Meta's Latest in Digital Tech from Connect 2023

Meta has raised the technology bar once again, and we’re very excited. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO and co-founder, delivered a keynote address last week at Meta Connect 2023 where he illustrated the company’s vision and the latest offerings to grow its Metauniverse concept.

Here are the key updates that we believe can take the Mixed Reality (Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality) & AI arenas to the next level:

Meta Quest 3: This is Meta’s first mixed reality (AR+VR) headset that is capable of merging AR with your physical surroundings while displaying it on a full-color passthrough. This means your immediate surroundings are rendered on the screen with high-fidelity in real time.

While experts maintain that Apple’s Vision Pro is a touch above in terms of features and quality, the price point is what makes the Meta Quest 3 a product with mass-adoption potential. With a starting price of $499, it is much more affordable than Apple’s Vision Pro which is tentatively priced at $3,500. From a marketing perspective, these headsets will cater to tech-enthusiasts from different income brackets.

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses: Meta has also partnered with Ray-Ban and showcased smart glasses that come with 60 second video recording and live streaming capabilities which are perfect for its social media platforms.

The device is equipped with a built-in voice assistant, 12-megapixel cameras capable of capturing 1080p video at 60 frames per second using an ultra-wide lens. It also features a built-in speaker, five microphones for spatial audio, 32 GB of RAM and an IPX4 rating for water resistance. These can be preordered for $299.

Meta AI: Meta is embracing Conversational AI with Meta AI, a chatbot leveraging the LlaMA 2 model. Unlike its previous version, Blender Bot 3, Meta AI aims for real-time interactions by integrating the Bing search engine through a partnership with Microsoft. It will be available on Quest 3, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.

AI Studio: Meta has expanded its offerings beyond the average user by introducing AI Studio, a user-friendly tool for developers and non-developers alike. This platform simplifies the creation of custom AI chatbots, catering to ecommerce, communications, customer engagement, and support needs. These tailored chatbots can seamlessly integrate with WhatsApp and other Meta apps through APIs. Additionally, Meta plans to launch a sandbox soon, allowing users to experiment with creating their own AIs, enhancing realism, embodiment, and connectedness within the metaverse.

Adding personality to the mix, Meta has introduced AI that mimics celebrities like Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, and YouTuber Mr. Beast. These are now in beta on Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, available for use today. Companies could potentially have chatbots designed to speak like their respective brand ambassadors. Wouldn’t that be cool?

Emu: Meta has introduced Emu, a rapid text-to-image generation model designed to create images within five seconds. Positioned to compete with established AI tools like DALL-E and Midjourney, Emu aims to meet the demand for compelling visual content. Initially tested on Instagram, it is now available on Meta's social media platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Messenger.

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In conclusion, there’s a lot of exciting developments happening and we at Garage366 will be actively looking for opportunities to promote our clients’ businesses leveraging these new technologies to stay ahead of the curve.