Highlights:
- Ray-Ban Stories will sport dual integrated 5MP cameras and users will also be able to record 30-second videos.
- Edit your captures and share directly to your social channels with the Facebook View companion app.
Facebook unveiled its long-awaited smart glasses in partnership with Ray-Ban, entering a nascent wearables market with a focus on capturing photos rather than augmented reality. The tech giant has launched Ray-Ban Stories, smart glasses that will enable users to take photos, record videos, listen to music and answer phone calls without even taking out their smartphone. The company has built the smart glasses in partnership with the European eyewear conglomerate EssilorLuxottica, Ray-Ban’s parent firm. Ray-Ban Stories are now available for $449 and are functionally similar to devices already on the market, such as SnapChat Spectacles.
What exactly do Ray-Ban Stories offer?
Ray-Ban Stories are equipped with dual integrated 5MP cameras that can be used to capture high-resolution photos and record videos up to 30-second. People wearing the smart glasses can either use the physical capture button or Facebook Assistant voice commands to use them hands-free.
#RayBanStories are the new way to capture and share.
Take photos and videos hands-free while staying immersed in the moment.
Edit your captures and share directly to your social channels with the Facebook View companion app.
Discover all the features at the link in bio. pic.twitter.com/lQlkSeTNVC
— Ray-Ban (@ray_ban) September 10, 2021
Users will be able to share content on Facebook and other Facebook-owned platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, as well as non-Facebook apps such as Twitter, TikTok and SnapChat. They also have small speakers that turn the smart glasses into headphones for listening to music and podcasts via Bluetooth from the smartphone they’re paired with. The lightweight glasses weigh less than 50 grams and come with a leather hard-shell charging case. The battery lift is advertised as ‘all-day’.
The Ray-Ban Stories are now available at Ray-Ban stores and on Ray-Ban.com in the U.S., U.K., Italy, Australia, Ireland and Canada. The device will also be on sale through more retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters.
“Ray-Ban Stories are an important step toward a future when phones are no longer a central part of our lives and you won’t have to choose between interacting with a device or interacting with the world around you,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg says in a launch video for the product.
What about privacy?
Ray-ban Stories has increased privacy concerns and privacy advocates fear that this device can widely be used for surveillance. Also, since the smart glasses look like any other Ray-Ban sunglasses, others might not always realise the user is wearing Facebook’s special version.
Though Facebook’s new smart glass promises privacy to its users and the people around them. “As with any new device, we have a big responsibility to help people feel comfortable and provide peace of mind, and that goes not only for device owners but the people around them, too. That’s why we baked privacy directly into the product design and functionality of the full experience, from the start,” mentioned Facebook in its statement.
