What you need to know
- Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are beginning to receive an update, which brings Spotify capabilities, as well as Apple Music and Shazam, to more places.
- The glasses AI grabs more natural, “lifelike” voices while its capabilities for real-world insights expands to the U.K.
- Earlier this year, Meta announced that its Ray-Ban glasses have crossed 2 million units sold, and there are plans to increase its production to 10 million by 2026.
Owners of Meta’s smart glasses are in for an end-of-the-week treat as the company rolls in a patch full of additions.
Update v14.1 for the Ray-Ban Meta glasses was spotted by Android Central’s Nicholas Sutrich earlier today (Apr. 17). The update focuses on the smart glasses’ apps and AI software. To start, Meta states Ray-Ban is picking up the ability to “play music and shuffle by artist, albums, and playlists” via Spotify.
With this, users are receiving two important voice commands: “shuffle my (X) playlist” and “repeat this song.”
Each of these can be kick-started with “Hey Meta” once the patch is installed. Spotify is available for the Ray-Ban smart glasses for English users in the U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Norway. Meta is also expanding its “connected apps,” such as Apple Music and Shazam in conjunction with Spotify, to the previously listed regions.
Meta AI on the smart glasses can now interpret queries about weather, air quality, and the UV index via voice commands. The latest v14.1 patch for the Ray-Ban glasses includes a few AI updates, which can be seen below.
- Updated Voices: Meta AI Voices have been updated to sound more natural and lifelike. Users can navigate to Meta AI Settings > Voice to select a voice for the software to use.
- Meta AI expands to the U.K.: Users can learn about the history of landmarks while walking or get recipe suggestions based on the content in their home.
Ray-Ban on the Rise
Meta dropped the most futuristic AI update for the Ray-Ban smart glasses right before the holidays in December. The patch concerned Early Access program members, as the company delivered Live Record and Live Translate. The former allows the Ray-Ban glasses to record what you see and offer AI-powered insights without users needing to say “Hey Meta” aloud.
Members could also interrupt the AI or ask a follow-up question after it gives its response. Live Translate is pretty straightforward; users can hear or read the response of a person speaking another language via the glasses’ speaker or their phones.
More importantly, since launching in 2023, Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses seem to be a hit after having sold 2 million units since then. To celebrate, EssilorLuxottica announced that it’s looking to increase mass production of the device to 10 million units by 2026. Additionally, it seems both companies are betting big on these smart glasses. While Meta has already started a huge smart glasses push, even grabbing some top tanked celebrities to showcase it, there are rumors that the next generation will feature a built-in display.
The display might be tiny, but it would alleviate the need for users to reach for their phones or rely solely on the Ray-Ban speaker for info.
