Facebook has launched its first smart glasses product, partnering with RayBan. The launch of the product is in line with Facebook’s vision of offering true augmented reality spectacles. The glasses allow users to capture images, upload and share them on Facebook, receive and make calls as well as listen to music.
“In 2015, Google launched the Google Glass product which failed to attract enough consumer purchases given its high price and a difficult user experience”.
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This new RayBan product is on the back of Facebook’s large investments into virtual and augmented reality products which the firm believes will be the driver of revenue in the future for the company. Prior to this launch, it had introduced an Oculus VR headset and announced that it was working on a wristband device that will support the augmented reality glasses.
Other major tech firms are also in the race to develop smart AR products. Companies with products in development include Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Microsoft Corporation, Snap, and Apple.
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In 2015, Google launched the Google Glass product which failed to attract enough consumer purchases given its high price and a difficult user experience. In 2016, Snap introduced its smart Spectacles but made it available for only AR creators on its platform. This new smart glasses by Facebook is expected to retail at USD299.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO at Facebook, the company is currently working on building a metaverse, which will be a shared virtual environment. The company expects the metaverse to be the successor to the mobile internet and social media interactions. In Zuckerberg’s words, “We’ve believed for a long time that glasses are going to be an important part of building the next computing platform,” said Zuckerberg in a video posted on his Facebook page on Thursday.
