Ray-Ban Meta Glasses’ live translation feature is like a personal Babel Fish

If you wear Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, you won’t have too much trouble breaking language barriers with family members or locals on your next international vacation. Meta has announced it is rolling out the live translation feature to every Ray-Ban Meta Glasses user.

The company announced in a blog post that it’s bringing live translation to every market where Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are sold starting Wednesday. All you need to do is say, “Hey Meta, start live translation,” and the glasses will translate dialogue from someone who speaks English, Spanish, Italian, and French into your preferred language. In other words, they’ll act as your personal Babel Fish from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Here’s an added bonus: If you downloaded the language into your Ray-Ban Meta Glasses before the latest update, you won’t be required to be connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network in order to use live translation. That means the glasses will be able to translate not only what they’re hearing, but also what they’re seeing, which is useful if you’re trying to read the signs for directions or the menu for dinner at a restaurant while traveling to another country.

Meta teased the live translation feature at its Connect 2024 event last September, and allowed members of the Early Access program to test it out in select countries three months later.

In addition to live translation rolling out to every Ray-Ban Meta Glasses owner, Meta is giving you the ability to “send and receive direct messages, photos, audio calls, and video calls from Instagram on your glasses.” You’ll also be able to purchase new color lens combinations for the Skyler frame style, including Transitions Sapphire lenses for the new Skyler Shiny Chalky Gray frame, and G15 Green lenses or Clear lenses with the Skyler Shiny Black frame.