Meta’s New Cheaper AI Glasses Want to Make Wearables Part of Daily Life

Meta’s New Cheaper AI Glasses Want to Make Wearables Part of Daily Life

Meta is lowering the entry price for AI glasses in what appears to be the clearest sign yet that the company wants to turn smart glasses into an everyday device for the masses.

On June 23, the company introduced its new Meta glasses in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, with prices starting at $299. Buyers can choose from 26 style combinations, and the glasses are compatible with prescription lenses.

As one might expect, Meta’s latest smart glasses come packed with features, including hands-free photo and video capture, open-ear audio, live translation, pedestrian navigation, and Meta AI powered by Muse Spark. However, not all of those features will be available at launch.

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Apple’s $4B iCloud Case Puts Big Tech Lock-In on Trial

Apple’s $4B iCloud Case Puts Big Tech Lock-In on Trial

Apple is facing a £3 billion (about $4 billion) class action lawsuit in the UK over claims that the company turned its iCloud storage service into a Big Tech trap.

Consumer group Which? filed the complaint, in which it alleges that Apple used the control it had over iPhone and other iOS devices to encourage its customers to use iCloud while making it harder for competing cloud storage providers to gain traction.

Apple has denied the allegations.

The court hasn’t yet ruled on whether Apple broke any of the UK’s competition laws. However, the Competition Appeal Tribunal has allowed the case to move forward as a collective action, with the trial expected to begin in October 2028.

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Commodore’s Callback 8020 Wants to Make Smartphones Less Addictive

Commodore’s Callback 8020 Wants to Make Smartphones Less Addictive

Commodore is back with a flip phone for people who want their phones to do less.

The Callback 8020 is what the company calls a new “not dumb dumbphone” that blocks time-sucks like social media and web browsers while keeping the apps people need most on the device.

That means buyers won’t have to give up WhatsApp, Google Maps, Spotify, rideshare apps, podcasts, QR codes, calendars, 2FA apps, and SMS.

If the Commodore name rings a bell, it may be because of the Commodore 64, one of the best-known home computers of the 1980s.

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Your Next Apple Device Could Soon Cost More Thanks to AI

Your Next Apple Device Could Soon Cost More Thanks to AI

The price of Apple devices will go up in the not-too-distant future, as the AI boom continues to drive up the cost of memory and storage chips.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on June 17, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that higher prices are coming as DRAM and NAND costs rise across the consumer electronics industry.

“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” Cook said, adding that Apple had tried to keep the costs down for its customers as long as possible but wouldn’t be able to do so indefinitely.

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Snap Bets Its Specs AR Glasses Can Move Computing Beyond the Phone

Snap Bets Its Specs AR Glasses Can Move Computing Beyond the Phone

Snap wants to turn smart glasses into the next everyday computing device, and its new Specs are another example of how determined tech companies are to move AI beyond our phones and computers.

The company announced Specs on June 16, describing them as a wearable computer built into see-through augmented reality glasses.

They’re available for preorder at an eye-watering price of $2,195, with a $200 refundable deposit, putting them in the same price range as some entry-level MacBook Pro configurations. Continue reading “Snap Bets Its Specs AR Glasses Can Move Computing Beyond the Phone”