Meta Connect Showcases New Smart‑Glass Lineup

During the Meta Connect developer conference in San Francisco, Meta introduced three new smart‑glass offerings: an upgraded version of its existing Ray‑Ban Meta, a new Meta Ray‑Ban Display paired with a wristband controller, and the sports‑focused Oakley Meta Vanguard.

Live Demonstrations Encounter Problems

Several live demos failed to work as intended. Cooking content creator Jack Mancuso asked his Ray‑Ban Meta glasses for the first step of a sauce recipe. After repeating the question, the glasses did not respond and the AI jumped ahead in the recipe, forcing the demo to stop. Mancuso suggested the issue might be Wi‑Fi‑related.

In another instance, the glasses could not pick up a live WhatsApp video call between Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, leading Zuckerberg to abandon the attempt.

Bosworth’s Explanation on Instagram

Following the event, Bosworth addressed the failures on Instagram, explaining that the problems were not caused by Wi‑Fi. He said that when the chef said, “Hey, Meta, start Live AI,” the command inadvertently activated every Ray‑Ban Meta device in the building. The sheer number of devices generated a flood of traffic that had not been present during rehearsals.

Additionally, Meta had routed the Live AI traffic to a development server intended to isolate the demo. The unexpected volume of requests overwhelmed that server, effectively “DDoS‑ing” themselves.

The WhatsApp call issue stemmed from a different bug: the glasses’ display entered sleep mode at the exact moment the call arrived. This created a “race condition” where the system failed to display the incoming call notification. Bosworth noted that the bug was new, has since been fixed, and was an unfortunate moment for it to appear.

Outlook on the Product

Despite the setbacks, Bosworth expressed confidence in the underlying technology, stating that the products work and have “the goods.” He framed the incidents as demo failures rather than product failures, emphasizing that the devices remain viable for future use.

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