CEO Mark Zuckerberg and senior officials unveiled several new products and services yesterday at the 2024 Meta Connect developer conference, aimed at enabling the massive platform’s AI, mixed reality, and online content vision.
Here’s what the business presented at its yearly keynote.
Headset for mixed reality Quest 3S
In lieu of the Quest 3 headset that was released a year ago, Zuckerberg unveiled the new Meta Quest 3S mixed reality headset. The 3S, which starts at $299, is $200 less expensive than the original model while still having the same mixed-reality features. (Zuckerberg responded to applause from the audience by saying, “Hell yeah,” due to the decreased pricing.)
Numerous software and hardware updates are also available for the Quest 3S. Because of Meta’s collaboration with Microsoft, it can also function as a remote desktop for Windows 11 PCs in addition to Dolby Atmos spatial audio. Meta not only made it possible to connect digitally with actual locations, but it also gave a sneak peek at a brand-new function called Hyperscape, which lets users replicate real-world spaces virtually. Zuckerberg demonstrated the capability by displaying a mockup of the recording studio used by Green Day to produce their album “Dookie” and the artwork of virtual artist Daniel Arsham.
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More content collaborations centered around the Quest 3S include new Twitch, Amazon Music, and Prime Video apps. In addition, Zuckerberg demonstrated more mixed reality social capabilities for Meta Horizons, including co-viewing YouTube videos and games.
According to Zuckerberg, “part of the magic of mixed reality is feeling presence.” “It’s unlike anything that has ever been developed on any other platform and unlike anything that any other platform can offer.”
According to Forrester analyst Mike Proulx, money isn’t the main barrier to VR adoption, even though Meta’s headsets are now less expensive. Because of his belief that headsets are still excessively heavy and tire users out more quickly over extended periods of time, he believes that smart glasses could be an especially interesting development. As of yet, there are no obvious commercial uses for AR glasses. Proulx countered that Meta “pretty convincingly demonstrated a future 3D computing platform that solves for the many headwinds that VR and AR headsets won’t overcome,” emphasizing that it’s more about getting ready for what might be feasible in the future.
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Proulx went on, “There are natural connection points for engagement with brands’ advertising, whether physical or online, because Meta’s glasses see and interact with the context around them.” “Print advertisements and billboards seem like they would work well, but that’s just the beginning. The true brand opportunity, in my opinion, is in enhancing the consumer experience. Using this type of computer interface to transact with brands is much simpler and faster.
Updates on Meta AI and Llama 3.2
Additionally, Meta revealed a number of improvements for its AI products, such as the release of Llama 3.2, the company’s newest AI model that can comprehend text and images. Additional features include talking with Meta AI, which is akin to what OpenAI recently added for ChatGPT. In addition to several celebrity voices, such as those of John Cena, Dame Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, Keegan-Michael Key, and Awkwafina, Meta AI will also have system voices.
Scarlett Johannson threatened to sue OpenAI for using her voice without permission after the startup unveiled an AI voice that sounded so much like her. This was just a few months before the celebrity voices were released.
Zuckerberg stated, “I believe voice will be a way more natural way of interacting with AI than text.” “And I believe it can become one of our most common interactions with AI, if not the most common.”
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In addition, Meta AI’s vocal capabilities allow for real-time language translation via an accompanying app and Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses (see below). In order to demonstrate the capability, Meta brought UFC fighter Brandon Moreno on stage to speak with Zuckerberg briefly while translating back and forth between Spanish and English. Automatic video dubbing on Facebook and Instagram to convert video content into users’ native languages was another AI feature that was shown off.
According to Gartner analyst Nicole Greene, updated capabilities like language translation might be very helpful for marketers and content providers to reach new consumers. Additionally, more shoppable material may be powered by multimodal features like video AI. Not only might the Meta Ray-Bans’ AI assistant feature help consumers produce content, but it may also open up new avenues for content discovery. But along with the new AI features come recurring hazards like external impersonation, misinformation, and data privacy problems.
“How do businesses, in an increasingly cluttered content environment, showcase their unique brand differentiation in a way that is relevant to customers?” asked Green. “How does their brand differentiate itself when consumers may gravitate toward convenience, and how do they employ new technology to blend in with experiences instead of pursuing customers with hyper-personalized platform messaging?”
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This week, Llama 3.2 will be updated globally, with the exception of the EU, as a result of Meta’s July decision to withhold the distribution of new AI models in the EU due to legal concerns. But when Zuckerberg stated, “I remain eternally optimistic that we will figure that out,” a few audience members clapped awkwardly.
The business stated that over 1 million advertisers are using Meta’s generative AI tools to develop ad creative, with over 15 million ads created with the tools last month, despite the fact that advertising was not the primary emphasis of Meta Connect. According to Zuckerberg’s remarks on stage, Meta AI currently has 500 million active monthly users.
Orion and Meta Ray-Ban Glasses
A revised version of Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses was also unveiled; among the improvements were simpler methods to communicate with Meta AI and have it recognize items in the real world. Better memory capacities, real-time translation, video AI, and the ability to send audio messages via Messenger and WhatsApp are among the other new features. Along with new collaborations with Audible and iHeart, it also features more sophisticated content integrations with Calm, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
The most significant and unexpected announcement came towards the end when Zuckerberg unveiled a prototype of Orion, Meta’s first “true AR” glasses. The spectacles have long been in development, having previously been known by the code name Project Nazare. Orion projects holographic displays onto an environment via the use of light diffraction, as an alternative to conventional screens.
Because it isn’t a screen, Zuckerberg explained, “the display is different from every other screen you have ever used.” With these tiny projectors in the glasses’ arms that shoot light into waveguides and nanoscale 3D structures etched into the lenses to diffract light and project holograms of varying sizes and depths into the scene in front of you, the display architecture is entirely different.
A release date has not yet been announced, but the growing line of smart eyewear is indicating to some that Meta wants to improve the connectivity between smartphones and other gadgets.
As per Sasha Wallinger, the founder of Blockchain Style Lab, Meta’s augmented reality glasses might create new avenues for product integration, data-driven insights, and location-based applications, offering marketers novel approaches to customize information. Experienced marketer Wallinger, who specializes in the nexus of creativity and innovation, also envisioned a future where Google Ads and Pokémon Go collide, optimized to display categories that users want to view.
“I’m really excited about Meta’s collection of frames that has the potential to make technology more accessible to the fashion, beauty, and eyewear space, aside from the marketing and future technology elements,” Wallinger stated.
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