Meta's Top 5 Announcements at 'Connect' Event

The company also announced a series of AI-powered features that will be available across devices and social media platforms like Instagram. Here are some of the key announcements:

Augmented reality glasses

Meta has introduced Orion, an augmented reality (AR) headset that is billed as the world's most advanced and weighs less than 100 grams.

The transparent glasses allow users to see virtual objects superimposed on the real world. Wearers can access WhatsApp and Messenger, make video calls, and get information about things in their field of vision.

Meta says Orion is powered by a custom chip and is developing a consumer version of the glasses.

Affordable mixed reality glasses

Meta has launched its affordable Quest 3S mixed reality headset, which comes in two storage sizes, the smaller one priced at $299.99 and the larger one priced at $399.99.

The headset is expected to be available on October 15. The company is also dropping the price of the 512GB Meta Quest 3 from $649.99 to $499.99. Meanwhile, the high-end Quest 2 and Quest Pro devices are being discontinued.

LLAMA 3.2 Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Model

Meta has announced its first open-source multimodal AI model, Llama 3.2, which can generate content from both image and text prompts.

The company also announced a lighter version of Llama 3.2, capable of running on mobile devices.

Meta AI chatbot voice features

Meta AI will now support voice, with the option to choose celebrity voices like Judi Dench and John Cena.

This feature is accessible via Meta AI in direct messages on Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

Update for Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses

Meta is updating its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with AI tools for reminders, QR code scanning, and voice command phone number reading.

The company will also add AI-powered video recording and real-time language translation capabilities later this year.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)