Facebook to launch first set of Ray-Ban ‘smart glasses’ next year as Zuckerberg announces vision for ‘holograms of friends playing poker in your living room’
- The collaborative tech will have a classic design but will not sport a display
- Facebook researchers said true AR glasses are likely still years off of being sold
- At present, the required hardware is too bulky for viable commerical product
- The Ray-Ban smart glasses, in contrast, will require pairing with a mobile phone
- Nevertheless, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has ambitions to pioneer in this market
- The next step is likely the firm’s Project Aria — which will generate AR displays
Facebook’s first pair of smart glasses — made in collaboration with luxury eyewear manufacturer Ray-Ban — are to be released next year, the tech firm has revealed.
The announcement coincided with CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealing his vision for the future of augmented reality (AR) — bringing holograms of friends into your home.
While this dream may seem especially appealing amid present coronavirus-related restrictions, however, such a future may still be some time distant.
In fact, Facebook said the smart Ray-Bans will not have an integrated display, the Verge reported — but may feature recording capacity or a voice-activated assistant.
Facebook have confirmed that the product will operate by pairing with a phone.
Facebook’s first pair of smart glasses — made in collaboration with luxury eyewear manufacturer Ray-Ban — are to be released next year, the tech firm has revealed. Pictured, a file photo of a regular pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses, which could resemble the smart design
Beyond thrilled to finally share a sneak peek of our Facebook partnership with Ray-Ban! Our first smart glasses will launch next year, and that¿s just the beginning¿ The future will be a classic and it’s coming in 2021 ¿¿ pic.twitter.com/l9992ZQGoy
— Hugo Barra (@hbarra) September 16, 2020
The announcement of the launch window for the smart glasses was made by Mr Zuckerberg during the keynote of the virtual Facebook Connect conference.
‘We’re passionate about exploring devices that can give people better ways to connect with those closest to them. Wearables have the potential to do that,’ Facebook Reality Labs vice president Andrew Bosworth said in a statement.
‘With [Ray-Ban owner] EssilorLuxottica we have an equally ambitious partner who’ll lend their expertise and world-class brand catalogue to the first truly fashionable smart glasses,’ he added.
It is unclear at present exactly what features the firm’s first smart spectacles will sport — but even though the glasses will not generate an augmented reality overlay, Facebook have said that the product is part of its larger foray into the world of AR.
‘They are going to be the next step on the road to augmented reality glasses, and they look pretty good too,’ Zuckerberg said during a steamed presentation.
‘Delivering a sense of presence is the thing that I care about. And virtual reality and augmented reality are going to be the technologies that do that,’ Mr Zuckerberg told the Verge in a separate interview.
While virtual reality — such as, for example, Facebook’s recently announced Oculus Quest 2 headset — will immerse users in a simulate environment, he said, AR will bring people into your existing environment through the use of holograms.
‘So in the future, instead of a video chat, I’ll just be sitting on my couch and your hologram can just appear on the couch next to me, or I can hologram into your house,’ Mr Zuckerberg continued.
‘And part of why that’s going to be a lot better than video chat is that then we’ll be able to have virtual objects that we can interact with together. If we want to play a game of cards, I can have a deck of cards.’
The next step towards Zuckerberg’s vision of the future is likely Facebook’s previously announced ‘Project Aria’ — a pair of true augmented reality glasses.
Beginning this month, the firm’s employees and contractors will reportedly be field testing Aria prototypes out in the real world, with the aim of not only putting the tech through its paces but also exploring potential issues around privacy.
According to Facebook Reality Labs head Michael Abrash, the limitation on developing commercially-viable AR glasses is that the required display and audio hardware cannot at present be built into the required slim form factor for spectacles.
To be viable, he told Reuters, smart glasses need to weight in at under 2.5 ounces (70 grams). He added: ‘Those glasses are still years off.’