Facebook and Ray-Ban launch range of smart glasses called Ray-Ban Stories

Hello Readers!

Facebook can be found in your pocket, on the web, and even in your kitchen if you have purchased the company’s Portal video-calling device. It’s now looking to find home on your face. Yes you heard it right!

Facebook and Ray-Ban partnered to launch a new line of smart glasses called Smart Stories. The tech giant built the smart glasses in partnership with the European eyewear conglomerate EssilorLuxottica, Ray-Ban’s parent firm. It’s the first product to come out of their multi-year partnership. It was launched on September 9, 2021. 

Let us know about the price and other interesting features of the newly launched smart glasses.

Key features

• Ray-Ban Stories has dual integrated 5MP cameras that can be used to take images and 30-second videos with the capture button or hands-free with Facebook Assistant voice commands.
• The glasses have a six-hour battery life on a single charge 
• The spectacles contain LED lights that turn on when the cameras are activated to let people nearby know when you’re taking a photo or video They also include built-in open-ear speakers for taking calls and listening to music, as well as a three-microphone array for voice transmission during audio calls and videos.
• The glasses use beamforming technology and a custom noise isolation algorithm to improve call quality and make music listening equivalent to using  audio headsets.
• Ray-Ban Stories is also compatible with the new Facebook View app. The Facebook View app for iOS and Android allows you to import, edit, and share content from your smart glasses to your phone’s apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, and more. Users can also store content to their phone’s camera roll, where they can modify and share it. A total of 500 images and 35 30-second video clips can be stored.
• The glasses also contain touch controls on the temple that allow users to make tap gestures to control music playback, take calls, and adjust volume. They also include a dedicated shutter button for capturing images and video.

Price Range

The glasses have been launched in three different models, five colours and with a range of lenses starting at $299. It also will be available for purchase in 20 style combinations online and in select retail stores in the US, as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy and the UK. 

Privacy Policy

When the cameras are in use, a white light in the front of the frame illuminates, which is meant as a privacy feature to warn people that they may be filmed.

Facebook, which has been criticized over its handling of user data, said that it would not access the media used by its smart-glasses customers without their consent. It also stated that the content of images or videos taken with the glasses and stored in the Facebook View app will not be used to personalise advertisements. 

Existing products in the market

Facebook is entering a market that has previously seen Google Glass, which was released in 2013 and provoked a privacy outcry due to built-in cameras, prompting the tech giant to shift its attention away from the general public. Snapchat’s camera-equipped Spectacles were also released, but they are costly and have had a hard time catching on with tech lovers.

Despite the fact that Snapchat’s Spectacles are now in their third generation, with incremental improvements, they have failed to capture the attention of the target market. In 2017, the corporation wrote down the value of unsold inventories by $40 million.

Future ventures for facebook

The Facebook CEO also stated that the company is now working on creating a collective virtual shared space for everyday activities such as shopping, work, and socialising. Users will be able to combine virtual and actual worlds with the help of these Artificial Intelligence devices as a result of this. Aside from that, the creators have been hard at work on their new Facebook Cloud gaming service, which is already available in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and will be available in Western and Central Europe by early 2022.

We hope it was an interesting read for you all!

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