Ray-Ban smart glasses are the next product in Facebook's agenda, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The announcement was made by the Facebook CEO during the latest earnings call.
It was confirmed last year by then-Facebook Reality Labs VP Hugo Barra that Facebook's Ray-Ban smart glasses are set to be released this year.
Ray-Ban and Facebook Smart Glasses: 2019 Rumor to Finally Come True
The Ray-Ban and Facebook smart glasses collaboration has been rumored since 2019, according to a report by Endgadget.
The partnership with Luxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban, to help create Facebook's smart glasses was reported at that time.
Per the Endgadget report, the product was codenamed "Orion" at that time, and it was envisioned to replace smartphones. Back then, the Ray-Ban smart glasses Facebook was planning were said to be able to take calls and broadcast live streams.
In the latest earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the Ray-Ban smart glasses as having "their iconic form factor and they let you do some pretty neat things."
He added that he is excited for people to have the Ray-Ban smart glasses in their hands. The Facebook CEO is likewise looking forward to the journey of coming up with full augmented reality smart glasses.
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What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality (AR) is defined by Investopedia as "an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology."
AR primarily highlights specific features of the physical world, and then derives insight from these features that are applied to the real world.
Should Facebook's Ray-Ban smart glasses really be equipped with AR-capabilities, they are seen to play a big role in the "metaverse" that Mark Zuckerberg is planning.
Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse
Earlier this week, Facebook announced that it has formed a team that will focus on Mark Zuckerberg's vision of a metaverse.
The new product team will be under Facebook Reality Labs and will include Instagram's Vice President of Product Vishal Shah, and two vice presidents from Facebook Gaming, Vivek Sharma and Jason Rubin, in its team
By definition, a metaverse is "a convergence of physical, augmented, and virtual reality in a shared online space," according to a report by The Verge.
The term was first coined and used in the 1992 sci-fi novel "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson.
As far as Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are concerned, the CEO's vision of a metaverse is "a maximalist, interconnected set of experiences straight out of sci-fi."
Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse will be accessible on different platforms for both a 2D and 3D experience. These platforms include PC, gaming consoles, mobile devices, Virtual Reality (VR), and of course, augmented reality.
Also Read: A Future of Remote Business: How Smart Glasses Can Simulate an Office-Like Experience
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Written by Isabella James
