Ray-Ban is virtually synonymous with sunglasses, having pioneered more than one world-famous line of shades. The storied brand also sells prescription glasses infused with the same creative spark that made Ray-Ban a household name. I took the glasses for a spin on a nine-mile bike ride in Yosemite National Park where I found them useful for snapping ray ban caravan pictures. Riding through the valley, there were moments where the trees would open up and reveal incredible views of the granite cliffs. Without the glasses, trying to shoot photos or videos of the views with my phone would have required that I ride dangerously while pulling out my phone, or that I slow down my entire group and stop to take pics.
On close inspection, I found the frames house two cameras, two micro speakers, three microphones and a Snapdragon computer processor chip. They also come with a charging case that plugs into any computer via USB-C cable. On a full charge, the glasses can be used for roughly six hours. For years, Silicon Valley has chased a vision similar to that of a William Gibson novel, where sensors and cameras are woven into the everyday lives and clothes of billions of people.
The highest-end prescription sunglasses from Ray-Ban cost around $800 and include a titanium frame, and thinner, polarized and anti-reflective lenses made for progressive vision. On average, you can expect to spend closer to the lower end of the scale, with most of the popular Ray-Ban frame styles priced at around $260 with single vision lenses, and $320 with progressive lenses. Ray-Ban’s entire line of sunglasses is available as prescription sunglasses, including Aviators.
The arms on the Ray-Ban Stories glasses are slightly wider than a normal pair, but they don’t look geeky. (They also don’t have a waveguide, or a microprojector for display optics, since they’re not powering AR overlays). Packed into the arms are a power button, a capture button, a three-microphone array, two tiny speakers, and a touch panel.
The Facebook View app, where the glasses pair with your phone and photos and videos are stored. Ray-Ban and Facebook collaborated over a new pair of smart glasses you can use to take photos and listen to music. Users will be able to control the glasses with a couple physical buttons including a “capture” button to record media and an on-off switch. A touch pad on the right arm of the glasses will allow users to perform functions like swiping to adjust the volume or answering a phone call. An onboard white LED will glow to indicate to the people around the wearer that a video is being recorded.
The brands said Ray-Ban Stories — which require a Facebook account to use — weigh about 5 grams more than Ray-Ban’s original Wayfarer design — they compared the weight of the glasses to a teaspoon of salt. This is a major launch for Facebook, which announced early details about the Ray-Ban partnership and product at its AR/VR-focused developer conference last September. The company has indicated that the device is a stepping stone for its AR ambitions and an effort to get users acquainted with the idea of high-tech glasses. The glasses notably do not have in-lens displays that will allow users to see digital augmented reality content like competitor Snap’s latest Spectacles prototype.