Skip to main content

Ray-Ban Meta glasses get ‘major’ update with minor feature

The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses next to a pool.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

Someone maybe should tell Meta that point releases — software updates that move things along, but maybe don’t justify entire whole-number increases in the version scheme — are a thing. But here we are, and the Ray-Ban Meta glasses have received an update to Version 8.0, a little less than seven months since things really kicked off with Version 2.0.

What changes from Version 7.0 to Version 8.0? You can now share photos to your Facebook story without having to touch anything. It’s gone hands-free. You’ll need to go into the Meta View app and connect your Facebook account, but otherwise, you’re free to tell your glasses to share whatever it is you’re looking at that simply must be shared right that second. So not quite as big a deal as when the Ray-Ban Meta tripled their recording time.

The phrase that’ll get things going, according to the changelog, is “Hey, Meta, share a photo to my Facebook Story” if you’re doing things live. Or if you want to share a picture you just took, it’s “Hey, Meta, share my last photo to Facebook.”

For what it’s worth, there’s also the requisite “bug fixes and performance enhancements” listed in the changelog.

From there, it’s just a few taps to get things going. Do note that connecting your Facebook account to Meta View will give the Facebook app access to Bluetooth, which you’ll need to manually approve.

Ray-Ban Meta software update screenshots.
Screenshots

There’s also a security feature I noticed for the first time while setting this up, although it might not be new. You can auto-lock your contacts, which would keep someone from grabbing your glasses yo use them to make calls, send messages, listen to incoming messages, or share photos and videos. Turn this feature on and you’ll have to unlock your phone to do any of the above. The glasses will stay unlocked until you remove them. It’s a bit like how Apple handles things with the Apple Watch, and it’s a good feature to have.

The Meta app does warn that using auto-lock may reduce battery life, though.

Phil Nickinson
Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
Apple Watch Series 10 now expected to get a major new health feature
A person checking the fitness data on an Apple Watch Series 9.

Apple is expected to announce the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 at Monday's iPhone 16 event. We've heard little beyond hardware speculation about these watches — untilnow. Today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that both watches may have a sleep apnea detection feature. If accurate, it would be the first time an Apple wearable device has offered this functionality.

Those suffering from sleep apnea experience repeated breathing stops and starts during sleep. This leads to poor sleep quality and a range of health problems. Unfortunately, it's hard for a person actually to know that they are suffering from this disorder. Detecting sleep apnea makes it much easier for health care providers to diagnose and determine the best course of treatment.

Read more
Gboard is getting a much-needed update for foldables
Google Gboard split screen keyboard mode on the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Folding phones have surged in popularity over the past few years, but some apps have lagged behind in updating their interfaces. Gboard is one of the guilty parties here; while it's available on nearly every Google-based device, the on-screen keyboard could stand to look and perform better on foldables.

However, Android Authority's Mishaal Rahman recently noticed a new UI within Gboard while using his Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. He checked on another one of his devices, only to find the new UI was absent — until he updated to version 14.6.02-beta.

Read more
Your Galaxy S24 is about to get a big software update. Here’s what’s new
Someone holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus.

Samsung Galaxy S24 users will soon receive new AI features on their devices. The company has begun rolling out the One UI 6.1.1 update for Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra users. The 2.8GB update includes the September 2024 security patch and many new features, most of which are AI-based.

This update introduces enhanced productivity tools such as Note Assist, PDF Overlay Translation, and Sketch to Image. Note Assist can translate and summarize meeting notes and create transcripts from voice recordings. PDF Overlay Translation allows you to translate text into PDF files, images, and graphs. The Sketch to Image feature generates image options based on simple sketches.

Read more