Photo: Facebook
Cover Photo: Facebook

What good does the Facebook and Ray-Ban smart glasses do in this digital age?

There was a point in my life where I would post about every single thing online, be it a birthday celebration, a new milestone, or a thought. "What's on your mind?" is, in fact, the invitation presented to us by Facebook, one of the most used social networks in the Philippines, every time we land on its homepage.

It asks us to keep our family, friends, colleagues, and the rest of the world (if you wish) updated with our lives. It convinces us to share what we're doing and where we've been, ultimately compelling companies to migrate where the public is.

Tech moguls were eager to replace paper with screens and many willingly held out their palms for the newest smartphone in the market. Now, Facebook and Ray-Ban want you to go hands-free by introducing smart glasses that allow you to report about almost everything you wish either with one tap or a few uttered words.

What it does

Ray-Ban Stories, built in partnership with Facebook and EssilorLuxottica, pairs with the new Facebook View app that allows the wearer to share their stories—from your eye's actual point of view—to the social media giant's owned apps including Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, and Snapchat to name a few. You can have these at the price of US$299 (PHP15,000).

You can record videos for up to 30 seconds and take photos just by tapping the capture button on the side of the frame. Otherwise, you can speak a voice command to go hands-free.

Tatler Asia
Photo: Facebook
Above Photo: Facebook

Taking phone calls are also made possible with its built-in open-ear speakers and three-microphone audio array. A background noise suppression algorithm is also provided to enhance the calling experience, making every call sound like you had just taken it using headphones.

The brand promises privacy and ensures the smart glasses are protected by expert teams to keep hackers at bay. The smart glasses also have a hard-wired capture LED that lights up when you're taking a video or a photo. 

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Photo: Luca Sammarco / Pexels
Above Photo: Luca Sammarco / Pexels

What this means

You may now conveniently capture your life as it happens from your point of view. It's the same invitation that encouraged certain Facebook users to provide valuable information which was allegedly used without their consent, bringing the company to court.

However, considering that we live in an ever-evolving world that demands their needs to be met in an instant, this technological novelty will eventually find a market.

The Ray-Ban Stories is merely the first generation of smart glasses. There are many to come in the future, especially when both companies are planning to expand to more brands.

Will they make further efforts on improving their user's privacy? We will have to wait and see.

See also: Social Media Fasting: What Is It And Should You Do It?

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