With new Meta devices, smart glasses are in focus for fashion

This article on smart glasses is part of our Vogue Business membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to our weekly Technology Edit, which contains Member-only reporting and analysis and our NFT Tracker, sign up for membership here. Today, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced two new wearable devices that up the ante on the race toward smart eyewear: a new generation of the company’s smart glasses, now called Ray-Ban Meta glasses and embedded with an AI assistant, and the Quest 3 mixed reality headset. In the last three months, Apple, Amazon and Meta have all announced new products based on the long-term tech hypothesis that smart glasses will be the next major stage of computing. Ray-Ban Meta glasses compete with Amazon’s new Echo Frames (which were announced last week) and Snapchat’s Spectacles (whose latest version was announced in May 2021). Meanwhile, Meta’s Quest 3 competes with Apple’s Vision Pro (announced in June), in addition to other MR headsets. The differences in functionality and appearance between these devices ranges from standard eyeglasses with audio or video functionality to large headsets with fully immersive digital experiences. Yet all together, they represent a new product category for fashion and a new forum in which to communicate with consumers. The devices also emphasise the expectation that digital objects and experiences will further blend with the physical world around us — that so-called “ambient computing” will supplement, if not replace, the pervasive presence of smartphones. “Smart glasses will be an important platform for the future. They are the natural way to put holograms in the world,” Zuckerberg said during the Meta Connect conference today, where the devices and updates were announced, adding that they are also “the ideal form factor for you to let an AI assistant see what you are seeing and hear what you are hearing.” In a July earnings call, Zuckerberg shared a prediction that the 2 billion people who wear glasses today will in the future be wearing smart glasses, with the ultimate vision being that functionalities converge into eyewear-like frames with full mixed reality functionality. Zuckerberg has called these types of augmented reality glasses a “holy grail” device. Big tech companies have long wanted to create a new product category out of smart eyewear, starting with Google Glass in 2014, followed by Snap in 2016. But, the current pace of new releases, the sophistication of the technology and the heightened visibility among consumers is a first. The question of whether or not customers are ready to buy in remains. The interest among fashion and beauty executives, at least, has been “just crazy”, says Teddy Pahagbia, a Paris-based consultant who is the founder and chief executive druid at luxury fashion consultancy Blvck Pixel, especially after the Apple device was announced. “I knew they were unveiling it, but I wasn’t expecting the device to be so good,” Pahagbia says. Some call this the “Apple effect”, in which Apple’s decision to produce AR/VR hardware is “a validation of the segment that has struggled to find legitimacy”, writes analyst Neil Barbour in a July report from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Amid metaverse scepticism, “that was the validation that all the other players were waiting for”, Pahagbia says. “People started to have a glimpse of what the metaverse could really be in terms of concept.” About 56 per cent of adults in the US have heard of smart glasses by now, according to an August report from The Vision Council conducted in collaboration with research firm Morning Consult. Early adopters of technology and those aged 18 to 34 are especially likely to have recently heard about smart eyewear products. But for now, the market is still emerging, cautions Alysse Henkel, senior director of market research and analytics at The Vision Council. Improvements to form and function While consumer readiness is an important factor in adoption — experts consider Google Glass to have been the right idea at the wrong time, in that it was too soon to sell smart glasses to average consumers — the timing of the new releases has been limited to the readiness of the tech. As Blvck Pixel’s Pahagbia notes, an impressive experience can be the catalyst for monetising momentum. This spate of new wearable technology devices include relatively more streamlined “smart” glasses, which are typically defined as wirelessly connected eyewear with in-frame features, and bulkier mixed reality headsets, which can offer augmented reality or AR (overlaying digital content on a wearer’s field of vision) and virtual reality or VR (in which only digital content is visible). Newer devices, including Meta’s and Apple’s, include “pass-through” functionally that enable the wearer to toggle between these various modes and see a blend of digital and physical content. The new Ray-Ban Meta glasses (introduced two years ago as Ray-Ban Stories, in partnership with Luxottica-owned Ray-Ban) will now include an AI assistant called Meta AI, which will enable people to ask questions in real time. Next year, these will be updated with multimodal functionality, including the ability for the glasses to understand and offer information about what people are looking at; this means that in the future, someone might be able to look at a piece of clothing and ask to identify the brand or find similar items to shop. “I think the AI part of this is going to be just as important in smart glasses being widely adopted as any of the AR,” Zuckerberg said. The glasses also enable people to capture hands-free images and videos, play music and make phone calls using a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone and a companion app, called Meta View. They have both aesthetic and functional upgrades, such as better video quality and the ability to livestream videos by connecting to the wearer’s Instagram or Facebook app, in addition to better speakers and battery life. They come in additional styles and colours, with a redesigned leather charging case designed to mimic a traditional Ray-Ban case. During an early preview of the Meta glasses, Li-Chen Miller, VP of product of smart glasses and AI at Meta, shared that a number of updates were in response to early adopters, including the types of influencers who might be eventually want to capture content at fashion week — the addition of live streaming, image stabilisation and an LED that illuminates when the camera is filming was made larger. Meta hopes that these updates will encourage people to stick around longer than they did the first time. Despite an influencer campaign that included Kendall Jenner, less than 10 per cent of the Ray-Ban Stories purchased are used actively by purchasers, according to the Wall Street Journal. “We totally expect that this generation will have a lot more interest,” Miller says. Amazon’s new offering, called the Echo Frames, focuses on audio features, including an improved Alexa virtual assistant (who converses using generative artificial intelligence) and the ability to listen to music and make calls. It also focused on fashion, by offering a number of new style options and a collaboration with Safilo Group’s Carrera Eyewear. “The face is very precious real estate,” said Jean Wang, the director of Amazon’s smart eyewear division, during an early preview. Snapchat’s latest version of Spectacles, which were introduced as an experimental device for creators two years ago, are perhaps the closest to true AR glasses, because they look like traditional glasses and overlay digital content onto a wearer’s view. However, these aren’t available to consumers. (Its Spectacles 3, introduced for consumers in 2019, capture 3D content through two cameras.) Meanwhile, both the Meta Quest 3 (the third generation of the headset) and Apple’s new Vision Pro bring major improvements to the look and feel of virtual and mixed reality, and offer an early glimpse at how smart glasses might ultimately evolve. Eyeing does not mean buying While new styles are designed to appeal to fashion’s sensibilities, the path toward adoption by luxury fashion is still a bit foggy. The tech can be tricky and expensive for both brands and consumers. Just six months after announcing its new ARES business unit to offer AR services for businesses, Snapchat is closing the division because the cost and complexity was too great, Bloomberg reports. So far, early tech adopters are the ones driving most of the interest, says the Vision Council’s Henkel, with functional features (such as usefulness, fun and interesting tech) more important considerations than shape, style or brand name. While about two-thirds of US adults wear prescription glasses, only one-tenth have used smart eyewear; notably, that climbs to a quarter among people 18 to 34, according to the Vision Council study. One-third say they are likely to consider purchasing smart eyewear products in the next year, according to the study. There’s also a question of price. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses start at $299, which increases with the addition of polarised lenses, transitions and prescription lenses. Snap’s Spectacles 3, which enable people to capture video content, are $380. Amazon’s Echo Frames start at $269.99. Meta’s Quest 3 starts at $499.99, while a model with more storage is $649.99. Apple’s Vision Pro comes in at $3,499. “Our goal is bringing the best devices to everyone,” Zuckerberg said of Meta, calling the Quest 3 the “first mainstream mixed reality headset”. Pahagbia counters that luxury customers tend to spend more and to be more digitally connected, which lends itself nicely to a new generation of devices. “We are talking about high-end products — they are luxury products,” he says. Plus, “if you compare to the rest of the world, 100 per cent of the fashion and luxury customers are connected. They are the customer base for these devices.” Pahagbia sees more interest among luxury executives in the larger mixed reality headsets because of the potential to become a new channel to “stay close to the customer” through new immersive experiences that can expand brand storytelling and product discovery. And they won’t be starting from scratch: the entire industry has already begun navigating 3D design, immersive worlds, digital products and AR, while fostering relationships with Gen Z and gamers — both groups that are more likely to be interested in these devices. The difference would be that future experiences are more immersive and more accessible, instead of relegated to the few customers who have VR headsets or requiring people to experience through flat screens. For example, Coach, Nike, Tiffany and Tommy Hilfiger have introduced smart AR mirrors that portray digital content onto a viewer’s reflection. With smart glasses, this experience could be extended to everyone who looks into a mirror. Clinique created an immersive “Clinique Lab” designed to educate and entertain younger consumers through larger-than-life products, bubbling formulae and towering aloe plants; instead of accessing this on a phone or computer, future consumers might walk through the experience physically — while wearing a headset. Louis Vuitton’s AR ad campaign that put artist Yayoi Kusama’s famous dots on global landmarks wouldn’t require viewing through a small phone screen. Speaking of the future during today’s presentation, Zuckerberg said, “Smart glasses are going to allow us to bring all this together in a stylish form factor that we can wear all day long.” S&P Global Market Intelligence expects that mixed reality headsets will develop into a “relatively approachable computing platform” during the next five years, forecasting that shipments of these types of devices will grow from 7.9 million in 2022 to 21.4 million in 2027. “While we believe that AR/VR will find a larger market outside of video games, the segment does not have an entirely clear runway,” S&P’s Barbour writes. “The smaller and easier it is to wear a headset, the larger the market will be. A form factor approaching smart glasses is the goal, but there will be more steps in between that future and what is available today.” It might be an unclear path, but eventually, fashion and luxury are coming in for landing. Spatial computing “is there to stay,” Pahagbia says. “It is a conversation that is still ongoing, but people are starting to reflect on how to approach it.” To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. More on this topic: Apple’s AR glasses are here. Fashion is watching Amazon bets bigger on Alexa-powered smart glasses Smart glasses: Should fashion buy in?

Make better business decisions

Make better business decisions