Meta enabled multimodal AI assistant on the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, allowing you to talk to and receive visual feedback from the wearable device like some kind of cyberpunk daydream.
The newly launched “Meta AI with Vision” (or MMAI for short) integrates the company’s latest large language model (based on the open-source Meta Llama 3) with camera capabilities, enabling all sorts of visual and audio AI assistance through the smart glasses. It’s a game-changer for wearable tech that makes artificial intelligence feel more interactive and intuitive.
So what can this multimodal Meta AI actually do on the Ray-Ban Stories? A whole lot, as it turns out. You can snap a pic of a product or point your glasses at a book cover, then quiz the AI for more info. Need a page of dense text summarized or translated? Just ask. The AI can also analyze videos and images for potential issues like blurriness or obstructed views.
Of course, the Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses can still handle basic smartglass tricks too – Meta’s update adds improved video calling through Messenger and WhatsApp by tapping the built-in camera, plus integration with Apple Music for audio playback.
But let’s be real, the flagship addition here is MMAI and its multimodal capabilities. Being able to seamlessly combine speech, vision, and language models opens up wearable AI to more natural back-and-forth conversation compared to traditional text input. It’s an important step toward making this nascent product category feel practical rather than gimmicky.
Ray-Ban Stories owners aren’t the only ones scoring new options either – Meta says it’s expanding the line with fresh frame styles including a new low bridge fit and redesigned “Skyler” model with a more feminine flair. The company seems intent on making these smart sunglasses a mainstream consumer product.
Will MMAI be the key that unlocks real-world adoption of smart glasses? I’m still skeptical that people will ditch their phones entirely for AI-powered eyewear. But scaling up the capabilities sure makes these high-tech frames feel a bit more compelling as a supplemental device alongside your typical handset. We’ll have to see if MMAI lives up to the hype when it hits the streets.
