Meta's Wearables: A Game-Changer in AI-Powered Glasses
Meta, the tech giant, has made a significant move with its latest acquisition – two ad spots during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast for its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. This marks a major push to bring AI-powered wearables to the masses.
A Surprising Lack of Backlash
Inevitably, these features can also lead to bystanders getting captured by Meta's glasses. When Google pioneered camera glasses in 2013, it faced a huge public backlash against this perceived invasion of privacy. However, so far, Meta has managed to avoid a similar fate.
The company has gone to great lengths to respect other people's privacy, including visible recording indicators and features that block any photo and video capture if a user tries to cover the indicator light in any way. Despite this, some users have still encountered issues while wearing their Ray-Ban Metas in public places like movie theaters or airplanes.
Next Up: New Devices, Including One with a Display
Meta has plans to launch "half a dozen" additional wearables in the future, including one model with an integrated display. This will be a far cry from the kind of augmented reality glasses Meta wants to sell in a few years.
Users won't be able to view 3D holograms or play immersive games with it, and the size of the virtual display will be comparably small. However, by positioning its first generation of AR glasses as supercharged smart glasses, Meta may have found a way to make people embrace lower-end specs.
The Future of AI-Powered Glasses
Zuckerberg told investors recently that the company was aiming to sell up to ten million units of its next-generation AI glasses – a number that Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Anshel Sag believes is within reach. With this move, Meta may have found a way to make people embrace lower-end specs and potentially change the game in the world of AI-powered glasses.
What's Next for Meta?
The Super Bowl ad will most likely be a planting the seed moment in a lot of people's eyes who haven't met someone wearing them yet. Then, we might get a new model this year paired with an aggressive ad campaign to push sales into the 5-10 million territory.
Conclusion
Meta's move into AI-powered glasses is significant and may change the game in this field. With its plans for additional wearables, including one model with a display, Meta may have found a way to make people embrace lower-end specs. The future of AI-powered glasses looks bright, but it also raises concerns about privacy.