Meta seems to be gearing up for a serious improve to its line of Ray-Ban good glasses, with leaked pictures and studies hinting at two new fashions at present in growth. Whereas the tech has not but gone mainstream, Meta appears undeterred in its ambition to make good eyewear an on a regular basis accent and the upcoming variations may supply compelling enhancements for each tech lovers and informal customers.
The leak, shared by a gaggle often known as XR Research Institute by way of WeChat, reveals two distinct fashions reportedly within the works. Internally codenamed “Aperol” and “Bellini”, these glasses seem to cater to completely different consumer preferences. Aperol resembles a modernised take on Ray-Ban’s basic sun shades, whereas Bellini appears tailor-made for prescription lens customers, presumably increasing Meta’s attain amongst on a regular basis eyewear wearers.
Whereas the outer design variations will matter to some, the actual story lies within the expertise underneath the hood. In keeping with the leaked data, Meta may very well be aiming to considerably enhance battery efficiency. Present fashions can solely energy AI features for round half an hour at a time, one thing critics have known as a serious limitation. The brand new glasses, nevertheless, might supply a number of hours of AI performance, a shift that might allow customers to depend on them for for much longer stretches without having to recharge.
Synthetic intelligence capabilities are additionally anticipated to be enhanced. The glasses might help real-time object recognition and scene evaluation, instruments that might supply extra sensible utility past easy novelty. This marks a possible step ahead from the 2023 version, the place AI help was typically restricted to quick, situational makes use of like taking photographs or answering fundamental queries.
It’s value noting that regardless of these upgrades, the brand new fashions is not going to seemingly function built-in shows. Which means they don’t seem to be a part of Meta’s long-anticipated “Hypernova” project, a separate initiative rumoured to contain augmented actuality shows. As an alternative, these glasses look like a direct evolution of the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta wearables launched final 12 months.
An official launch date has not but been confirmed, however trade chatter suggests a possible launch later this 12 months, which might comply with the latest unveiling of Meta’s Oakley-branded smart glasses in June.