Hey, keep in mind Ray Ban Stories, Meta’s collaboration with the sunglass maker on digitally enhanced glasses that may take images, play audio, and so forth.?
Nicely, they’re again – or at the least, Meta’s announced some new elements for Ray Ban Tales, which don’t take it into AR territory simply but. However they could possibly be related for some customers.
First off, Meta’s added new voice instructions inside the system, which can allow you to answer to incoming WhatsApp, Messenger, and textual content messages simply by talking.
As per Meta:
“As soon as your message is learn out, say ‘Hey Fb, reply’, and also you’re off to the races, whereas you may also now tee up a brand new WhatsApp, Messenger, or textual content message with a single voice command. For instance, you would say, ‘Hey Fb, ship Jasmine a message on WhatsApp: can’t anticipate spring break,’ and your glasses will affirm the message earlier than sending.”
That is one in every of a number of new voice controls which you could activate when sporting your Meta glasses – which could look a bit of bizarre to passers-by, however could possibly be helpful for replying on the go.
Meta’s additionally seeking to make its voice instructions extra conversational and responsive, with extra natural-sounding engagement.
“As a substitute of claiming, ‘Ship a message’, quickly you’ll have the ability to additionally say issues like, ‘Ask Martha if she desires to come back to the social gathering’, or ‘Inform David I like him’, and the glasses will have the ability to infer that you simply’re attempting to ship a message. They’ll even know whether or not they need to punctuate your outgoing message with a interval or query mark based mostly on context cues.”
Once more, could possibly be bizarre for individuals in your quick neighborhood, however it’s one other approach to assist enhance the utility of the machine, which could possibly be helpful in some conditions.
Meta’s additionally integrating Spotify controls for Android (which is already out there on iOS), enabling you to cue up music when sporting the machine, whereas it’s additionally rolling out Meta accounts to Ray-Ban Tales, which can imply which you could log into their sensible glasses with out utilizing a Fb account.
So, cool, proper? Some new tweaks for Ray Ban Tales, which can present further, purposeful worth in some methods.
However they’re not main updates – they’re not Meta’s long-awaited AR glasses, that are reportedly nonetheless in growth.
There have been experiences, at one stage, that Meta had shelved its AR glasses project as a part of its broader cost-cutting push, however extra lately, Meta has indicated that the subsequent stage for the machine can be coming in the next few years, which will even tie into its metaverse imaginative and prescient.
In line with Meta’s product roadmap, the subsequent massive replace for its Ray Ban Tales glasses, presently set for launch in 2025, will embody a ‘viewfinder’ aspect. That may allow you to learn incoming textual content messages inside your discipline of view, whereas they’ll additionally embody QR code scanning capability, together with hand controls to navigate the show.
A full AR model is then slated for launch in 2027, which would be the subsequent massive leap for Meta’s wearable initiatives, and can carry digital experiences into direct integration along with your on a regular basis life.
Although, as famous, that plan could possibly be impacted by Meta’s effectivity push, which can see the corporate cut over 20,000 staff in total. However even inside this, Meta’s still spending big on its next-level developments, and given its alignment with the metaverse, it does look like the subsequent stage of its sensible glasses will stay a precedence.
However we’re not there but. These are a lot smaller tweaks, that are unlikely to immediate a sudden rush on Ray Ban Tales gross sales, however they’re steps which might be vital within the regular growth of the machine.
They usually look cool, which in itself is a serious win for the challenge.
