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Around this time in 2021, Meta teamed up with Ray-Ban to announce Snapchat Spectacles-wannabe. Not surprisingly, Meta’s smart glasses weren’t as popular as the company had hoped, especially after privacy concerns started to pop up.
Still, it seems that Meta isn’t giving up as easily. During this year’s Meta Connect conference, the company announced new and improved camera glasses. And again, they come in several recognizable Ray-Ban shapes.
TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube; and their parent companies are facing yet another lawsuit over mental health issues in children. This time, it comes from Seattle’s public school district, claiming that apps have had a major role in the “youth mental health crisis.”
The district accuses social media platforms of causing a variety of mental health and behavioral issues in children and being “exploitive and manipulative.” According to the lawsuit, all these platforms are deliberately manipulating and exploiting users, targeting particularly the youngest ones among them.
BeReal is currently working on an updated feature that will let you see posts by friends of friends. The new feature was noticed by developer Alessandro Paluzzi and he shared the information on Twitter.
Until now users on BeReal can only see posts by their friends or by random strangers in the discovery mode. Users can only see their friends’ posts if they have posted themselves.
Snapchat owner Snap Inc. released its first, and likely the last, selfie drone earlier this year. Only four months after it took off the ground, Pixy drone is ready to land – straight into the trash can. According to reports, Snap is ditching any further development of its tiny selfie drone. In fact, it may already be sold out… Forever.
Last September, the then Facebook teamed up with Ray-Ban to give us the new Ray-Ban Stories, their first pair of “smart glasses”. They combined the traditional look of Ray-Ban frames with Facebook tech and a pair of cameras to capture and share every moment of your life to social media. Yeah, not exactly a new idea. Still, almost immediately, privacy concerns started to pop up.
Facebook has changed its name to Meta now, but those concerns are still around and Meta has released the “Meta Human Rights Report” detailing its impact on the world, with a section that talks specifically about Ray-Ban Stories and the associated privacy risks. They acknowledge that there are definitely privacy issues surrounding the tech but essentially suggest that it’s up to the wearer to deal with it.
Snap Inc, owners of Snapchat, have released their new Pixy drone. It’s a tiny “pocket-sized” drone designed specifically for shooting content on Snapchat. This little plastic drone (a term which Snap doesn’t use once in the press release, preferring “flying camera”) doesn’t come with a controller, as it’s designed to basically fly itself and you use the Snapchat app to tell it what to do.
It’s certainly not going to be any kind of competitor to companies like DJI or Autel but for Snapchat users who want a flying selfie camera? Perhaps. Snap says that it offers everything users need “to capture the moment from a new perspective” without having to hold a selfie stick or drag an extra person along just to hold the camera. It weighs only 101g, so falls well under the 250g drone rules and costs only $229.
Other than privacy concerns, it looks like Facebook’s and Ray-Ban’s camera glasses have also sparked creative ideas. Famous British photographer Rankin has recently shot the world’s first magazine cover using precisely this little gadget – both as a prop and as a camera.
What’s in your refrigerator right now? A couple of eggs? A lonely avocado? Wilted lettuce and a beer? Can you cook anything with that or is it a take out night (again)? Never mind, Snap Chat has now introduced a new camera-based analysis feature called Food Scan, and it could be the answer to all your dinner-based problems.
Earlier this month, Facebook debuted its first pair of “smart glasses” make in partnership with Ray-Ban. Of course, they have already raised privacy concerns because of the built-in cameras. As it turns out, the LED indicator telling you that the camera is on is way too small, making it easier to secretly film anyone.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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