Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica have extended their partnership into the following decade. The duo have collaborated since 2019, producing two generations of Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The settlement between Meta and EssilorLuxottica ought to convey extra “multi-generational good eyewear merchandise.”
The first iteration launched in late 2021, proper earlier than Meta turned Fb, and was often called Ray-Ban Tales. We weren’t completely bought on them, although there have been some good factors. The $300 sun shades seemed like a barely bulkier Ray-Ban with, fortunately, no Fb brand on them and supplied first rate audio high quality via their tiny audio system at mid-range quantity. The digicam was so-so and labored higher in brighter gentle. However privateness is absolutely the place we had a difficulty with information sharing and audio transcriptions on by default.
We have been extra into the 2023 Ray-Ban Meta good glasses, giving them an 85 in our review. The brand new mannequin’s perks embody slimmer frames, hands-free photograph messaging and Instagram livestreaming skills (with an improved 12MP ultra-wide digicam). It additionally gives higher mics and sound high quality — together with at greater volumes. Plus, the charging case appears similar to a traditional Ray-Ban pouch.
The good glasses initially got here with an AI assistant, however Meta has since launched Multimodal AI. The toolset permits the assistant to see and comprehend the world in real-time, processing images, movies, textual content, and audio. You may ask it to establish belongings you’re taking a look at, reminiscent of a canine’s breed, the title and information for landmarks, and a highway register a special language. Plus, there are new body designs to select from, beginning at $300.
Notably, in July, reports from the media and EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri indicated Meta may take a 5 % stake within the firm. Whether or not that can occur remains to be up within the air, with no point out of a purchase order within the prolonged partnership launch.