Meta Connect 2025 concluded with a flurry of announcements, showcasing Meta's latest advancements in smart glasses and generative AI. The event, though shorter than its 2024 counterpart, delivered a packed showcase of new products and technologies.
The highlight was undoubtedly the unveiling of the Meta Ray-Ban Display, a new iteration of the popular smart glasses. Featuring a waveguide display, these glasses project helpful information directly into the user's field of vision, including translations, navigation directions, and more. The integration of an sEMG wristband enables intuitive gesture control, furthering the hands-free experience.
A second generation of the standard Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses was also announced, boasting improved battery life and higher-resolution video recording. These maintain the sleek design of their predecessors while enhancing core functionality.
Expanding its reach into the athletic market, Meta partnered with Oakley to launch the Meta Oakley Vanguard smart glasses. Designed for serious athletes, these glasses incorporate a centered camera for 3K video recording, compatibility with Garmin smartwatches, and an IP67 water resistance rating.
Meta's push into the metaverse continued with the introduction of Horizon Engine and Horizon Studio. Horizon Engine, a new proprietary graphics engine optimized for generative content creation, powers Horizon Studio, a generative AI playground that allows users to create virtual worlds using simple verbal prompts. This opens up exciting new possibilities for user-generated content and metaverse development.
Beyond hardware, Meta also announced Meta TV, a central hub aggregating various streaming services into a single platform with support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, promising a seamless entertainment experience. The integration of 'agentic AI' within the Ray-Ban Display, offering in-lens suggestions based on conversational context, demonstrates Meta's commitment to seamless AI integration. However, while live AI functionality will be limited at launch, it's expected to expand over the coming months.
The Meta Neural Band, an accompanying accessory to the Ray-Ban Display, translates wrist muscle signals into gesture controls, enabling text input and app navigation through intuitive hand movements. While the initial demonstration experienced some minor technical glitches, the potential for streamlined interaction is significant.
Despite pre-event rumors, the Asus ROG Tarius VR headset did not make an appearance, leaving its launch date and specifications still shrouded in mystery. The event ultimately underscored Meta's ambition to reshape how we interact with technology and experience the digital world, positioning smart glasses as a pivotal component of this future.
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Originally published at: https://www.zdnet.com/article/meta-connect-2025-live-updates-reactions-to-ray-ban-display-oakley-vanguard-glasses-more/
