This is Mark Zuckerberg's new bet after the low adherence of phase 1 of his plan to transform the internet through virtual reality.
For those who don't remember, in 2021 Facebook changed its name and became Meta, along with the announcement of its new platform, the metaverse.
Granted, “the metaverse” was never a term exclusive usa email database to Facebook, and other types of metaverses already existed before Zuckerberg announced this path for Facebook.
In 2021, the metaverse was touted as “the future of the internet,” but that future never arrived — people continued to use the internet and social media as they always had, across devices.
Now Zuckerberg and co. are once again betting big on a new technology. Will it catch on? And what does this mean for marketing?
That's what we're going to talk about in today's article. Are you ready to get started?
What are Meta Glasses and the path that brought us here
When we look at this summarized timeline, it becomes clear why Meta glasses are being launched now: the concept is similar, but instead of a metaverse, the investment is expected to go into the devices.
The idea of the metaverse itself was already quite dubious at the time. The technology was inaccessible to many people, and the metaverse could only work with many users.
Imagine creating a social network from scratch, but only people who can spend $5,000 on a device can use it. You’re creating a very steep barrier for users, and this results in a depopulated environment.
And a depopulated social network cannot attract new users and loses the users it already has.
The concept of the metaverse, however, does not need to be so obvious. It is “there”, but there is no need to build a new world. It exists alongside ours.
This is the main concept of Meta Glasses: to offer its users the possibility of living in the real world and in the metaverse at the same time.
And to do this, he doesn't create anything new. He is a bridge to the metaverse, which already exists on social media, on WhatsApp, and even in the music you listen to.
Now that we've made that clear, let's better understand the features of Meta Glasses?
What does Meta Glasses offer today?
Meta glasses are a jointly created technology. Meta brings the technology and operating system, while Ray Ban lends the design (and its name) to the final product.
In other words: they are Ray Ban glasses as we know them, in the Wayfarer model, which offer the possibility of connecting to the internet, taking photos, recording videos, playing music and making calls.
Oh, and they also support listening to and sending audio on WhatsApp and Messenger, as well as direct sharing of photos and videos.
Its full functionalities are:
Button for photos and videos;
Touchpad for volume and skipping songs;
IPX4 protection against water, dust, smoke, etc.;
Speakers well positioned so you don't need headphones all the time;
5-microphone system for calls and audio (they are great);
20 MP front camera;
Support for prescription lenses and transitions;
The product is quite robust and fulfills its purpose well. The biggest problem comes with integration with operating systems.
For example, if you want to use Apple Music, you'll need to download the iPhone version of the Meta View app, which controls the glasses. The problem is that you can use Apple Music on Android devices.
In other words: if you use Apple Music on an Android, you won't be able to use it with the Meta Glasses, because you need the iPhone version of the app.
And if you ask Meta's AI to play a specific song, it will play that song and that's it. After that, enjoy the silence or select another song.
But nothing new on the front: these are design issues in Meta products, something we are very used to seeing as marketers.
Far beyond Black Mirror?
One of the most interesting technologies in the Black Mirror series are the contact lenses that offer augmented reality features.
With these technologies, users can record videos, take photos, create filters and even “block” people in real life, deleting their images and muting their voice.
A recent short film by Keiichi Matsuda also explores this concept, trying to show the impacts of augmented reality on a person's life:
What we see in this type of media is always a moral: augmented reality will destroy normal reality. It is a very critical view, but one that forgets the healthy applications of technology.
For now, we cannot say that the world will be a true Black Mirror with technologies like this, in the same way that we cannot decide that the technology will not even be used by people.
And we also need to remember that what we see in this short film being understood as the “new” hyperreality that awaits us in the future is already happening today.
The only difference is that instead of using our smartphones and computers to access the metaverse
Are there marketing opportunities in Meta Glasses?
Marketing opportunities exist in practically everything. And there are already some actions that can be implemented today in Meta glasses.
In fact, there are actions that are already in operation at this very moment, even though none of them were designed specifically for Meta Glasses.
One of the main marketing obstacles for Meta Glasses is the lack of visual display. The lenses of the glasses are normal lenses, which do not support AR or VR.
In other words, they are normal glasses with a camera, microphone and speakers, as well as Bluetooth connectivity.
Because of this, we need to limit our expectations of Meta Glasses, and understand them as a starting point for a new technology that is yet to come.