At first glance they look like classic Ray-Bans but in reality they take photos, record videos and allow you to start a phone call and listen to music without hands, with the voice assistant. These are the Ray-Ban Stories, the glasses born from the collaboration between Facebook and EssilorLuxottica that now arrive in Italy too. They cost more or less the same as a designer eyewear and aim to revive a sector, that of smart glasses, of which Google was a pioneer, which has never really exploded. This wearable device has on its side the tradition of a historic company of Made in Italy and the pool of billions of users of the Mark Zuckerberg ecosystem that aims to expand the interaction of social contents outside traditional digital contexts, such as smartphones and computers. .
"It is a product that demonstrates how consumers no longer have to choose between technology and fashion: they can live in the moment and stay connected while wearing their favorite style", underlines Rocco Basilico, Chief Wearables Officer of EssilorLuxottica. "We are introducing a completely new way to stay connected to the world around us - adds Andrew Bosworth, vice president of Facebook Reality Labs - we have chosen Italy among the first countries at launch because we know how much style matters in everyday life. and how much Italians love technology ".
The Ray-Ban Stories integrate two 5 megapixel cameras at the top to take photos and record videos, which are managed through the new Facebook View app on iOS and Android. For recording and shooting operations there is a button on the right rod, a light flashes around the two cameras to warn people that the device is capturing images. "However, we invite users to turn off their glasses when they are indoors - explains Facebook - to preserve the privacy of those around them". Once the contents are transferred from the glasses to the smartphone, they can be shared on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat and other apps already installed on the phone.By pairing the glasses via Bluetooth with the smartphone, it is also possible to make or answer phone calls and listen to music or video audio, without earphones.
The Ray-Ban Stories arrive from today in Italy, one of the first launch countries together with the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and Canada and can be ordered on this site. They come in three models (Wayfarer, Meteor and Round) in various colors and lenses (sun, clear, transition and graduate), and the price starts at 329 euros. From 13 September they will also be found in selected Luxottica Retail stores, including Salmoiraghi & Viganò and SunglassHut.