Latest news with #RayBan
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AI glasses are here! Is this growth stock in my SIPP and ISA in danger?
Call me paranoid, but I'm always thinking about how certain technology trends could disrupt the companies I hold inside my SIPP and ISA. I want to be invested in the disruptors (Netflix, say, or Amazon) rather than the disrupted (Blockbuster or Woolworths). Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai famously said: 'Artificial intelligence is one of the most profound things we're working on as humanity. It is more profound than fire or electricity.' You don't get more disruptive than that! From robotaxis to AI agents, the pace of innovation today is dizzying. And it's sure to shake up many industries in the coming years. One product I'm watching closely is Meta Platforms' AI-powered smart glasses. Think hands-free messaging, videos, and AI assistants whispering information into your ear. All while looking (mostly) like a normal pair of specs/sunglasses! Over time, people may use some smartphones apps less than before. Building on its Ray-Ban AI glasses, Meta has just released new ones with Oakley. They pair with the Meta AI app and have a personal AI assistant built in. In Q1, the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses had four times as many monthly active users as the year before. So they're catching on. Meta's CFO Susan Li said this on the firm's Q1 earnings call: 'This month, we fully rolled out live translations on Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses to all markets for English, French, Italian, and Spanish. Now, when you are speaking to someone in one of these languages, you'll hear what they say in your preferred language through the glasses in real time.' This got me thinking about Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL), the world's leading language learning app. It had 46.6m daily users in Q1, and over 130m monthly learners. Of those, 10.3m were paying subscribers, up 40% year on year. I added this growth stock to both my ISA and SIPP a few months back. But if we're all going to be wearing AI glasses in future, and they can automatically translate foreign words in real time, why bother learning a new language? Of course, I'm not suggesting the need to learn languages is suddenly going to disappear. Many people need to speak one for work or study, particularly English (a big cash cow for Duolingo). But some casual learners might ditch the app, increasing the churn rate. Meanwhile, a visual-based rival could emerge, designed specifically for smart glasses and using an entirely different learning model. For example, one based on immersive, real-world learning, using your environment. Indeed, in this scenario, the firm's app-based lessons with cartoon characters might one day seem quaint! One thing reassuring me here, though, is that Duolingo is already seriously embracing the technology. It uses AI to personalise lesson sequences and predict which words or grammar points a learner will forget. In April, generative AI helped it launch 148 new language courses, more than doubling its offering. And paid subscribers can now video chat with an AI-powered avatar to practice speaking in real time. Plus, the company has rolled out chess lessons to compliment its non-language courses in music and maths. I'm not panicking. The future still looks bright. Duolingo stock has dipped 25% since May. While it's still not cheap, I think it's worth considering for long-term investors. The post AI glasses are here! Is this growth stock in my SIPP and ISA in danger? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Ben McPoland has positions in Duolingo. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, Duolingo, and Meta Platforms. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
These Smart Glasses Are Already Kicking Meta Ray-Bans' Ass
Meta clearly has more competition than ever in the world of smart glasses, and that field of competitors isn't getting any slimmer. The most recent company to join the smart glasses fray is China's Xiaomi, which just unveiled a pair of frames that, if I'm being totally honest here, puts Meta's Ray-Ban glasses to shame—at least on paper. The first thing I noticed about Xiaomi's AI Glasses, which costs around the same price as Meta's Ray-Ban glasses at $280, is that it does something that I've been wanting for a long time as an owner of Meta's Ray-Ban glasses. According to Xiaomi, its AI Glasses can be used for mobile payments with a combination of the glasses' camera and Alipay, Alibaba's popular mobile payment system. From what I can gather from Xiaomi's press materials, the glasses can scan a QR code and then use the onboard voice assistant as confirmation that you actually want to pay for an item. On the surface, it sounds like you could end up accidentally walking around paying for things, but with a few failsafes—voice activation and verification—I don't think that should be an issue. I don't have the full details on how the feature works, though, so fingers crossed Xiaomi thought this one through—if it did, then it could be incredibly convenient. Next is something I've also thought about many times while wearing Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, especially when I want to wear them inside—electrochromic lenses. To put that phrase in layman's terms, that means the ability to electrically shift whether the lenses are shaded or transparent. Sure, Ray-Ban smart glasses can be purchased with transition lenses installed, but being able to shift between shaded and transparent manually is kind of awesome, especially if you can fine-adjust the level depending on your eyesight or preference. And the advantages don't stop there. If this last bit is true—I have my doubts that it is—then Xiaomi's smart glasses are frankly blowing Meta's Ray-Ban glasses out of the water. According to Xiaomi's literature, the AI Glasses have an absurd 45 minutes of continuous video recording. That would be impressive, not just for a pair of smart glasses, but for an iPhone 16 Pro even, which tends to get pretty damn hot when recording video for extended lengths of time. Meta's Ray-Bans, by the way, can record a maximum of three minutes of video in one sitting, which was recently upped from the original max recording length of 90 seconds. In addition to those three things, Xiaomi's glasses match Meta's Ray-Bans in almost every way and even push the envelope in a few more. There's a 12-megapixel camera, a voice assistant onboard, and a five-mic array for using its voice assistant and taking calls—all three of those things match Meta's Ray-Bans punch for punch. In the battery department, Xiaomi's glasses allegedly roll the ball forward big time, though. While Meta's glasses are only rated for four hours of battery, Xiaomi says its glasses can last for 8.6 hours on a single charge. Again, this is kind of a major claim, so I'm approaching that spec with some skepticism, but if it is true, that makes Meta look silly. Oh, Xiaomi also says the glasses are capable of first-person video calls and livestreaming, too. Sure. Why not? I have my doubts about Xiaomi's AI Glasses, don't get me wrong, but if they really do what the company says they do, they might easily (on paper, at least) be the best smart glasses out there. They don't crack the code with an augmented display on the lens or anything like that, but they allegedly double the battery life, expand the continuous recording time by 15x Meta's glasses, and include more nice-to-haves like the ability to execute mobile payments or manually transition the lenses in or out of shade mode. Even if these things are total bullshit, I'm starting to think that Meta ought to really up the game here, because Xiaomi's smart glasses are now the only ones I want.
GSM Arena
3 days ago
- GSM Arena
Xiaomi teases camera-focused smart glasses before tomorrow's big event
Xiaomi has released a number of smart glasses over the years – like the Snapdragon-powered AR-glasses from 2022, the wireless AR glasses it demoed at MWC 2023, the Smart Audio Glasses and more. A new model is coming tomorrow and it will focus on filming first-person view videos, at least that's what the teaser videos focus on. Here's a photo showing the glasses, posted by Xiaomi on Weibo: Xiaomi's upcoming smart glasses Here's the same image with the brightness dialed up: Xiaomi's upcoming smart glasses (boosted brightness) A post on Weibo describes the glasses (machine translation): 'First-person perspective filming. Free your hands, immerse yourself in the moment, record and share your vision.' These glasses will go up against the new Oakley Meta HSTN glasses and previous Ray Ban-branded models. Tomorrow's event will be a big one – it will feature the Xiaomi Mix Flip 2, the Xiaomi Pad 7S Pro, a 41mm version of the Xiaomi Watch S4 and the Xiaomi Band 10. Source
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta Called a 'Top Pick' by Citi Analysts on Digital Ad Strength
Citi called Meta a "top pick" Tuesday, following the company's showing at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The bank said its meetings at the event revealed that Meta's platform was among the best at targeting specific audiences. Meta also showed off an AI tool that would allow users to generate video ads using still analysts called Meta Platforms (META) a 'top pick' Tuesday, after the social media giant showcased its strength in digital advertising at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The Facebook and Instagram parent 'was among the best platform[s] to target specific audiences,' Citi said, citing its meetings with stakeholders across the ad sector. Citi raised its price target to $803 from $690, well above the Visible Alpha analyst consensus of about $715. Shares of Meta rose close to 2% near $711 in recent trading, giving Citi's target a roughly 13% premium. The stock has gained about 22% year-to-date, making it the best-performing member of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks in 2025 so far. Meanwhile, Jefferies analysts reiterated a price target of $790 after the event. The analysts highlighted Meta's new AI advertising tool that allows marketers to generate video ads for Facebook or Instagram using a series of static images. Also featured at the event were Meta's AI-powered Ray-Ban glasses, which Citi said 'creates a significant opportunity for Meta.' 'We are increasingly of the view that glasses are a core AI device,' the bank said. Last week, Meta unveiled its latest AI glasses collaboration, this time with Oakley. Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta's Oakley smart glasses look like a better choice than Ray-Bans for your first pair. Here's why.
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Along with dominating the VR headset market with the Quest, Meta also has the top spot for smart glasses. Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses continue to be a big seller for the company, with more than two million pairs sold since their launch in 2023. On Friday, Meta announced it's releasing another set of glasses under a different brand. The Oakley Meta glasses are the new smart glasses that the company plans on releasing this summer. Based on the HSTN style of Oakley glasses, the Oakley Meta version will have a few upgrades over the Meta Ray-Bans. To start, the Oakley Meta smart glasses will have improved battery life over the Meta Ray-Bans. The Oakley has eight hours of battery life with normal use and up to 19 hours of standby time, about double that of the latest generation of Ray-Bans. The newer smart glasses also have fast charging, can go up to 50% in just 20 minutes, and come with a charging case that provides 48 hours of charging. The Oakleys record video in 3k quality, which is a significant improvement over the Ray-Bans' 1440 x 1920 video quality. Photo quality is still the same at 12MP. Another improvement with the Oakley Meta smart glasses is the use of Prizm and Prizm Polarized lenses for impact and UV protection. Aside from these differences in tech and, of course, the style, the Oakley Meta smart glasses have the same functionality as the Ray-Bans. There's a capture button on the frames for photos and video. When recording, the camera lens will blink, letting others know they're being recorded. Speakers are built into the frame to listen to songs from Spotify or Apple Music. The Oakleys also have Meta AI built in. Wearers can ask the AI questions, and in its press materials, Meta focused on how the assistant can provide details related to various physical activities, such as weather conditions for a game of golf or checking out surf conditions. The Limited-Edition Oakley Meta HSTN glasses will be available for preorder on July 11 and priced at $499. Meta plans to release the rest of the Oakley line later in the summer for $399 for the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. Other countries will get access to the Oakley Meta smart glasses later this year.
