Facebook on your face
This week Facebook unveiled for the first time the $299 "smart glasses" that it has been developing with Ray-Ban, the famed sunglasses brand. The glasses, which have been called Ray-Ban Stories, feature two different cameras and a speaker and mic for taking calls or listening to music.
Cautionary tales
Smart glasses are hardly a new idea. Hollywood has loved the idea of futuristic glasses for a long time, and it's been almost a decade since Google Glass was getting hyped up back in 2012. But for all the hype, Google Glass was a flop, fading to obscurity after its release to the public. Snapchat then entered the market in 2016 with Snapchat Spectacles, which haven't fared much better commercially, even as Snapchat iterated to the Spectacles 2... and 3.
But previous failings and cautionary tales aside, the biggest problem Facebook and Ray-Ban face is probably that of image. Facebook's not-so-stellar reputation on the issue of privacy isn't going to help convince anyone to splurge $299 on glasses that can take photos, videos and record everything you're seeing and hearing.
