On Thursday morning, Facebook announced its long-awaited entry into the smart glasses market. The company talked about its partnership with Ray-Ban at its conference last September, and it has now finally executed the launch of the glasses ‘Ray-Ban Stories’ to add to its portfolio of world-dominating technologies. The aim behind the product is to offer a true ‘augmented-reality’ experience, and it has been named Ray-Ban Stories in homage to the original format of smart glasses under social media company Snapchat.

Features and specifications

The smart glasses are less than 50 grams in weight, with a variety of 3 classic Ray-Ban styles in multiple colours and lens styles. The good news is that they are also compatible with prescription lenses, making the product accessible to a much larger portion of the market. Although they are not waterproof, several other features such as their ability to answer phone calls, adjust the volume and capture photos and videos make them a worthwhile purchase.

Users can also listen to music in-frame, as well as transfer the photos and videos they take to their phones via Facebook’s new View app. The in-built camera will be able to shoot five megapixel still images, alongside videos up to 30 seconds: it will also possess a three-microphone audio array to enhance the sound quality for calls and videos.

Furthermore, users can almost use a Siri-like feature to say ‘Hey Facebook, take a video’ so as to control the glasses in a hands-free way or use a physical button if required.

Facebook’s vision

While the glasses are a Facebook product, the glasses themselves are produced and branded as Ray-Ban glasses – there is no mention or logo of Facebook on the product itself. They will become available to buy as of September 16th 2021 and are supposedly the first pair of smart glasses that have the appearance and make of any regular frames.

It is also true that Facebook is now entering a market that is increasingly becoming crowded – Google Glass was also one of the prospective ‘smart glass’ successes but did not gain as much popularity as expected. It was also hit with privacy concerns – something that Facebook could also potentially face as it rolls out a product with a built in camera. A ‘front-facing white light next to the right camera illuminates whenever the glasses are recording’, but it is very subtle so it is entirely possible that people could be recorded without their knowledge.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the glasses 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’. Facebook’s Monisha Perkash has also said that ‘our mission is to help build tools that will help people feel connected any time, anywhere’, highlighting the brand’s role in advancing technology that serves the purpose of bringing people closer together. The new launch is also in line with Facebook’s potential ‘metaverse’ vision.

A smart future ahead

Facebook is confident that these are the first smart glasses that people will actually want to wear, particularly because Ray-Ban has worked hard to ensure that the design is in line with classic fashion trends. There has been speculation about competition from Snapchat’s Spectacles, however, it is also into its third generation and has not perhaps achieved the recognition it was hoping to acquire.

According to some sources, Ray-Ban Stories appears to be the most accessible and normal-looking smart glasses to hit the market so far, and so the response that it gets from customers over the coming months will be worth watching.

About the Author: Nandini Mehta

Nandini Mehta is a contributing Features Writer focusing on the development of technology and business practices around the world. Nandini has an in-depth knowledge of politics and international relations, and so writes pieces that utilise her interest for current affairs.