Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled Meta’s first smart glasses with a built-in screen, arguing wearable devices that can replace smartphones are vital to his all-in bet on “superintelligence”.
Flaunting a pair on stage at the Meta Connect flagship conference on Wednesday, the chief executive said the “Meta Ray-Ban Display” would overlay text messages, video calls or responses from Meta’s artificial intelligence assistant on one of the lenses.
The new product brings Meta a step closer to Zuckerberg’s broader vision of making glasses he hopes will one day replace Apple’s iPhones and Google’s Android handsets as a ubiquitous computing device.
“Glasses are the only form factor where you can let it see what you see, hear what you hear, talk to you throughout the day and very soon, generate whatever [user interface] you need right in your vision, in real time,” Zuckerberg said.
The costly hardware bet follows his 2021 push to build an avatar-filled ‘metaverse’, during which he rebranded the company from Facebook to Meta. But that effort has been hampered by technical difficulties and a lack of consumer appetite, giving way to Zuckerberg’s latest bid, to become an “AI leader”.
Recommended
The glasses unveiled on Wednesday, on sale for $799 from the end of the month, are controlled by a wristband that detects small hand movements. Zuckerberg described this as “the world’s first mainstream neural interface”.
However, hiccups during the live demonstration undermined Zuckerberg’s promise that wearables are the “ideal form factor” for “personal superintelligence”, AI that surpasses the intelligence of humans.
Meta’s chief was unable to pick up a call on the glasses from chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth, with Zuckerberg joking that he had practised this “a hundred times” before with no issue and blaming bad WiFi.
The glasses also feature the inbuilt speakers and cameras already offered on its popular Ray-Ban smart glasses, sold in partnership with eyewear group EssilorLuxottica.
The launch comes shortly after Meta restructured its AI team for the fourth time in six months, rebranding it as the “Meta Superintelligence Lab”, after lagging rivals in the space.
As part of the latest shake-up, Zuckerberg personally approached dozens of top AI researchers over the summer from rivals such as OpenAI and Google, offering sign-on bonuses of as much as $100mn for them to join an elite AI-focused lab, TBD Lab, within his wider AI outfit.
On Wednesday, Meta also launched an updated version of its existing Ray-Ban smart glasses with improved battery life, speakers and video cameras. However, in their live demo, the glasses failed to respond correctly to questions from their wearer.
Meta also announced a new tie-up with Oakley for AI glasses “for high-intensity sports” that integrate with fitness apps when paired with a Garmin watch.
Meta’s new smart glasses are being manufactured by Chinese contract manufacturer Goertek, which has been increasing its hold over the smart glasses industry — and the company’s supply chain — through a dealmaking spree, according to a Financial Times report on Tuesday.
The reliance on a Chinese manufacturer comes despite Zuckerberg’s increasing anti-Beijing rhetoric, which has become more pronounced during the second Trump administration.