After releasing (checks notes) four new pairs of smart glasses late last year, Meta appears to be back to the Ray-Ban grindstone. As noted by The Verge, the company has listings with the FCC made public earlier this month that reference two separate models with codenames.
The two unreleased models referenced are the “Ray-Ban Meta Blazer” and the “Ray-Ban Meta Scriber.” There’s a third reference, but given the fact that it’s the “Ray-Ban Meta Blazer Large,” I am going to assume it’s just a size variant of the Blazer. As is the case with FCC listings like this, there’s not much information, and some of it is redacted, but I can make some inferences based on the language used.
For me, the first thing that jumps out is that the name “Ray-Ban” is in front as opposed to “Meta,” which indicates that these are likely non-display versions of its smart glasses, unlike the Meta Ray-Ban Display. There’s always the chance that Meta is just tossing naming conventions to the wind and flip-flopping this time around, but that feels like an outside chance; the company has previously tried to educate us about the differences in name order. For now, we can assume that neither the Blazer nor the Scriber has a display in it. Adding to that hunch is the fact that the smart glasses are listed as “AI glasses,” which is, again, the convention that Meta uses to reference its non-display models.
From what we can glean from the FCC listings, there are similarities to previous models, including the AI glasses’ use of Bluetooth in concert with Wi-Fi—current Ray-Ban models (display and non-display) connect to your phone to do all the hardcore computing, which sounds like it’s still the case here. As noted by The Verge, there are also references to a charging case, which is something that all versions of Meta’s smart glasses (including Oakley-branded HSTN ones) currently have.
There’s nothing surprising about what we’ve seen or the fact that Meta has new models of Ray-Ban glasses in the pipeline—clearly, it sees opportunity in that landscape. It does, however, feel oddly soon to be seeing references to new pairs. The Meta Ray-Ban Display and the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 AI glasses were released just last September, and, in the case of the former pair, hardware still isn’t widely available for some people who want to buy one.
There’s also the fact that backlash against Meta’s smart glasses has been building over privacy concerns. Propelling that pushback are revelations over the company’s use of sensitive customer videos for training AI models (those videos showed people having sex, using the bathroom, and more) and its reported plans to add facial recognition to its smart glasses. That last possibility has already drawn the attention of U.S. senators who sent a letter to Meta asking questions about its plans while also characterizing the potential move as a threat to personal privacy. And Meta, for its crucial part in all of this, has been radio silent—on both accounts.
Maybe the company can just march forward and launch new pairs of Ray-Ban-branded smart glasses without scrutiny, but something tells me it may not be that easy. Either way, whether people are open to more Meta smart glasses or not, we can expect new pairs at some point—that is, if the company hasn’t stumbled into getting itself banned or regulated by then.
Read the full article here
