No brand of sunglasses is as easily recognizable and iconic as the classic Ray Ban. If you own a pair of Ray Bans, you own a piece of nostalgic history. The brand was created in the 1920s as an answer to pilots’ complaints about frequent headaches caused by sun glare and overpowering hues in the sky. This style is still sold today and has become one of the most popular trends in sunglasses of all time.
I’m fastidious about putting my sunglasses back in their case when I take them off so I don’t break them, so I kept them well charged up. For clarity’s sake, I will herein refer to Ray-Ban Stories as “Facebook glasses,” because that’s exactly what I know you are thinking when you read this. The words “Facebook” and “glasses” are making ray ban new wayfarer the hair on the back of your neck stand up, right? Knowing that Facebook is discussing building facial recognition into these things curdles the stomach. They look like fashion objects, like something you actually want to wear on your faces. TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
The company has created its first “smart glasses”, with a pair of cameras to take photos and videos, a microphone and speaker to listen to podcasts, and a voice assistant to let you do the whole thing hands-free. Ray-Ban Stories essentially mix the functionality of earbuds like Apple’s AirPods with sunglasses that can capture photos. It’s not clear clubmaster whether such a product will find a large market, given that the photos taken on smartphones are far superior and many phone users already have earbuds. They are also much pricier than regular Ray-Ban Wayfarers, which typically cost $100 to $200. Snapchat parent Snap Inc. first released Spectacles in 2016 with a built-in camera for shooting video.
Basilico was leading Luxottica’s own smart glasses efforts at the time and knew the eyewear giant needed to partner with a tech company to build them. I expected the speakers on both sides of the frame to be soft and hollow, but they were surprisingly loud and full. I can see the audio playback over Bluetooth coming in handy for taking phone calls or maybe listening to podcasts, but I’d prefer to use proper headphones for listening to music. The audio doesn’t sound specifically targeted at the wearer’s ears, making it easy to overhear when you’re standing next to someone wearing the glasses.
The glasses, which Facebook had teased in the past, start at $299 and come in three styles, including the iconic Ray-Ban Wayfarer, and five hues . Initially, they’re being sold at some Ray-Ban stores and at Ray-Ban.com, and are available to buyers in six countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Facebook and Ray-Ban are also playing up the Stories’ audio features. The glasses include two speakers at the bottom of each temple, but they’re not great. They charge when you set them in the carrying case, which Facebook says gives three full charges. As someone who doesn’t normally wear glasses, the clear lens Ray-Ban Stories felt a bit awkward for me during everyday moments, like walking through San Francisco to a coffee meeting or wearing them at dinner with friends.
In 2021, Ray-Ban commercialized a model of smart glasses that they developed with Facebook Reality Labs called Ray-Ban Stories. OwnersLuxottica GroupWebsiteray-ban.comRay-Ban is a brand of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses created in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb. The brand is known for its Wayfarer and Aviator lines of sunglasses.