Meta Announces Updates for its Ray Ban Smart Glasses, Including Improved AI Chats

Meta’s rolling out some new updates for its Ray Ban Meta smart glasses, including expanded live language translation, the ability to send IG messages, conversational AI, and more.

First off, Meta’s giving more wearers access to its live translation feature, which enables you to hear a responsive translation of spoken language in your ear.

As explained by Meta:

“Whether you’re traveling to a new country and need to ask for directions to the train station or you’re spending quality time with a family member and need to break the language barrier, you can hold seamless conversations across English, French, Italian, and Spanish – no Wi-Fi or network connectivity required if you’ve downloaded the language pack in advance.”

Meta first launched live translation in its Ray Ban glasses last December, and it’s now making the option available to all users.

And it could be a particularly handy, whether you want to hold a conversation with a friend, or just listen in on what’s being said in another language in a certain setting. Translation accuracy will, of course, vary based on outside distractions, but Meta’s clearly confident that the results it produces are good enough to warrant an expanded launch of the function.

Meta’s also adding IG DM functionality into its glasses, with users able to receive DMs, audio calls, and video calls from Instagram within the device. You’ll also be able to share photos to the app.

“This joins being able to make calls and send messages through WhatsApp and Messenger, as well as the native messaging app on your iPhone or Android phone. No matter where your crew communicates, you can stay plugged in and connected effortlessly. Just say, ‘Hey Meta, send a message to Lisa on Instagram.’”

Meta’s also expanding access to its music integrations, with Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Shazam all set to soon be made available to Meta Ray Ban users outside the U.S. and Canada.

It’s also broadening access to its Meta AI features to EU audiences.

Meta added Meta AI access to the glasses late last year, but EU restrictions on AI usage have limited its rollout. But now, Meta is making inroads on this front, which will enable it to bring more AI features to EU users.

Finally, Meta’s also building on its Live AI functionality, which enables you to conduct a conversation with Meta’s AI chatbot as you go about your day-to-day life. The system is able to “see” what you see through your glasses, and Meta’s also making it more conversational in application.

“In the middle of cooking dinner and you don’t have as much butter as you thought? Ask Meta AI to see if there’s a substitute based on what it sees in your pantry or refrigerator. And follow it up by asking which wine in your rack pairs best with the meal. You can speak as you normally would without needing to say ‘Hey, Meta’ each time, and Meta AI will respond in kind for a smooth, natural experience. Just say, ‘Hey Meta, start live AI’ to begin.”

So now, you can take your friendship with AI to the next level, by bringing your bot with you everywhere you go. Just like that movie “Her,” and that ended fine, right?

Associative concerns aside, Meta’s Ray Ban glasses have been gaining momentum, with over a million pairs sold last year. Added functionality like live translation and AI chats have helped to make the device a more viable, functional option, and an increasing number of people are now considering an upgrade for their next subscription frames.

Meta’s also planning to launch additional versions of the glasses for alternate purpose, while it’s also working on its fully AR-enabled glasses, which are scheduled for release in 2027.

And if Meta can maintain that momentum, it could be a valuable area of opportunity.

I mean, Zuckerberg himself says that glasses will eventually overtake phones as the key connective device, and as such, you can expect to see a lot more updates coming.