The Meta Ray-Ban Display’s Dumb Smart Glasses AI Is Dumb No More

If there’s one complaint I’ve had about the way Meta’s smart glasses work that doesn’t have to do with the company’s abysmal privacy practices, it’s AI. Meta AI, the baked-in voice assistant on Meta’s smart glasses, has largely been functional for basic stuff, but not exactly what I’d call sharp—launching music is okay, but beware if you’re asking computer vision about your surroundings. That’s how it’s been in the past, but Meta’s new AI model is a different story, and it’s finally making its way to the company’s flagship smart glasses. This week, Meta says it’s started rolling out a new Meta AI version powered by the improved Muse Spark model to the Meta Ray-Ban Display—its only smart glasses with a screen. The upgrade is happening gradually, according to Meta, so owners should see the change soon if they haven’t already. For context, Muse Spark was already available on Meta’s other non-display AI glasses. © Raymond Wong / Gizmodo Having used the new Muse Spark-powered Meta AI in Meta’s recently released Fury smart glasses, I can say from experience that it’s a huge upgrade—it’s snappier, more natural, and can follow along a lot better with what I’m doing. I used it to walk me through, step-by-step, how to pickle some banana peppers I grew recently, and dare I say it was actually helpful. It’s not perfect, but it’s leagues more sophisticated in my experience. That’s not the only update Meta is rolling out to the Meta Ray-Ban Display, either. Meta says it’s also introducing a Threads app, which allows you to browse your feed, look at media, engage with posts, share posts to messages, and use voice commands on the glasses to control actions in Threads. I don’t expect too many people are going to be shouting from the rooftops about a Threads app on the Meta Ray-Ban Display, but it’s nice to have, I guess. The Instagram app is also getting an update, allowing you to share photos to Instant and also control Instagram Reels more, which includes sharing Reels to contacts, seeing comments, and also searching Reels with your voice. Oh, and Meta’s Neural Handwriting feature, which allows you to use the Meta Ray-Ban Display’s Neural Band to “handwrite” a message with your fingers, is also rolling out in early access, which should be interesting, if not altogether super useful. Still, the Muse Spark-powered Meta AI is a major upgrade, and if you’ve been as frustrated as me about the finicky nature of Meta’s previous voice assistant, this is an update worth getting excited over.