Meta's Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have several new AI-powered upgrades, including continuous conversation and the ability to translate between languages.
Ray-Ban Meta owners participating in Meta's early access program for the US and Canada can now download firmware v11, which adds “Live AI.” Live AI, first announced this fall, allows wearers to have continuous conversations with Meta AI, Meta's AI assistant, and see what was discussed earlier in the conversation. The wearer can interrupt the Meta AI to ask a follow-up question or change the subject without having to say the wake word “Hey, Meta.”
Live AI also works with real-time video. Wearers can ask questions about what they see in real time. For example, what's in the neighborhood?
Ray-Ban Meta's real-time AI video was a key focus of Meta's Connect development conference held earlier this fall. Positioned as an answer to OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode with Vision and Google's Project Astra, the technology allows Meta's AI to answer questions about what the glasses' front-facing camera sees.
Monday's update makes Meta one of the first tech giants to bring real-time AI video to market on smart glasses. Google recently announced that it plans to sell AR glasses with similar functionality, but the company hasn't given a specific timeline.
Mehta claims that in the future, live AI could even give the wearer “helpful suggestions” before they even ask. What suggestions do you have? The company did not say.
Firmware v11 also introduces live translation, allowing Ray-Ban Meta wearers to translate audio between English and Spanish, French, or Italian in real time. When the wearer speaks to someone who speaks one of these languages, they hear what that speaker says in English through the glasses' open-ear speakers and capture a transcript on their paired mobile phone.
Ray-Ban Meta also supports Shazam with firmware v11. The wearer can say, “Hey Meta, Shazam this song,” and the glasses will try to find the song that's playing.
Meta cautions that new features, especially live AI and live translation, don't always work correctly. “We continue to learn what works best and continue to improve the experience for everyone,” the company said in a blog post.
The last time Ray-Ban Meta received a major update was in November, when Meta began rolling out certain AI features to glasses users in France, Italy, and Spain. Glasses continue to sell very well. In October, Ray-Ban owner Essilor Luxottica told Upload VR that Ray-Ban Meta is the best-selling eyewear brand in 60% of all Ray-Ban stores in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.