Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica have extended their partnership in the next decade. The duo has been collaborating since 2019 to produce two generations of Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses. The deal between Meta and EssilorLuxottica should bring more “multigenerational smart eyewear products.”
The the first iteration launched in late 2021Meta was before Facebook and was known as Ray-Ban Stories. While there were some good points, we weren’t completely sold on them. The $300 sunglasses looked like slightly bulkier Ray-Bans, thankfully without the Facebook logo on them and offering decent sound quality through their tiny speakers at moderate volume. The camera was so-so and worked better in brighter light. However, we had a problem with privacy actually with data sharing and audio transcription.
We are more interested in 2023 Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses 85 in our review. Among the advantages of the new model are thinner bezels, silent photo messaging and Instagram live streaming capabilities (with improved 12MP ultra-wide camera). It also offers better microphones and sound quality, including at higher volumes. Plus, the charging case looks like a classic Ray-Ban bag.
Smart glasses first came with a year AI assistantbut Meta has since introduced Multimodal AI. The tool kit allows the assistant to see and understand the world in real time, processing photos, videos, text and audio. You can ask him to identify the dog’s breed, name and what you are looking at information for iconsand a road sign in another language. Plus, there are new frame designs starting at $300.
Note that in July reports from the media and EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri has indicated that Meta may acquire a five percent stake in the company. Whether that will happen is still up in the air, with no mention of a buyout in the extended partnership release.
