Facebook to launch Ray-Ban smart glasses

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the Ray-Ban ‘smart glasses’ would be featured in the company’s upcoming hardware launch.
• It was still unclear when exactly the smart glasses will be launched.
• The device was packaged by Zuckerberg as part of Facebook’s future journey towards “full augmented reality glasses.”

During an earnings call this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the company’s upcoming hardware launch would be for its highly-anticipated Ray-Ban ‘smart glasses.’ 

Zuckerberg did not disclose any details about the timelines of the project, though the smart glass was expected to be released within this year. The plan, though, would likely be delayed due to the effects of the pandemic, which has distorted many plans and schedules of global companies across the world.

“Looking ahead here, the next product release will be the launch of our first smart glasses from Ray-Ban in partnership with EssilorLuxottica. The glasses have their iconic form factor, and they let you do some pretty neat things,” Zuckerberg said.

Previously, the social networking site noted that the smart glasses would not be classified as an augmented reality device and would not also possess an integrated display feature. It was unclear if the device would have other features such as voice calls and smart assistant.

The smart glasses would likely include a paired smartphone app for controls which would be equivalent to Amazon’s Echo Frames or Snap Spectacles.

As Facebook plans to build an innovative “metaverse” technology platform that would complement both physical and virtual spaces, the augmented reality glasses would be utilized for work, shopping and socializing purposes. The company is also expected to sell it in the market and have it commercialized. 

“[A]ds are going to continue being an important part of the strategy across the social media parts of what we do and it will probably be a meaningful part of the metaverse too,” Zuckerberg said.

The Ray-Ban glasses were branded by Zuckerberg as part of Facebook’s “journey towards full augmented reality glasses in the future.” It has been known that the company had been working on this project for years.

Through the company’s Project Aria research unit, Facebook has been operating and producing prototype AR spectacles.

Source: The Verge