Meta Connect 2024 is a developer-focused event featuring a keynote speech from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He introduced new hardware and software that supports Meta's two big ambitions: AI and the Metaverse. This included everything from a new Quest headset, updates to Meta's Llama AI model, and even a new fully AR glasses prototype.
Meta Connect 2024 began live on Wednesday, September 25th at 10am Pacific Time. You can watch the archive on the Meta Connect site or the Meta developer's Facebook page. You can also jump into Horizon Worlds from your Meta Quest headset if you really want to feel it. Fully immersive.
We've compiled all the announcements and reveals from Meta Connect 2024 below and will continue to update them during and after the event as more reactions and analysis arrive.
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In a surprise announcement, Zuckerberg dramatically revealed Orion. According to Meta, these will ultimately be the company's “first full consumer holographic AR glasses,” but they won't be placed on consumers' faces right away. Zuckerberg touted Orion's lightweight, hand- and eye-tracking compatibility, and most ambitiously, its neural interface, impressing prominent early testers (including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang) It was also advertised. Orion Glass has been introduced as the future of Meta's AR efforts, and we've had our own ongoing coverage of Meta Connect's last big announcement.
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Image credit: Meta
The reveal of Quest 3S by Meta was indicated by several pre-event leaks and confirmed during Connect 2024. The Meta Quest 3S is offered as a cheaper alternative to the Quest 3, starting at $299 for the 128GB version and $399 for the 256GB version. The completely wireless headset is compatible with the existing library of Quest apps and games, but Meta was particularly enthusiastic about its mixed reality capabilities. With the announcement of the Quest 3S, the Quest 3 will drop from $649 to $499. Get early impressions of the new Quest 3S here ahead of its October 15 shipping date.
Quest 2, Quest Pro discontinued
“Now that we have discontinued the Quest 3S, we are officially discontinuing the sale of the Quest 2 and Pro. The remaining headsets will be available until the end of the year or until supplies last, whichever comes first,” Mehta said. He spoke to TechCrunch about the discontinuation of two of the headsets following the announcement of the Quest 3S.
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Meta AI is finding its voice. Users can ask questions or chat out loud with Meta AI through Messenger, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram and receive simulated voice responses. The digital voice assistant will be deployed with multiple voice options to choose from, including AI voices of celebrities such as Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Awkwafina, Kristen Bell and Keegan-Michael Key.
The reveal comes a day after OpenAI announced the long-awaited rollout of its Advanced Voice Mode feature with a new look and five new voices. And when it comes to voice announcements, Zuckerberg touted that MetaAI currently has 500 million users.
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Meta's multilingual Llama family of models has reached version 3.2. This means that some Llama models are now multimodal. Llama 3.2 11B and 90B can interpret charts, graphs, and caption images and accurately identify objects in images with a simple description.
Llama 3.2 11B and 90B may be able to look at a map of the park and tell you how long a particular trail is, or when the terrain becomes steep. Or, if you have a graph showing a company's earnings over a full year, the model can quickly spotlight its best-performing months.
In particular, Llama 3.2 11B and 90B are not accessible in Europe due to EU law restrictions. As a result, some Meta AI features available elsewhere, such as image analysis, are disabled for users in Europe.
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Ray-Ban's Meta smart glasses are getting an upgrade as the company continues to make the case that smart glasses can be the next big consumer device. At the forefront of the pitch is the addition of real-time AI video processing, which allows you to ask the Ray-Ban Meta glasses questions about what you see in front of your eyes.
These sunglasses also come with a smartphone-like reminder function. Live language translation between English and French, Italian, or Spanish. It also offers full integration with music streaming apps like Amazon Music, Audible, and iHeart Radio.
Yes, we know what's written on Zuckerberg's shirt
Screenshot image credit: Meta /
Zuckerberg's evolution into a fashionista was on full display during MetaConnect, when he wore a shirt that read “Act Zuck aut nihil.” For those not familiar with Latin, this translates to “Either Zack or nothing.” The phrase was originally associated with Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, further cementing Zuckerberg as a Roman.
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With this feature, which will be familiar to those who follow image-based search applications from OpenAI, Google, and Apple, Meta leverages the AI's ability to respond to image-based prompts as well as the photos provided to it by the AI. Introduced the ability to edit based on feedback. user. You can also share to Instagram Stories.
Adding more AI to your Facebook feed
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If you use Facebook, you've probably seen a lot of AI lately, consciously or unconsciously. There's an entire industry in its infancy that uses it to generate engagement bait. Earlier this month, the labels that indicate whether content was edited using Meta's tools were reduced. Now, Facebook is actually generating and marketing AI content to its users that it thinks they'll want to share and engage with.
Testing translated and dubbed content by creators
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Beyond just translating captions, Meta announced a test that uses an AI translation tool to take a creator's content, create a translated dub, and lip-sync the creator accordingly. So far, this experiment has been limited to videos from creators created in the United States and Latin America, and translated between English and Spanish.
In what ended up being a surreal moment, Zuckerberg brought creator Don Allen Stevenson III into conversation on stage, and then, with the real person right next to him, Zuckerberg spoke to the AI ​​version. It turned into a demo interview with Stephenson.
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Amid the big AI announcements, hardware and announcements, Meta stepped into Connect's broader purpose: building relationships with the developer community. As we continue to pitch developers on helping build products for the Quest app store, Meta has released new support for Android apps on Quest in addition to support for 3D and spatial apps.
Batman, Wardle, and other game announcements
Meta Connect 2024 reveals many new experiences for the Quest ecosystem, led by Batman: Arkham Shadow, which launches on October 22nd and will also be bundled with new Quest 3 and 3S purchases until next April. It was done. Beyond well-known concept games like the xenomorph-filled horror Alien: Rogue Incursion and a remake of the zombie game Arizona Sunshine, Wordle of all things has been announced for Quest. The VR version of Daily Puzzle is free to play without a New York Times subscription.