When Mark Zuckerberg went surfing in a tux just six months after his knee surgery, flaunting his moves on Instagram on the fourth of July, he also subtly marketed the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, which he wore to record videos. Thankfully, they were not damaged during his time on the water.
Coincidently, the CEO’s return to the waves comes at a busy time for Meta, which continues to expand its reach in the tech industry. The company has been making headlines with its developments in virtual reality, augmented reality, and other innovative technologies.
After the release of the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, netizens quickly shared their opinions. While some reviews were positive, others were critical.
Mark Zuckerberg unveiling smart glasses at Meta Connect.
While many praised the new Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses for significant improvements over the Ray-Ban Stories, some are disappointed that in order for the battery to last long, the glasses have to be switched off. Users were quick to point out that the app drains the phone battery even when the glasses are off and miles away.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses offer functionalities similar to the Humane Ai Pin, but in a more traditional form. Once considered a futuristic must-have, smart glasses now seem outdated compared to the Ai Pin.
“Glasses are things that have come and gone. A lot of people have attempted them,” said Imran Chaudhri of Humane, the startup developing the Ai Pin.
“One of the reasons they are questionable is that only some people actually wear glasses,” Chaudhri explained. Glasses are an additional fashion choice, which many people don’t want. “If you wear glasses, it’s primarily to see and protect your eyes. There’s a lot of thought that goes into that,” Chaudhri added.
Fashion’s Unexpected Underdog or Just ‘Influencer’ Branding?
Nevertheless, Meta’s smart glasses are defying all odds when it comes to earning a high fashion reputation. The accessory is emerging as 2024’s hottest must-have after reaching the pinnacle of style status, TikTok virality.
Touted as “the next big thing in the influencer world”, the Meta x Ray-Ban shades have become an overnight sensation among the content creator community. Engadget’s video demonstrating the smart glasses, which lets users make calls, shoot videos, listen to music, and livestream, has accumulated many views since it was uploaded.
The gadget’s rise to fame isn’t a fluke—it’s all part of Meta’s marketing push to sway consumer opinion on its smart wearable, and the company is savvy about which audience it targets.
The demographic in question is the style-obsessed social media natives. Over the past month, the tech corporation has orchestrated a campaign targeting fashion enthusiasts and internet personalities with impressive followings. To date, creators who have jumped on the hype include Hong Kong-based Steph Hui and Kristina Kim, all of whom have contributed to the product’s explosive growth.
Tech wearables’ entry into mainstream consciousness hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Apple’s Vision Pro headset crash landed across the fashion community in June last year—a fashion victim memeified into oblivion—while Google’s anticipated Google Glass was pulled off the market after a damp squib of a launch in 2014.
Meta’s smartwear division has also previously struggled to gain traction. Last April, the company was reported to have sold just 120,000 pairs of Ray-Ban Stories, less than half its 300,000 goal at that time, as well as failing to retain its existing users.
In today’s day and age, when everyone can be a content creator, convenience is key; Meta has taken note by refining in on its buzzy use-case of hands-free recording, encouraging participating influencers to do the same.
For example, Ray-Ban’s official account released its own video on TikTok in December with the tagline ”keep the hands-free POVs coming”, which has since accumulated over 11 million views.
Meta’s explosive success so early into the new year puts tech gadgets front and centre as an area to watch in 2024. In the next few months, we could see wearables from the likes of Meta and its competitors evolve into social media’s ‘next big thing’ among influencers.
While the trend builds up cultural cachet, Meta’s gambits haven’t gone unnoticed by fashion commentators and their increasingly cynical style communities.
The Washington Post columnist Jules Terpak wrote on X, “It’s unclear if it organically happened amongst those with large followings after one person’s video went crazy, or if there’s an undisclosed influencer campaign going on. Regardless, it’s definitely causing a shift in perception.”
Striving to Stay Ahead
Meta emphasised the ease of operating their smart glasses, eliminating the need for hand-held cameras or smartphones. With Meta AI integration, their chatbot-like interface puts them ahead of other tech giants exploring similar technologies.
In 2023, Microsoft also developed smart glasses with GPT-4V image recognition.
Meta’s 2023 AR/VR hardware roadmap revealed that their third-generation smart glasses, expected in 2025, will include a viewfinder for reading messages, scanning QR codes, and a neural interface band for hand movement control.
Meta leads in VR with the recent launch of mixed reality Quest 3 headsets, surpassing Apple Vision Pro’s upcoming release next year.
