Facebook Teams Up With Ray-Ban To Launch Smart Glasses, Can Be Stylish While Playing The Internet

Ray-Ban glasses, will have advanced capabilities and not just for style. (photo credit: Olga Zhushman/unsplash)

JAKARTA - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that his company's next hardware product will be smart glasses developed in collaboration with Ray-Ban owner Essilor Luxottica.

The glasses are said to have the iconic Ray-Ban frame, integrated with AR features. Zuckerberg announced this during the company's Q2 2021 opinion presentation. Facebook's Ray-Ban branded glasses were one of the first steps in creating futuristic glasses that augmented the real world with data or graphics from the Internet.

"Looking ahead here, our next product release will be the launch of our first smart glasses from Ray-Ban in partnership with Essilor Luxottica," Zuckerberg said.

He also says that the glasses have their iconic form factor. “These glasses let you do some pretty neat stuff. I'm excited to get this into people's hands and to continue to make progress on the road to full augmented reality glasses in the future," Zuckerberg said.

The technical specifications of the smart glasses to be produced by the French-Italian company were not disclosed. Zuckerberg also did not say a specific time limit for its launch.

He also talked about creating a virtual 'metaverse' where users would be able to 'teleport' to a digital space using AR and VR technology. He also emphasized how trade and advertising will be important aspects of future revenue.

These smart glasses are rumored to be in development for quite a while. A report last year indicated that engineers on the 'Project Aria' team were experimenting with the glasses.

Alongside the smart glasses, Facebook is also reportedly working on a new smartwatch that will integrate features like dual cameras and a heart rate monitor. One of the two cameras will be mounted on the front which is meant for video calls while the other is meant to capture footage once it is detached from the stainless steel frame. This smartwatch is said to be launched sometime in 2022.