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by jeremyjh 995 days ago
The Meta glasses don’t have a display, it’s just camera and audio.
2 comments

Wow dang, they really should make this more obvious. If I bought one and discovered that (despite being able to record and stream video) it had no display, I would be pissed.
I agree this marketing is definitely misleading, this image is a clear representation of a screen. Very black mirror. https://ibb.co/HYpNzxD
> Wow dang, they really should make this more obvious.

How? It's not mentioned anywhere that this is about displaying content, but it's very clear it's about capturing video and listening to audio only.

Or you want them to put "Notice: No display is included in the device" on the landing page?

To be fair the second sentence in the short top description is about staying connected with calls and messages. I don't think many people's first assumption (without any other context/knowing more) would be that that means having them read out.
The full quote is:

> Stay connected with hands-free calls and messages and listen to your favourite tracks through built-in speakers.

Which makes it seem pretty clear they're talking about stuff you can do because of the speakers.

Then later:

> No more stopping to answer your phone. Also, make calls and send messages on WhatsApp, Messenger and SMS, completely hands-free – simply by using your voice.

The first part seems intentionally ambiguously worded to be interpreted as:

> (Stay connected with hands-free calls and messages) and (listen to your favourite tracks through built-in speakers)

vs:

> (Stay connected with hands-free calls and messages and listen to your favourite tracks) through built-in speakers

So it's not clear from that wording that there isn't a display, or that the messages are read aloud. An unambiguous wording would be:

> listen to your favourite tracks and stay connected with hands-free calls and messages through built-in speakers

As, well, the below statement is true whether there is a screen or not, and also doesn't specify that the messages are read aloud:

> No more stopping to answer your phone. Also, make calls and send messages on WhatsApp, Messenger and SMS, completely hands-free – simply by using your voice

That plus the image of the screen floating next to the glasses definitely make it seem like marketing is trying to trick people into thinking there's a display without explicitly claiming it

> Which makes it seem pretty clear they're talking about stuff you can do because of the speakers.

That's true. But it's not excluding display stuff.

It's along the lines of some product having multiple features, and some marketing point only talking about the advantages of the first feature. People would expect further marketing points to address the other features, and/or not even realise they'd not seen the other ("assumed to be present") features mentioned later on.

> That's true. But it's not excluding display stuff.

How many product landing pages talk about what you cannot do with the product or what it doesn't include? That'd be a very strange landing page for a product...

I don't use WhatsApp or Messenger, but the messaging apps I use are I'd guess at least 10% gif/photo/video content... some threads more...
> The full quote is:

> > Stay connected with hands-free calls and messages and listen to your favourite tracks through built-in speakers.

> Which makes it seem pretty clear they're talking about stuff you can do because of the speakers.

I don't agree at all (I wasn't not quoting to hide anything, I was just typing from mobile with a crappy connection on a train) - that's not clear to me - but ok.

Meta is all about VR. VR means a display. Anyone would assume "meta glasses" are AR glasses. This is just a desperate attempt to boost the meta hype because they have made no progress on actual VR products.

They are also called "smart glasses", but they are just headphones and a camera. Nobody calls their bluetooth headphones "smart".

Huh? Then how do they deliver ads?
They deliver ads to the people being filmed with the glasses, once they're identified and tracked by facebook.
I wonder if Zuckerberg one day will wake up and realize what he's doing to the world.
"To conclude, it’s worth noting that, at least for a time, product managers at Facebook — Russ’ job before starting DocSend — were required to read Snow Crash as part of their internal training."[0]

I think he knows.

0: https://www.deaneckles.com/blog/700_docsend_in_snow_crash/

Doesn’t he already? And that’s why he’s doing what he’s doing?
Knowing and reflecting upon what you know are two different things. And even then the outcomes may be different than what you would expect.
They'll quietly whisper them into your ear.. !
Presumably they monetize by selling your real-time location and live video feed to your local surveillance authorities or political enemies.
Is there any source that can back this up? I can't imagine my local police paying to have live locations at all times.
You can't imagine police departments that buy stingray devices and spy illegally with them to also pay for surveillance data? Anyway for real time tracking, police stations can likely get the feds involved which get that info from your telco, who are best buddies with the federal government.
Yeah... but I am not american, but from a tiny european country. Police makes some requests for data after the fact every year, but as far as I know there are no deals between police and giant american corporations. I'm probably naive.
Ah yes, sorry to assume.