Big tech is in a rush to put computing on our faces and what seemed like the future from Apple when it first showed off the Vision Pro spatial computing system, is now a reality, thanks to Meta and Snap. Muse, the new all-accessing AI agent from Meta that went live in the US a fortnight ago is already the most downloaded app on the app stores and now it comes built into its next generation wearables. It turns what was essentially a wearable camera, microphone and speaker into something considerably more consequential. Muse is designed to remember what matters to you, understand context and actually perform tasks rather than merely answer questions. Meta says it can work across apps, browse the web, send emails, make purchases and pursue longer-term goals autonomously.
For the lightest form factor, the Meta Audio, their first audio-only wearable. It basically replaces earbuds with a stylish 43gm Ray Ban frame, adjustable temple tips and nose pads adding personalisation. Two new styles, Burbank and Clubmaster can be combined with 23 lens and colour options, offering plenty of choice. Claimed to deliver clearer audio for phones than earbuds and a talktime of 12 hours, you and your AI agent could be off to a promising relationship.
The new Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3 can capture 12MP photographs and 3K video, while its six-microphone array is designed to suppress more than 90 per cent of background noise. Meta is also bringing Dolby Atmos spatial audio capture to its glasses while adding heads-up navigation, contextual directions based on what the wearer actually sees, notifications, calendar functions and even a photorealistic hologram for video calls. The Kylie Jenner edition gets a new Ivory colourway and there’s also a new collab with global K-pop star, LISA featuring charms inspired by her pets and digital photocards that can be unlocked using the glasses.
Then there is Meta VR Glasses, weighing roughly 100 grams, with Meta AI integrated directly into the operating system. Users can control movies, apps and a spatial workspace using voice, eyes and hand gestures, all without wearing the Neural wrist band that shipped with previous attempts from Meta. They are also the first VR device to receive IMAX Enhanced certification, giving users access to select films in IMAX’s expanded aspect ratio, rather than the cropped presentation you typically get at home.
Meta combines this with a 5K micro-OLED display, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, essentially turning the glasses into a private cinema. Disney+ will also bring select films in 3D, while Disney Immersive Cinema by ILM goes further by placing viewers inside transformed environments around films such as Avengers: Infinity War and Star Wars: A New Hope. Meta also announced a partnership with James Cameron/Lightstorm Vision that will bring blockbusters that have never previously been available in 3D to the platform in 2027.
While privacy concerns gather momentum, smart glasses have yet to see a blanket ban anywhere in the world. Some venues may have prohibited their use, but the legal-framework around their use remains thin and vague. They have gained the unreputable nickname “pervert glasses” which sounds crude but also points at something true. Muse Confidential VM, due later this year, will encrypt the user's data so even Meta cannot read it. But even then, it only protects the user while doing nothing for the stranger across the table. Identifying people via facial ID in public spaces is something Meta claims it is not engaging in and we really do want to believe them.
The Meta VR Glasses will be available early next year, starting in the US from $1299 while the Ray Ban Meta Audio and Ray Ban Meta Gen 3 will go on sale in the US next month starting at $349 and $449 respectively while the special edition Kylie and LISA start at $399, but no India launch dates have been announced just yet. Considering their popularity with content creators though, it won’t be long so watch this space.