Meta launches £299 smart glasses with Ray-Ban featuring two cameras – as Mark Zuckerberg desperately tries to maintain interest in the ‘metaverse’

At first glance, these glasses look like any other pair of stylish specs.

But upon closer inspection, you’ll notice two small cameras in the arms that allow the wearer to stealthily take photos and videos.

The £299 glasses are the latest wearable from Meta, which it revealed at the Meta Connect 2023 conference last night.

It features new artificial intelligence capabilities, which means it will soon be able to identify places and things people see, as well as perform language translation in real time.

“Smart glasses are the perfect form factor for you to let AI assistants see what you see and hear what you hear,” Mark Zuckerberg said.

At first glance, these glasses look like any other pair of stylish specs. But upon closer inspection, you’ll notice two small cameras in the arms that allow the wearer to take photos and videos surreptitiously.

The £299 glasses are the latest wearable from Meta, which it revealed at the Meta Connect 2023 conference last night

Zuckerberg announced the new glasses during the Connect conference, which was held at Meta’s headquarters in Silicon Valley.

“Advances in artificial intelligence allow us to create different (apps) and personalities that help us accomplish different things,” he said.

“Smart glasses will eventually allow us to bring all of this together in a stylish form that we can wear.”

Meta Ray-Ban’s second generation smart glasses feature improved speakers with extended bass, higher volume, and improved directional sound.

Meanwhile, the new 12MP ultra-wide camera allows the wearer to take photos and record videos of up to 60 seconds.

It was likely designed with Instagram Stories in mind, as photos are automatically captured in portrait orientation.

“We also made the flashing privacy light on the outside of the glasses larger and more visible, so people will know when someone is taking photos, video or live streaming from the glasses,” Mita said.

In terms of battery life, users can take photos for up to four hours at a time, before using the accompanying case to charge the glasses.

The glasses feature new AI capabilities, meaning they will soon be able to identify places and things people are seeing, as well as perform real-time language translation.

Users can choose between the popular Wayfarer style or the new Headliner style in five colors – Matte Black, Shiny Black, Jeans, Rebel Black, and Caramel.

And while you might be concerned that the cameras, microphones and battery might become heavy devices, Meta claims that they have reduced the weight of the frame and improved weight distribution, making it “lighter and more comfortable.”

Meta’s AI is integrated into the smart glasses, and can be activated using the “Hey Meta” wake phrase.

For example, if you want to share a photo you took with a friend, you can simply say, “Hey Meta, send a photo to (insert name).”

Unfortunately, this feature is only available in the US at launch, though Meta says it plans to “expand availability and the types of questions you can ask over time.”

Users can choose between the popular Wayfarer style or the new Headliner style in five colors – Matte Black, Shiny Black, Jeans, Rebel Black, and Caramel.

The glasses will be priced from £299 ($299) when they go on sale on October 17.

The smart glasses are Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg’s latest attempt to maintain interest in the “metaverse.”

Last year, it was revealed that Meta was committed to allocating 20 percent of its costs to its Reality Labs division — despite a 60 percent decline in the company’s stock price and the departure of a senior Metaverse executive.

Less than half of the expected 500,000 users had signed up for Horizon Worlds – the company’s flagship virtual reality world – in December.

Meanwhile, over the course of a year, Meta lost at least $30 billion trying to build virtual worlds.