Facebook's Ray-Ban Stories Glasses Are A Catalog Of Bad Decisions
Facebook and Ray-Ban revealed a pair of glasses with two cameras, microphones, and speakers inside. These glasses are very, very similar to the SnapChat Spectacles released in several iterations a few years ago. These glasses from Ray-Ban and Facebook connect to your phone to share video clips and photos, too. But why do these glasses exist?
Ray Ban Stories have two 5MP cameras, allowing 2592 x 1944 pixel photo capture, and "minimum 1184 x 1184 @ 30fps" video. These glasses from Ray-Ban and Facebook include open-ear speakers (2x micro speakers). They also include touch controls (on a tiny touch panel in the glasses), and a 3-microphone array. They're able to connect to your phone to allow phone calls and access to Facebook Assistant.
Despite what you may see in the video above from Facebook, there is no Augmented Reality included with these glasses. You will not see any of that stuff through the lenses.
If you want to use the images and/or video you capture with the glasses, you need the Facebook View app. Ray-Ban Stories glasses "require mobile phone and wireless internet" to function. You need a Facebook account as well as the Facebook View App to "share social content."
If you want to use Facebook Assistant, you'll need to be able to understand English, as Facebook Assistant is only available in English.
Voice control with the glasses include triggers like "hey Facebook take a video". It would be SHOCKING if wearers had this voice trigger and did not find people around them attempting to set said trigger off at odd times.
There are indicator lights on the cameras to show that a video is being recorded. These lights are tiny.
Ray-Ban Stories will be available in several shapes and sizes for approximately $300 USD. They are available to purchase now from Ray-Ban online, and they're expected to ship on September 16, 2021, and come with their own wireless charging case.
Snap Spectacles 3 cost $380 USD. They have a four-mic audio array, capture photos at 1728 x 1728px, videos at 1216 x 1216 px at 60 fps. Inside is a total of 4GB flash storage, and they have GPS, Bluetooth, and USB-C recharging.