(Reuters) – Meta Platforms unveiled several new products at its annual products conference in Menlo Park, California. The company showcased artificial intelligence-powered chatbots, a new mixed reality headset, and Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Here are the key announcements at the event:
1. QUEST 3
Meta released the Quest 3, its first mainstream headset built for mixed reality. The Quest 3 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform and offers double the graphic processing power of Quest 2. It will receive over 100 new and upgraded game titles this year, many of which will incorporate mixed reality experiences. Meta also announced that Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming will come to the Quest platform in December, allowing users to access games like Halo Infinite and Minecraft Legends.
Quest 3 is priced at $499.99 and will start shipping on Oct. 10.
2. AI CHATBOTS, STICKERS
Meta unveiled more than two dozen chatbots that will work within its social media applications. The company introduced Meta AI, a conversational assistant available on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. It provides real-time information and can generate photo-realistic images from users’ text prompts. Meta has partnered with Microsoft’s Bing search to deliver information off the internet.
Meta also announced 28 additional AI chatbots that will have the personalities of celebrities such as Bear Grylls, Chloe Kim, and Josh Richards. Furthermore, the company introduced Meta AI Studio, a platform for developers to build custom AI chatbots. These bots will have profiles on Instagram and Facebook, and users can chat with them on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.
The chatbots and AI Studio will launch in beta in the United States starting Wednesday.
Additionally, Meta rolled out a tool to generate AI stickers using Llama 2 and its image generation model called Emu. The feature will be available to select English-language users in WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook Stories over the next month.
3. RAY-BAN SMART GLASSES
Meta announced the release of the new generation Ray-Ban smart glasses, priced at $299. The glasses will start shipping on Oct. 17. Users can livestream directly from the glasses to their followers on Facebook and Instagram. The smart glasses will also have Meta AI built in, providing information on the item a user is looking at.
(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
