Mark Zuckerberg announces major news at Meta Connect 2023
Mark Zuckerberg has announced two major tech products and huge changes to apps used by billions of people.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company Meta has made a series of major announcements that will shake up the way billions of people use technology and interact with the world.
Headlining the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, was the new Meta Quest 3 mixed reality headset. It’s a major upgrade to the Meta Quest 2 device, and now blends the real world with virtual reality in a way never seen before.
Zuckerberg also revealed new advances in artificial intelligence that will change the way billions of people use popular apps like Facebook and Instagram.
The third major announcement was the next generation of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The glasses will be shipped with the Meta AI installed, with massively upgraded hardware and a new livestreaming feature.
Quest 3
The big change for the Quest 3 is that it has now been designed to blend physical and digital spaces together. This means you can experience virtual reality or mixed reality while using the headset to play games, watch video or explore the Metaverse.
Mixed reality is made possible by Passthrough video processing that shows your actual environment, which it can be overlaid with virtual objects.
This will enable you to, for example, kick a virtual soccer ball against a real wall in your house or shoot monsters emerging from the ceiling.
You can also create a giant virtual immersive theatre to watch movies or sit courtside at the NBA.
Next year, a new feature will allow virtual features to be permanently installed in your home. For example, you could put virtual trophies on your shelf, artefacts from games on your wall, install interactive music players and look up to see outer space.
To switch between virtual reality and augmented reality you merely double tap on the Quest 3.
There are major hardware changes to the Quest 3 over its predecessor Quest 2.
The tech will be shipped with new Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform, which doubles the headset’s processing power. This means that graphics are vastly improved.
Developers redesigned the headset to make in slimmer, more balanced and therefore more comfortable to wear. The controllers are also improved – and hand tracking means you can also ditch the controllers and use direct touch instead if you choose.
There are also multiple new colour options available.
It’s shipping out on October 10 for $799.99.
Meta’s chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth described it as the “best value spatial computing headset on the market”. That’s likely a shot across the bow at Apple — as it’s considerably cheaper than the Apple Vision Pro, which is retailing for $US3,499 (approximately AU$5500).
Artificial intelligence
Meta is also introducing new AI technology that will massively impact the way people use its apps.
New AI software named Emu will allow people to generate high-quality, photorealistic images in just seconds for free – something that is currently available only through costly subscription-based software.
This will be at first realised though new custom AI stickers.
With Emu, you have the ability to type in what you want and the AI will create custom never before seen stickers on the fly.
This will be rolling out broadly across Meta’s apps like Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram.
Meta says billions of stickers are sent across its platforms every month.
AI stickers will roll out to select English language users over the next month.
Apps like Instagram will also be hugely changed.
A new product called Restyle will allow AI to transform photos. You can also co-create AI-generated images with friends.
You can easily, for example, apply a custom filter such as “watercolour” – and the image will be changed to resemble a painting thanks to the power of AI.
With Backdrop, you can also easily change the location of your photo from your bedroom to a street in Paris.
Or, you can change a photo of yourself to one in which you are surrounded by puppies. The number of applications is really only limited by your imagination.
To do this, you simply provide a prompt to the AI, and it will change the scene or background of the photo as commanded.
Meta said that images created with Restyle and Backdrop will be marked to “indicate the use of AI to reduce the chances of people mistaking them for human-generated content.”
Meta may also use other forms of forms of visible and invisible markers.
Other cool AI stuff
Meta worked with a bunch of celebrities to create 28 AIs that are being released in beta.
Each AI bot has been created with unique interests and personalities.
Some are played by cultural icons and influencers, including Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady, Kendall Jenner, and Naomi Osaka.
Also new is the Meta AI assistant, which being introduced in beta.
This is an advanced conversational assistant and will be available on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.
Meta created this AI with technology from Llama 2, its open source large language model.
The AI assistant will have access to real-time information through Meta’s search partnership with Bing.
In terms of devices, it is also coming to Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest 3.
Meta AI will be able to respond in seconds and can generate photorealistic images from your text prompts.
That means it can answer commands like, “Provide me a receipe idea with mushrooms and bacon”.
You’ll also be able to use it in group chats.
When enabled, you could type “@MetaAI/imagine” and then a prompt like, “create a button badge with a walker and gumtrees,” and it will create a digital merit badge in the chat.
Ray-Ban - Meta smart glasses collection
Meta’s next generation of smart-glasses are jacked up with new hardware.
The company joined forced with EssilorLuxottica, and for the first time the stylish glasses have live streaming capabilities.
Next year, new tech will allow the glasses to understand your environment and with AI, answer questions such as what you’re looking at. This will be huge for people with vision impairment.
The glasses now have better image processing, video stabilisation and faster performance.
Voice command is also being enabled.
For example you could say, “Hey Meta, send photo to Heidi” and the glasses will take a photo and send it directly to your best friend in the app you usually to chat, all without taking out your phone.
On the video front, the recording has been vastly improved. Meta has added five microphones around the glasses. This provides immersive audio, allowing people to relive a moment in surround sound
The new microphone array has also improved the hands free calling experience.
Meta says audio from phone calls will come through crystal clear even in windy and noisy environments.
The speakers have been completely redesigned with custom speakers allowing for a higher maximum volume, there is double the bass, and improved directional audio, so that people can’t easily overhear your conversations.
There are also two new styles. Along with the existing Wayfarer design there is now also the new Headliner, which is rounded and has a retro and classic look.
The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses collection will launch on October 17, for $449.
Andrew Backhouse is at Meta Connect courtesy of Meta.
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