In 1929, Army Colonel John A. Macready worked with Bausch & Laumb to develop sunglasses for military pilots. Macready believed that the existing options for pilot glasses and goggles created too much fog and glare, greatly restricting visibility. Thus, the first Anti-Glare glasses were introduced and distributed to U.S. military pilots in the mid-1930s. These innovative sunglasses used green lenses to reduce glare without any substantial reduction in visibility.
We’ve tested the popular dry lens cleaning cloths from Kodak and other vendors. We’ve also tried some of the costly liquid lens cleaners that work with these cloths. Many legitimate eyeglass manufacturers and retailers sell Wayfarer-style frames.
I was less impressed with the Stories’ photo quality, but I suppose it could be useful if you wanted to take a pic without pulling out your phone. You can import your photos and videos from the smart glasses into Facebook View, a new app that lets you quickly edit your media and share it to practically every social media site (yes, even Snapchat!). Ray-Ban Stories’ dual integrated 5MP cameras let you capture life’s moments as they happen from a unique first-person perspective. The social network on Thursday showed off the glasses, called Ray-Ban Stories—a direct rival to Snapchat’s Spectacles. The $299 Facebook glasses, which use EssilorLuxottica SA-owned Ray-Ban’s classic Wayfarer frame style, let users take photos and video, listen to music and answer phone calls.
Introduced to the silver screen in 1961, and appearing throughout hundreds of films since then, Ray-Ban sunglasses have been a favorite on the Hollywood scene for years, both on and off the screen. With a range of men’s and women’s designer glasses, you don’t have to wait until summer to break out your signature Ray-Bans. This product’s price has not been finalized and is subject to change.
The Ray-Ban Stories are fully compatible with prescription lenses. The glasses will start at $299, with polarized and transition lens options coming in at a higher price point. A white LED lights up on the top right of the glasses when users take a photo or video to indicate the glasses are shooting a photo or video.
That’s why we baked privacy directly into the product design and functionality of the full experience, from the start. The most compelling part of Ray-Ban Stories is the form factor. I’ve tried a bunch of smart glasses over the years, and these are by far the most comfortable. You’ll also be able to get them with prescription lenses (although my ability to test the glasses was limited since the pair Facebook sent me to try didn’t have my prescription and I don’t wear contacts). That’s because tucked into the stems of the glasses are also discreet speakers, which mean that you can listen to music without anyone even realising. They’ll play music into your ears – but also allow you to take calls, all without needing to pluck your phone out of your pocket or stop what you’re doing.
The Ray-Ban Stories made it possible to capture the views while continuing to ride and looking up at the cliffs. Facebook and Ray-Ban told CNBC their goal was to build glasses that allow users to capture what they see while staying present in the moment. You’re faced with a conundrum when you use your phone to take pictures. You either witness something awesome and live in the moment, or you pull out your phone and try to focus on photographing or recording the event.
Apple is working on its own AR glasses that are still several years out. In June of last year, Google bought the AR glasses startup North, signaling its interest in re-entering the consumer market after Google Glass failed nearly a decade ago. The deal was sealed when Zuckerberg flew to Milan in early 2019 to meet with Leonardo Del Vecchio, Luxottica’s founder and chairman.
But that is something that might be in the works should these smart glasses take off. Ray-Ban and Facebook Smart eyeglasses are hardly a new concept. I was at a fashion show and the designer Diane von Furstenberg took her runway finale bow sporting futuristic frames with a clunky camera on the ray ban new wayfarer side. These Google glasses never really took off in part because they were not chic nor can you seamlessly integrate them into your wardrobe. Imagine wearing a Chanel ensemble or a Savile Row suit with robotic looking glasses. The shape of the frames are too forward to suit a wider audience.
I also had trouble using the touchpad, which often interpreted my attempts to turn the volume up as pausing the music, or turned it down rather than up. Then again, we’re already in a world where our phones take photos all the time. But that doesn’t mean that camera glasses are an acceptable social norm, either. Facebook’s glasses pair via Bluetooth using the new Facebook View app, like a smartwatch. The glasses’ right arm is a touch surface, so I can tap, double-tap and triple-tap to accept or end calls, play and pause, and skip tracks.