Facebook has teamed up with Ray-Ban to bring you Ray-Ban Stories, its first pair of “smart glasses.” They combine the recognizable Ray-Ban frames, Facebook technology, and a pair of cameras so you can now share absolutely every moment of your life on social media. Sounds familiar? Yeah, I thought of Snapchat Spectacles, too.
Facebook’s no stranger to copying ideas, and this isn’t the first time it tries to be like Snapchat. First, there were Instagram Stories, and later Facebook added creative features to them. Then, there were disappearing Instagram messages. So it’s probably no wonder that there’s now Facebook version of a wearable sunglasses camera.
Okay, so what do Ray-Ban Stories do? First of all, they feature a dual 5MP camera that let you take both photos and videos hands-free, from first-person perspective. There’s automatic light adjustment and stereoscopic photo depth. Fully charged glasses able to capture and sync up to 200 photos or up to 50 videos. And when they’re empty – you can charge them through their case.
Other than looking through your glasses, you can also hear and speak through them. Ray-Ban Stories have open-ear speakers and three built-in microphones. So, you can be a narrator of your videos, listen to music, or take calls while wearing your new gadget. And you can do everything with touch-control on the glasses themselves.
So, how does Facebook fit in the story? The smart glasses use its operating system Facebook View. You can download the app and set up your smart glasses, import and edit content you capture with them, share your content to social media, and manage settings.
Ray-Ban Stories are available from $299, depending which model, frame color and lens type you choose. You can pick between Shiny Black, Shiny Olive, Shiny Brown and Shiny Blue for the frames, sun and clear lenses, and three Ray-Ban frames: Round, Wayfarer, and Meteor. For comparison, Snapchat Spectacles 3 cost $380.
[via The Guardian]
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