Meta Beats Apple in Bringing AI to VR Headsets as Llama Comes to Quest 3: All You Need to Know
Meta revealed plans to bring more cutting-edge AI vision capabilities into its Quest 3 headset and ultimately wants the smart features in Meta Ray-Ban glasses. The action underscores Meta’s push to blend AI with extended reality (XR) technologies. As part of the more recent update, Meta disclosed that this summer users in the US and Canada would see an updated Quest 3 headset get ‘Meta AI with Vision’.
How Will Llama 3 AI Work on Quest 3
The Quest 3 headset is likely to be the first device available with Llama 3 AI offering a major advancement in VR technology. This will pave the way for AI-powered voice interactions and object awareness on Quest 3. The feature seems to allow users to chat with an AI, either asking general queries or for detailed information about something perceived. In its current state though, the AI will only analyze real-world objects but future updates could see this sort of feature extended to include virtual content. Interestingly enough, the new feature won’t be coming to either of those or any older models – and it currently remains unclear if we’ll see this software hit Quest Pro. The system’s integration with Bing AI has been confirmed but specifics on where the processing will take place, and how it concerns encryption and privacy have not yet wholly materialized.
Apple has not said as much about the Apple Intelligence features and whether or when they might be coming to its Vision Pro headset. The suite of features that Apple announced earlier this year was at the heart of what it called the launch of “Apple Intelligence,” designed to hit iPhone, iPad and Macs in fall. There’s no word yet whether these AI features will be integrated with Vision Pro, however. Vision Pro users are left to wonder if they will be getting the updates simultaneously with other Apple devices or whether they would have to wait for future versions of visionOS. Apple says most Apple Intelligence features will occur on device, with some things off-device. It says none of the off-device data is persisted beyond sending it to its servers in order to respond and that this occurs only when users trigger a request line, adding there were plans for privacy audits on the code handling these bits.
What This Means For The Tech Community
Moving forward with AI integration in its devices, as Meta pushes the envelope of safety and privacy regulation surrounding these kinds of hardware/software interfaces…where will Vision Pro put Apple? What Meta can DoOur thoughts on how the advancements at Meta could impact are;
- Improved User Experience: As Llama 3 AI is integrated with Quest 3, overall user experience will become more immersive and interactive through line of sight outputs. Voice commands and object recognition, powered by AI will provide more natural interactions with the environment.
- The Competitive Edge: By being the first to take on AI integration for VR headsets, Meta cements itself ahead of others in its space – possibly resulting in more consumers and developers coming over to their platform.
- Baby Step as AI processing details: are still up for debate, What about encryption and who sees the data? Some of these are areas that Meta will likely have to clean up if it is going to rebuild user trust.
- Market Pressure on Apple: The successful launch of Meta glasses may put pressure in the market for early integration AI within Vision Pro, and all other wearables by apple. Both tech giants are now competing to win over the market, and as such the competitive landscape is likely going to see a faster evolution.
Conclusion
For Meta, the Quest 3 headset and its higher-grade AI features are a major step in the future of VR. With Llama 3 AI underpinning Meta supercharges the user experience, and sets a new high-water mark for competitors such as Apple. The wearable and AI communities are closely tracking the integration of machine learning tech in wearables, hoping it will yield game-changing marketplace innovation with ever more sophisticated experiences for users.