Facebook Inc launched its first edition of Smart Glasses on September 9,2021 in a step forward towards its aim of offering virtual and augmented-reality.
They are calling it Ray-Ban Stories. The glasses, as evident from the name, have been created in partnership with Ray-Ban maker Essilor Luxottica (ESLX.PA)and Facebook.
Ray-Ban Stories start at $299 USD and will be available for purchase in 20 style combinations online and initially in select retail stores in the US, as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy and the UK.
The social media giant is the latest one to enter this arena after Google and Snap.
Features
These glasses pack dual integrated 5MP cameras that let you capture photos and record videos up to 30-seconds using the capture button or hands-free with Facebook Assistant voice commands(Hey, Facebook). If you think that these glasses are similar to the ones worn by James Bond in his movies then Facebook is going to disappoint you. There is a hard wired LED light that lights up as you start recording or capturing anything and the people around you would know. Moreover nothing is going to work untill you give a voice command so that makes it even difficult for you in case you were getting ideas about covering up the LED. Further it has built in open ear speakers and microphone with noise suppression technology that delivers rich voice and sound transmission for calls and videos.
Facebook has launched a new app called Facebook View app that is available on iOS and Android. Ray-Ban Stories pairs with the app, which makes it easy for you to directly share the content recorded through your glasses on your social media handles. You also have the option to save the content to your phone’s camera roll and edit and share from there. A new exclusive post-capture enhancements feature built into Facebook View lets you create unique content to put a special spin on your posts.
Facebook, often criticized over its handling of user data, said it would not access the contents of media stored without the consent of the customers. They also said that the content accessed will not be used for personalizing ads and the glasses would be an "ads-free experience". However both the statements do not support each other.
It also published a guideline for responsible use of the glasses , for example turning them off in private spaces like public bathrooms and not using them for illegal actions like harassment or capturing sensitive information such as PIN codes. Only time will tell how responsibly the glasses are used.
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