The world’s leading and biggest social media platform, Facebook, with over 2.85 billion monthly users has launched its Ray-Ban smart glasses. The smart glasses are an offshoot from Snapchat’s creation of Snap Spectacles that was launched in 2016, and the glasses will let users take photos and record videos by using Facebook Assistant voice commands or by pressing a button. The glasses were produced in partnership with Ray-Ban, a parent firm of Esillor Luxottica.
In a blog post by Facebook, the tech giant stated that “From daily activities like riding your bike to special milestones like your favorite music festival, Ray-Ban Stories’ dual integrated 5MP cameras let you capture life’s spontaneous moments as they happen from a unique first-person perspective. You can easily record the world as you see it, taking photos and up to 30-second videos using the capture button or hands-free with Facebook Assistant voice commands. A hard-wired capture LED lights up to let people nearby know when you are taking a photo or video. Streamlined, open-ear speakers are built-in, and Ray-Ban Stories’ three-microphone audio array delivers richer voice and sound transmission for calls and videos. Beamforming technology and a background noise suppression algorithm provide an enhanced calling experience like you would expect from dedicated headphones. “
Bloomberg explained that “The glasses aren’t a stand-alone product, so music and calls are streamed to the glasses from an iPhone or Android phone via Bluetooth. Facebook is requiring the use of an iPhone or Android app called Facebook View, which is used to manage and set up the glasses. When a user takes a photo or video, the media will appear in a section of the app. A user can then choose to download that photo or video to their device for storage and editing.”
Starting at $299 and available in 20 style combinations, the smart glasses are available for online purchase and in select retail stores in the US as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and the UK. The estimated battery life of this smart glass is six hours, and they are also not waterproof.
Interesting! I was a bit disturbed by privacy issues. Anyone in glasses might just be recording you. Looking forward to seeing how the LED light works.