Facebook is all set to reveal its highly-anticipated Ray-Ban smart glasses later today, but merely hours ahead of the official launch, the range of wearables has leaked in all its glory. The smart glasses project has been years in making at Facebook, but it looks like the company is not hurrying to cram a ton of AR and VR tech on its wearable device in the first attempt. On the contrary, they will more likely compete with the Snapchat Spectacles that are primarily geared at capturing clips that can be shared on social media. Mark Zuckerberg himself shot down rumors from 2019 claiming that the Facebook smart glasses might be a full-fledged smartphone replacement.
Instead, the Facebook founder mentioned that the first smart glasses created in collaboration with Ray-Ban’s parent company Luxottica Group will actually be a stepping stone for creating more advanced products in the future. Facebook's newer smart glasses will eventually embrace AR and VR capabilities and might offer some curated experiences linked to the social media, productivity, and gaming platforms it owns. However, Facebook’s VP of AR and VR, Andrew Bosworth recently mentioned that adding facial recognition tech to the mix is something that the company is still pondering over, citing privacy concerns.
While the aforementioned points remain a topic for another debate, the news here is the Facebook smart glasses that are launching later today but have now been leaked in a spectacular fashion, just hours before the official reveal. As per images shared by tipster Evan Blass, it appears that the device will be marketed as Ray-Ban Stories. Oddly, there is no Facebook branding on the wearable device as the social media titan’s name only appears on the packaging. And it appears that they will be up for grabs in three designs — Round, Wayfarer, and Meteor. There will be multiple color options to choose from, but all of them appear to be relatively understated shades like black, olive green, and coffee brown.
Smart Glasses That Lack Too Many Smarts, But Look Smart
As far as the design goes, Facebook’s Ray-Ban smart glasses look very much like classic Ray-Bans with a familiar design. The only visual aspect that stands out is the pair of world-facing cameras sitting near the hinge. The temple is slightly thicker than usual, which is to be expected as the extra space is required to contain all the circuitry and battery. Plus, there’s a small button at the top on one side that will likely be used to trigger specific functions such as starting or pausing a video recording, or taking a quick picture. However, it is unclear if there will be a speaker array akin to the Alexa-powered smart glasses by Amazon. By the looks of it, these don't appear to be the guiding light for Facebook's metaverse ambitions.
There is also no information if Facebook is going with the bone-conduction technology to let users have a conversation while wearing these Ray-Ban smart glasses. And given how svelte the temple arms are, battery life may be a challenge as well. It appears that Facebook will sacrifice some of the ‘smart’ capabilities associated with rivals from the likes of Amazon, Vuzix, and JLab to keep things simple and stylish. And it might actually be a winning strategy when it comes to convincing regular folks to buy smart glasses that don’t look outlandish or bulky. In fact, the company is going for a look akin to the Razer Anzu smart glasses to woo the fashion-conscious audience and the Ray-Ban fans, of course.
Source: Evan Blass / Twitter