The new Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses update, now with hands-free AI, song recognition, and language translation.
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| Real-time translation, AI assistance, and music recognition are now available on Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. Image: Meta |
Menlo Park, California, USA - December 17, 2024:
Meta has announced a significant update for its Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, introducing live AI capabilities, real-time language translation, and Shazam integration. The features are part of Meta’s push to redefine wearable tech and move closer to the vision of augmented reality glasses as smartphone replacements.
The smart glasses, which already function as a head-mounted camera and open-ear headphones, will now offer a "live session" with Meta AI. This feature allows users to interact with the assistant without using a wake word, enabling hands-free multitasking. By accessing what the wearer sees, the AI can provide contextual responses, making it especially useful for cooking, fixing tasks, or other scenarios requiring full attention.
Live translation is another key addition. The glasses can now translate spoken words between English and French, Italian, or Spanish. The translated output can be heard through the glasses’ speakers or viewed as a typed transcript in the Meta View app. Users must pre-download specific language models and enable the translation feature for it to function as a real-time interpreter.
The integration of Shazam enhances the audio experience, allowing users to identify songs playing nearby by simply asking, “Meta, what is this song?” The glasses’ microphones will recognize the track, similar to the popular Shazam app on smartphones.
These updates mark incremental progress toward Meta’s ultimate goal of creating fully functional augmented reality glasses. The move aligns with industry trends, as tech giants like Google also invest in merging generative AI with virtual and augmented reality platforms.
All Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses owners will receive Shazam integration with the v11 software update. However, the live AI and translation features are exclusive to participants in Meta’s Early Access Program, which is open for sign-ups on Meta’s website.