Meta Connect, in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, released a new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses collection, which will be available later this month. A pair would cost about $300 and can now be pre-ordered.
“We redesigned these from the ground up, improving all the core features of the first generation while adding new capabilities that have never been seen on a pair of smart glasses before,” says Meta.
Capabilities
Audio: It now has a custom-designed speaker with extended bass, higher maximum volume, and improved directional audio that reduces audio leakage. This makes it better to call and listen to music or podcasts on the go, even in noisy or windy environments.
It now has a five-microphone array that supports immersive audio recording for videos, irrespective of whether you’re using the front, sides, rear, or above the camera.
Camera: The camera now has an ultra-wide 12 MP camera to improve the quality of photos and 1080p videos up to 60 seconds. You can even directly share pictures with friends with a ‘send a photo’ voice command.
Lens: Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen1 Platform, enabling higher-quality photo and video processing. It comes with a redesigned charging case, which holds up to eight additional charges for 36 hours of use.
Looks: It’s introducing three new transparent frame colors in Jeans, Rebel Black, and Caramel. The glasses are also prescription-lens compatible.
It could be a game-changer for delivery drivers
Usually, corporates are not so interested in these types of tech development, but the logistics space is taking note this time. Locate2u CEO Steve Orenstein says delivery drivers could use these glasses to improve their driving and productivity. “You think about driving directions as you are driving; instead of looking down at your phone and seeing the directions, you can now continue to look straight ahead. But also if you are a driver to see the booking notifications, see the information pop-up, or if a booking is canceled or your route is being redirected, those type of things can be very interesting how that plays out.”
Orenstein says it’s the early days of developing this kind of technology that can benefit delivery drivers. “There’s coming in a lot of improvements from a business point of view on this type of technology.”
Last month, Envisics, a UK-based company specializing in holographic technology, secured a $100 million investment to fast-track the development of their augmented reality heads-up display (AR HUD) technology.
It is designed to help drivers interact with critical information directly projected on their vehicle’s windshield.
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Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
