The entire concept might sound somewhat familiar to Snapchat’s Spectacles (just as Instagram’s Stories might emulate… well… Snapchat Stories), but today Facebook has officially announced a new set of smart glasses made in conjunction with Ray-Ban.
Plot twist – they’re called Stories, too.
Facebook has announced that Ray-Ban Stories will enable their wearers to capture photos and video, share content, and either listen to audio or answer phone calls.
The wearable carries dual 5-megapixel cameras for capture purposes, and enables users to record up to 30-seconds worth of video using either voice commands heard through a three-microphone array or a dedicated hardware button.
Ray-Ban Stories are intended to pair with Facebook’s new View app on iOS and Android, where users can import, edit, and share their content to not only Facebook’s own applications – including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp – but further the likes of Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat.
Stories will ship in a portable charging case that will provide a claimed three days’ worth of use. In terms of other hardware novelties, the glasses will carry a power switch to deactivate both the cameras and microphones and a white LED will highlight to those nearby that a user is actively recording content.
Facebook has clarified that both Ray-Ban Stories and Facebook View are intended to be ad-free and that user-generated content won’t be used for the personalized ads. Content captured through the glasses will be encrypted.
RayBan stories are available in 20 style combinations based on Ray-Ban’s existing glasses and will retail online for $299 USD in addition to retail stores in the US as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and the UK.
