Facebook is working with Ray-Ban on smart glasses that are connected to your smartphone and have two front cameras to record short videos. You can then quickly share the images on social media. A daring product for a company that does not have the best image in terms of privacy issues.
The Ray-Ban Stories Glasses (also for sale as sunglasses) has two 5 megapixel cameras in the frame on either side of the glasses, which film or photograph straight ahead. Videos have a limit of 30 seconds per recording. The internal memory holds 30 movies and 500 photos. They can be shared on social media via the new Facebook View app.
As soon as you record, a colored LED lights up to let bystanders know they may be in the picture. Furthermore, Facebook mainly appeals to good decency. “Stop filming if people ask,” the company says on the associated information page. So are “Do not film sensitive information such as PINs” and “Take off glasses in private areas such as changing rooms”.
You can start a recording or shoot a photo in two ways. There is a physical button on one of the temples and the internal Facebook Assistant also listens to voice commands. The legs contain speakers and microphones so that you can also listen to music or make calls. Bose previously also launched sunglasses with built-in speakers.
Differences and similarities
The comparison with Google’s flopped Glass glasses is quickly made. However, that is not entirely justified, because the Google Glass mainly focused on augmented reality. Virtual images were projected over reality, so that you could see a route description in front of you, among other things, while navigating. The Ray-Ban Stories does not offer this functionality.
There are more similarities with Snapchat’s Spectacles glasses, although the latest generation of these also bets on AR. The Facebook and Ray-Ban smart glasses are available in different frames. Prices start from 329 euros.
