110 degrees to a max of 96 degrees, and there's 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 is officially replacing the Quest 2, and Meta is also ending sales of the Quest Pro, so I suppose the Quest 3 is now technically its pro-level headset (it's got higher resolution, anyway). The company says it will continue to sell the Quest 2 and Pro until stock runs out (or until the end of the year, even if stock is remaining), so if you want one, now's your last chance.
But you'll probably be better served by picking up a version of the Quest 3. The $299 Quest 3S has 128GB of storage, or you can upgrade to a 256GB version for $399. The regular Quest 3 will continue to cost $499, but all versions will now be bundled with Batman: Arkham Shadow, which releases on October 22. Quest 3S preorders are live, with a proper release on October 15.
A new version of Llama 3.2, Meta's AI modelMeta also announced the latest version of Llama, its AI model. Llama 3.2 follows July's Llama 3.1, and comes in a few different forms: Two vision LLMs (small and medium-sized), as well as two text-only models (1B and 3B), depending on how the model needs to be implemented. Meta says these models are ready to go today for Qualcomm and MediaTek hardware, and are optimized for Arm processors.
Meta says the two text-only models support 128K tokens, and are "state-of the-art in their class" when used on-device for tasks like summarizing, rewriting, and following instructions. The vision models, on the other hand, can swap out their text model equivalents, and Meta says they can compete with closed models like Claude 3 Haiku. The models are available to download from llama.com and Hugging Face.
While that's great for developers, for the rest of us, Llama 3.2 is also available through Meta's assistant, Meta AI. As it happens, the chatbotwas also the focus of a number of announcements at Meta Connect 2024.
What's new with Meta AIFor AI companies, it isn't enough to text back and forth with your AI bots: The new trend is speaking with your digital companion. Meta will soon roll out that ability for Meta AI, and when it does, you'll be able to talk with the assistant in Meta apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and the bot will respond in kind. It's all the same responses you'd usually get from Meta AI, only spoken out loud. As with other spoken AI bots, you can choose from different AI voices, including celebrity options like Awkwafina, Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Keegan Michael Key, and Kristen Bell.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of the full rollout of OpenAI's advanced voice mode, which offers paid subscribers a more "natural" experience when speaking with ChatGPT.
Meta AI now understands more about images as well. You can upload an image and ask Meta AI to identify subjects, like a specific type of flower, or post a photo of a dish you'd like the recipe for. (I'm skeptical about how well Meta AI can craft a recipe from a photo, but we'll see.) Meta AI can also "photoshop" your images: Meta says the bot can swap out your outfit or completely replace the background, for example.
Speaking of backgrounds, when you share a photo from your feed to your story, Meta AI can analyze the photo and generate a complimentary background for your post.
Credit: Meta Meta also says it is working on a live translation feature for Reels. Once rolled out, the feature will translate the audio of Reels to a target language, with automatic dubbing and lip syncing. According to Meta, Meta AI can essentially clone the speaker's voice, translate it, and match it to their speaking style, which is both cool and pretty scary.
Right now, the testing for these features is very limited, and isolated to English and Spanish language content from creators in Latin America and the U.S.
Credit: Meta Meta is also adding more generative AI features to its apps. You can use the Imagine feature to generate an image of you in any number of situations (superhero, royalty, astronaut, etc.), and share them to your feeds; you can use AI to generate a new chat background for Messenger and Instagram DMs; and Meta is testing Meta AI-generated content in your feeds, personalized for you. (I'm wary calling this last point a "feature," considering it means yet more AI spam coming to your Meta feeds.)
Finally, Meta is giving "thousands" of business the ability to build AI bots for customer interactions. These bots can be activated by the customer through "click-to-message" ads on WhatsApp and Messenger.
Smarter, transparent Ray-Ban Meta glasses
Credit: Meta Fans of the Wayfarer smart glasses Meta's been making with Ray-Ban will need to wait a bit longer for a brand new model, but the tech company did show off a few upgrades. Most of these were software-focused, like a more conversational Meta AI, but fans of transparent tech should be happy: With the addition of the Shiny Transparent" frames, you can now get the Wayfarer glasses with a clear, see-through look, although they only come in the standard size.
They come with a black charging case and transition lenses out of the box, but you'll be paying $429 for the privilege, as opposed to $299 for a standard pair. Meta is also only producing 7,500 pairs of these glasses, but if you do miss out, don't worry-transition lenses will also be available for at least some of the regular lineup of frames, too.
As for those software upgrades, all Wayfarer glasses also now come with unique Meta AI integration: Meta says you can now say "Hey Meta" once and have a back and forth with the AI assistant, rather than having to say the hotword for each question. These glasses will also remember where you parked your car, set reminders from voice-based requests, and take action based on text in front of you. To that last point, you can ask Meta AI to call a phone number on a flyer you're looking at.
Meta AI can also record and send videos directly to WhatsApp and Messenger chats, without needing any action from your phone. Meta AI will also integrate with videos through your glasses-yu can use videos 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're talking to someone in Spanish, French, or Italian, your glasses will translate their speech into English, which you'll hear through the glasses' speakers. The glasses also now support Be My Eyes, so users can help others who are blind or have low vision via a video feed beamed into their glasses. Finally, you can control music playback from Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, and iHeart with Meta AI.
Meta's first True AR Glasses"Before closing out this year's Meta Connect, Zuckerberg gave a tease at a product that's not quite ready for market. According to The Verge, it was supposed to be, but the company's not satisfied with its size and complexity, so it's still internal for now.
Meet Orion, a pair of AR glasses that aim to capture the Apple Vision Pro's biggest selling points, but in a much smaller and more approachable form factor. That means virtual computer displays, AR objects placed over the real world, and even tracking tech for easier interaction and light gaming.
Credit: Meta Meta calls the experience holographic," although it doesn't look too dissimilar to what you might get from XReal's similar Air devices. The difference is that everything here is proprietary, rather than relying on your phone or PC, with Zuckerberg envisioning a future where AR Glasses replace phones.
That means these will also come equipped with Meta AI features akin to the Ray-Ban smart glasses, plus ways to make calls and browse the internet. There's also a bracelet to aid with control and a wireless commute pack," which allows the glasses to be smaller by shifting processing tasks onto another device. The downside is that both of these add-ons are required for now-there's no device-free hand tracking like on the Vision Pro.
The Meta Orion glasses (top right) next to the wireless commute pack (center) and neural wristband (left) Credit: Meta Perhaps that's why these are still in the oven, although Meta insists Orion is not a research prototype," instead calling it one of the most polished product prototypes we've ever developed." For now, its testing is limited to Meta employees and select external audiences," with the company saying it wants to focus on internal development first," although it did say Orion is truly representative of something that could ship to consumers."
In other words, the company thinks it could ship Orion as-is, but wants to improve on a few points first, perhaps driven by poor consumer reception to the similar Apple Vision Pro. These goals include sharper visuals, an even smaller form factor, and most importantly, a lower price.
It's intriguing, but we unfortunately have to take Meta on its word that Orion will ever materialize. The company says we can expect to see new devices from us that build on our R&D efforts" over the next few years," so fingers crossed.