Meta Ray-Ban Glasses Get Walking Turn-by-Turn Navigation and New Mono Audio Controls

Summary

Meta’s latest software updates for its Ray-Ban smart glasses add pedestrian turn-by-turn navigation, and you can send directions from your phone’s mapping app to the glasses. A separate update adds mono audio and audio balance controls, which is still rolling out. Navigation is broadly available now through the Meta AI app.

Why it matters

Walking directions in your ear without staring at your phone is the kind of everyday feature that makes smart glasses useful, not just novel. The mono audio option is a welcome accessibility addition.

HTD Says

I’m a bit mixed on this news. Everybody has a smartphone these days, and I honestly don’t think that having directions spoken to you is that big of a thing. I’m sure smartphone apps already do this, as long as you have headphones or earbuds in. What the Meta glasses bring is pedestrian navigation and sharing your location from your phone to the glasses.

I have zero experience with Meta Ray-Ban Glasses. I’m only going to assume that directions appear on the lenses. I could be very wrong. If the glasses can provide location-aware context (e.g., store or restaurant names and information) directly to the glasses, that is a useful feature.

I guess I need to read up on what these Ray-Bans can actually do before I start criticizing them for what they should do or don’t do. Someone, please correct me (or send me a sample).

Source:

9to5Google