Ray-Ban Stories are Facebook’s first smart glasses

As announced last year, Facebook launched a partnership with EssilorLuxottica to make a pair of smart glasses, now unveiled as Ray-Ban Stories.

“Ray-Ban Stories is designed to help people live in the moment and stay connected to the people they are with and the people they wish they were with. EssilorLuxottica has been nothing short of stellar in this partnership and through their commitment to excellence we were able to deliver on both style and substance in a way that will redefine the expectations of smart glasses. We’re introducing an entirely new way for people to stay connected to the world around them and truly be present in life’s most important moments, and to look good while doing it,” said Andrew Bosworth, Vice President, Facebook Reality Labs.

The Ray-Ban Stories features dual integrated 5MP cameras to capture both photos and videos.

Like Razer’s smart glasses, the Ray-Ban Stories have open-ear speakers and there’s a three-mic array for better voice and sound transmission during calls and video recording.

“We are incredibly proud to bring Ray-Ban Stories to life with our partners at Facebook,” said Rocco Basilico, Chief Wearables Officer at EssilorLuxottica. “This is a milestone product that proves consumers don’t have to choose between technology and fashion – they can live in the moment and stay connected while wearing their favorite style of Ray-Ban’s. Our unique approach, combining decades of superiorcraftsmanship, a dedicated spirit of innovation and a commitment to delivering only cutting edge technology has resulted in a wearable that people will truly love wearing.”

The glasses are powered by a Snapdragon processor (which wasn’t specified by Facebook) and weight just 5 grams more than the standard Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses.

The Ray-Ban Stories have a companion app called Facebook View for Android and iOS. The app lets you import, edit and share pics and videos captured on the glasses to your favourite social media apps.

The smart glasses come in a number of styles including the classic Wayfarer, Round and Meteor. There are also multiple lenses options including sun, prescription, polarized, gradient, Transitions and clear.