Immediately catching memories from your own point of view – that is the promise of the new smart sunglasses from Ray Ban. The fact that they were created in cooperation with Facebook is likely to put off many potential buyers.
Why didn’t I have a camera on hand at the moment? This question arises again and again when you would have liked to capture a nice, exciting or funny moment from a situation. In the age of the smartphone, this happens less often, but you are not always fast enough. Ray-Ban now wants to offer the solution: two cameras that sit directly in the face.
Namely in the new sunglasses called Ray-Ban Stories, which the traditional manufacturer has just presented. It is no coincidence that the name is reminiscent of the stories on Instagram and Co .: Facebook was brought on board as a partner. However, this cannot be seen in the glasses at first. The Wayfarer, Meteor and Round models largely correspond to the classic Ray-Ban frames of the same name. The most visible differences are the slightly thicker frame, which also contains the battery, a button on the right side and of course the two front-facing camera openings.
Cameras in the face
However, they are not really smart glasses. The glasses are normal tinted glasses, they do not show the user additional data like with augmented reality glasses like Hololens. Instead, Ray-Ban focuses on capturing the short moments in everyday life as memories from the wearer’s point of view. Just like stories on Instagram or Facebook do. Just with an even more personal point of view.
Technically, this is implemented in an interesting way. The glasses each record in 5 megapixels, the internal memory is sufficient for either 40 30-second clips or 500 photos. The recordings can be started either via the button or by calling out the signal word “Hey Facebook”. The company emphasizes that the built-in voice assistant only reacts to this phrase and has no function besides recording.
Warning light for the opposite
Inside, a signal light with different colors gives indications, green means fully charged, red means the juice is empty. If a recording is made, a white light indicates this. In the same way, another light next to the camera informs the person opposite that the film is being filmed. Secret recordings are therefore not possible.
Once saved, the recordings are transferred to the smartphone via a special Facebook app. From there, they can then be uploaded to other services. Surprising: Not the in-house offers such as Whatsapp or Instagram are supported. Theoretically, you could use the glasses exclusively for private recordings or a competitor like Tiktok.
Thanks to two speakers in the arms, the glasses can also be used as a replacement for headphones. Secret phone calls or music that is too loud should not be allowed to run over it: According to initial tests, the speakers should be easily audible to those standing next to them.
Facebook as a partner: help or hurdle?
It is quite remarkable that the cooperation with Facebook is not shown on the glasses themselves with a logo or something similar. The social media giant is only mentioned on the package. Or maybe Ray-Ban just doesn’t want to see another label on its glasses. However, you need a Facebook account to be able to use the glasses. In fact, the Facebook logo might seem daunting to some customers. After all, with the glasses you bring a camera straight into your face anyway. Then adding the logo of the company known for its data collection could trigger an even more uncomfortable feeling in some people. The group has so far promised not to use the recordings for targeted advertisements. Something similar was once promised for the Whatsapp messenger before the data was collected a few years later.
The idea for the camera glasses is not entirely new. As early as 2016, competitor Snapchap launched its own version called Spectacles, in which the cameras were even highlighted with a yellow border. Although the camera glasses were well thought out – the recorded videos were circular and thus made it possible to see other sections by rotating the device used for viewing – the mainstream success failed to materialize. One important reason is that the videos can only be shared directly on Snapchat.
Initially, the Facebook glasses will not appear in Germany – which is more likely to cause a sigh of relief than disappointment in this country. However, it is already on the market in six selected countries. It is said to be available in every Ray-Ban store and online in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Italy and Australia. The price starts at $ 299 for the base model, with polarized or cut lenses costing extra.
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