At Meta Connect 2024, CEO Mark Zuckerberg presented a range of new hardware and software aimed at advancing Meta’s goals in AI and the metaverse. The event featured the unveiling of the Quest 3S headset, updates to Meta’s Llama AI model, and a prototype of its augmented reality (AR) glasses, Orion.
Zuckerberg revealed Orion as Meta’s “first consumer full holographic AR glasses,” though they won’t be available for purchase anytime soon. Orion boasts lightweight design, hand and eye-tracking, and even a neural interface. Some high-profile testers, like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, have already tried them.
Meta also introduced the more affordable Quest 3S mixed reality headset, starting at $299, which will ship on October 15. The Quest 3S is compatible with Quest apps and games, while Meta lowers the price of the Quest 3 from $649 to $499. Additionally, Meta will discontinue sales of the Quest 2 and Quest Pro by the end of the year.
Meta AI received significant upgrades, allowing it to respond verbally across platforms like Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. Users can now interact with AI voices modeled after celebrities, including Dame Judi Dench and John Cena. Meta reported that 500 million users engage with Meta AI monthly.
MUST READ: What Are The Features Of Meta’s New Orion Glasses And Will These Smartglasses Aid Blind People?
The company also released its new Llama 3.2 AI model, featuring multimodal capabilities. The models can interpret images, graphs, and maps and offer insights based on visual data. However, these features are unavailable in Europe due to regulatory restrictions.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses gained new functionality, including real-time AI video analysis, language translation, and integration with music apps. The glasses can now process live video to provide contextual information and reminders.
On the AI front, Meta also showcased new visual search capabilities, allowing users to prompt image-based searches and photo edits, along with the ability to share the results directly to Instagram Stories.
In gaming announcements, the company revealed a variety of new experiences for the Quest platform, including Batman: Arkham Shadow, which will be bundled with Quest 3 purchases through April 2025. Other titles included Alien: Rogue Incursion and a VR version of Wordle, which will be free to play without a subscription.
Meta is also experimenting with AI-driven content translation and dubbing for creator videos, with initial tests running in the U.S. and Latin America for English and Spanish translations.
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