Hey, bear in mind Ray Ban Stories, Meta’s collaboration with the sunglass maker on digitally enhanced glasses that may take photographs, play audio, and so on.?
Effectively, they’re again – or no less than, Meta’s announced some new elements for Ray Ban Tales, which don’t take it into AR territory simply but. However they might 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 too can now tee up a brand new WhatsApp, Messenger, or textual content message with a single voice command. For instance, you can say, ‘Hey Fb, ship Jasmine a message on WhatsApp: can’t await spring break,’ and your glasses will affirm the message earlier than sending.”
That is considered one of a number of new voice controls which you can activate when carrying your Meta glasses – which could look somewhat bizarre to passers-by, however might be useful for replying on the go.
Meta’s additionally trying to make its voice instructions extra conversational and responsive, with extra natural-sounding engagement.
“As an alternative of claiming, ‘Ship a message’, quickly you’ll be capable to additionally say issues like, ‘Ask Martha if she needs to return to the celebration’, or ‘Inform David I really like him’, and the glasses will be capable to infer that you just’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, might be bizarre for folks in your quick neighborhood, but it surely’s one other approach to assist enhance the utility of the system, which might be useful 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 carrying the system, whereas it’s additionally rolling out Meta accounts to Ray-Ban Tales, which can imply which you can log into their sensible glasses with out utilizing a Fb account.
So, cool, proper? Some new tweaks for Ray Ban Tales, which can present extra, 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 stories, 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 system shall be coming in the next few years, which can even tie into its metaverse imaginative and prescient.
Based on Meta’s product roadmap, the subsequent massive replace for its Ray Ban Tales glasses, presently set for launch in 2025, will embrace a ‘viewfinder’ factor, which can allow you to learn incoming textual content messages inside your subject of view, whereas they’ll additionally embrace 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 tasks, and can deliver digital experiences into direct integration along with your on a regular basis life.
Although as famous, that plan might be impacted by Meta’s effectivity push, which can see it 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 seem to be 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 are needed within the regular growth of the system.
They usually look cool, which in itself is a serious win for the mission.
