Hello? Smart glasses from Meta and Ray-Ban enable video calls via WhatsApp

Meta is adding a video call function to its smart glasses designed in collaboration with Ray-Ban. In WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, it will be possible to share your own view via the glasses' camera. The new function will be gradually distributed to the glasses and, according to a press release, will also be available in Germany - Meta has not yet specified a specific time frame.

In an Instagram post, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg demonstrates what video calls via smart glasses look like in practice. His conversation partner is wearing the glasses and looking in the mirror so that she can also be seen herself. The Meta glasses have an ultra-wide-angle camera with 12 megapixels. The second lens hole on the other side is a dummy designed to create symmetry. The camera can record videos with 1080p30 resolution.

New designs

Meta has also announced several new designs for its Ray-Ban glasses – although these do not appear to be accompanied by hardware upgrades. Meta AI, which is responsible for the majority of the glasses' features, is still not available in Germany. Meta is still not providing any information on whether and when these functions will be available in Germany.

Many of the more interesting smart glasses functions run via Meta AI. Meta recently showed a beta version in which the glasses can recognize landmarks and provide information about them, among other things. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also demonstrated these features in an Instagram post. In Yellowstone National Park, for example, the smart glasses can identify the Roosevelt Arch using a built-in camera and provide information about it via the bone-sound speakers.

The Ray-Ban Smart Glasses from Meta are available in two versions in Germany, which cost at least 360 euros. Without AI assistance functions, the glasses are primarily suitable for live-streaming on the Meta platforms.

(dahe)