Meta unveils budget smart glasses, ditching Ray-Ban

The new smart glasses are priced $80 lower, and Alex Himel, Meta's Vice President of Wearables, has indicated that significant privacy enhancements are forthcoming.

For the last three years, the smart glasses market has closely associated "Meta" with "Ray-Ban." This is no longer the case. Recently, several pairs of the new Meta Glasses, devoid of Ray-Ban branding, were showcased across three distinct styles and seven color options. Notably, one particular style is a collaborative effort with socialite and reality television personality Kylie Jenner, a point emphasized by enthusiastic Meta representatives.

While Meta had the option to launch independently, its initial partnership with EssilorLuxottica and the Ray-Ban brand proved to be a strategic entry into the smart glasses arena. Earlier smart glasses often suffered from an unappealing, futuristic, or "dorky" aesthetic. Ray-Ban's contribution of iconic designs, brand recognition, and cultural standing conferred a crucial sense of legitimacy upon Meta's offerings. The ability of these smart glasses to genuinely resemble conventional eyewear, thus eliminating wearer self-consciousness, was a brilliant yet straightforward design decision. Despite this, the primary obstacle for these glasses remains their association with Meta and its history of privacy controversies. Recent reports from both The New York Times and Wired have highlighted the company's active development of a facial recognition feature for its smart glasses.

Speculation might arise that the removal of Ray-Ban branding signals an attempt by EssilorLuxottica to disassociate from Meta. However, this is not the case. Examination of the inner temple of the new Meta Fury, Meta Adventurer, and Meta Glasses by Kylie reveals EssilorLuxottica's name, albeit in a small, often illegible font in low light. EssilorLuxottica played an integral role in the design, manufacturing, and distribution of these glasses. According to Meta executives, the primary motivation for discontinuing the Ray-Ban co-branding is pricing. The new Meta Glasses are introduced at a starting price of $299, representing an approximately $80 reduction compared to the initial cost of the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2.

Alex Himel, Meta's Vice President of Wearables, explained the strategic shift: "We just feel like we need to have a pair of glasses at a lower price point, and we were trying to figure out what could work there." He further noted that while EssilorLuxottica possesses other brands with lower price points, their lack of widespread recognition precluded an obvious partnership.

Regarding aesthetics and specifications, the new Meta Glasses bear a strong resemblance to their Ray-Ban predecessors. They share the same internal components as the recently launched Ray-Ban Meta Optics Styles, with the added benefit of slightly extended battery life. The Adventurer models feature slimmer rims, presenting a squarer silhouette, while the Fury models adopt a bolder, chunkier frame, reminiscent of the Meta Ray-Ban Display, with an even more pronounced square shape. The Kylie Jenner collaboration glasses showcase a distinct Y2K-inspired design, intended to sit lower on the nose, and include a small gem in the upper left lens for added character. This unique design may potentially draw attention from competitors such as Google, Samsung, and Gentle Monster.

For an individual accustomed to wearing glasses, the most compelling enhancements are the adjustable nose pads and temple tips. The nose pads offer three distinct click-in positions, while the temple tips incorporate a wire core, enabling users to bend them for a customized fit. Mirroring the Display and Optics Styles, the Meta Glasses also feature overextension hinges, which provide a more comfortable experience for individuals with broader faces. Furthermore, these glasses accommodate a broad spectrum of prescriptions, ranging from -12 to +2.25, though prescriptions stronger than -6 will necessitate a visit to an optician.

Irrespective of one's perception of Meta, these initiatives represent calculated strategic decisions designed to broaden the glasses' appeal to a more extensive consumer base, assuming individuals are prepared to disregard Meta's past reputation.

During the hands-on experience with the Meta Glasses, the camera's noticeably smaller size compared to previous Ray-Ban models was apparent. Alex Himel clarified that this design change was not exclusive to these new Meta Glasses, having been initially implemented in March with the prescription-optimized Optics Styles. Nevertheless, the ongoing controversy surrounding facial recognition capabilities and instances of misuse, such as individuals using Meta's glasses to harass women, remained a prominent concern for many journalists present at the event.

"We know that there's tampering today, and there are a handful of ways that people are doing it," Himel stated, acknowledging Meta's observation of a rising number of malicious actors misusing its products as their popularity grows. He emphasized the critical importance of public comfort: "If people aren't comfortable with you wearing the glasses, not only do we personally think that's bad, but we wouldn't have a business anymore. You should see some updates from us really soon, where we're looking to address it directly."

While Himel refrained from disclosing the specifics of these upcoming privacy updates, he confirmed that Meta is engaged in aggressive internal discussions to determine the most effective approach to the privacy challenge and to establish a benchmark for the industry moving forward.

"In general, we would like to get a place where there's a uniform way of handling things," Himel remarked. He underscored the negative user experience if customers invest in Meta's products only to discover the glasses are prohibited in public or specific settings, a scenario that is already beginning to materialize. Beyond privacy, the company also faces the complex issue of navigating diverse AI regulatory frameworks across different states and countries, especially as Meta positions AI as a primary use case for these glasses.

Himel elaborated on the regulatory challenge: "If there are different rules in different states or places you go, that just becomes hard for people. It's hard for us too, because then we can't build one thing." He affirmed Meta's active participation in these discussions, aiming to guide them towards consistent policies that ideally allow users to derive significant value while maintaining comfort and trust.

While these assurances sound promising, Meta is tasked with demonstrating its commitment through public, swift, and decisive action, positioning itself as a leader in establishing sound privacy policies and etiquette within this emerging sector. A crucial initial step involves implementing more stringent security and privacy protocols. Himel drew a parallel to the early era of smartphones, a technology that initially sparked considerable societal concerns which were eventually resolved. However, this analogy has a significant weakness: smartphones rapidly demonstrated compelling "killer" use cases that justified perceived privacy compromises, whereas smart glasses have yet to firmly establish such indispensable applications.

Transitioning to the topic of "killer use cases," Meta is significantly intensifying its focus on artificial intelligence. All new Meta Glasses will launch integrated with Muse Spark, the inaugural model developed by Meta's Superintelligence Labs. This AI will also be rolled out to older Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses in the US and Canada through a software update, promising to enhance the glasses' utility.

During the hands-on demonstration, it was conveyed that Meta AI would exhibit a more fluid and less rigid interaction, enabling more natural conversations and yielding more intelligent responses. The AI now boasts support for an additional 14 languages, including Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin, Hindi, and Korean. Furthermore, pedestrian turn-by-turn navigation is slated for Meta's displayless glasses. Later this month, a new "dynamic photo" feature will be introduced, automatically capturing multiple frames and then suggesting the optimal shot.

While not all features were available for testing, several live demonstrations were conducted. Live Mandarin translations performed smoothly, though a slight latency was observed, likely attributable to the ambient conversations in the demo area. Sustained conversations felt somewhat smoother, despite Meta AI remaining quite verbose. The AI is purported to offer improved recommendations. In a room filled with various trinkets, when prompted for "recommendations," Meta AI, utilizing Kylie Jenner's voice, requested further context regarding desired colors, vibes, and mood. Upon specifying a "cute purple keychain charm," the AI, speaking as Kylie, suggested considering grape-shaped or lavender donut charms, noting their availability on platforms like Etsy or Instagram. While somewhat generic, these responses marked an improvement over earlier interactions. Additionally, when asked to estimate the caloric content of a plate of canapés, Meta-as-Kylie provided a rough estimate of 280 calories but acknowledged uncertainty regarding a specific prosciutto and fig item.

Ultimately, the experience presented a marginally refined version of previous interactions. Further comprehensive testing in real-world scenarios will be necessary, though skepticism persists regarding whether Muse Spark, or any current AI model, is sufficiently intelligent and convenient to surmount public privacy concerns surrounding this technology. Nonetheless, these smart glasses are affordably priced, well-constructed, and offered in the broadest selection of colors, styles, prescriptions, and fits to date. However, as has been noted previously, hardware quality has not been a persistent challenge for Meta.