Shade control sunglass case Bluetooth#

They are initially being sold online and in stores in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, and Australia. In total there are 20 combinations of styles, colors, sizes, and lens types. There are three main frame styles: Wayfarer, Round, and Meteor. The price for adding a prescription varies based on the type of insurance. They start at $299, with polarized lenses bringing the price to $329 and transition lenses costing $379. The white recording light is also fairly dim, which could pose privacy concerns if people don’t realize the glasses are capturing photos or video.Īs far as smart glasses go, Ray-Ban Stories are relatively affordable. The tech in the glasses is so hidden that it’s hard to tell there are cameras on them at all. You’ll also be able to get them with prescription lenses (although my ability to test the glasses was limited since the pair Facebook sent me to try didn’t have my prescription and I don’t wear contacts).

They weigh just a few grams heavier than normal Wayfarers. I’ve tried a bunch of smart glasses over the years, and these are by far the most comfortable. The most compelling part of Ray-Ban Stories is the form factor. The most compelling part of Ray-Ban Stories is the form factor

The touchpad on the side of the frame is a welcome inclusion for volume adjustment. The audio doesn’t sound specifically targeted at the wearer’s ears, making it easy to overhear when you’re standing next to someone wearing the glasses.

Shade control sunglass case Bluetooth#

I can see the audio playback over Bluetooth coming in handy for taking phone calls or maybe listening to podcasts, but I’d prefer to use proper headphones for listening to music. I expected the speakers on both sides of the frame to be soft and hollow, but they were surprisingly loud and full. The case itself charges via a USB-C cable that comes in the box. The carrying case that comes with the glasses is sturdy, with a leather-like material and built-in charger that can refill the battery three times. My battery drained by about 20 percent during heavy use for an hour. The companion View app shows a live readout of the battery when the glasses are paired. A separate, front-facing white light next to the right camera illuminates whenever the glasses are recording.įacebook says the glasses take about an hour to fully charge and that the battery will last for roughly six hours with intermittent use. (Facebook says its voice assistant only listens for that phrase when turned on and that its functionality is limited to starting recordings.)Ī light on the inside of the glasses gives you a range of information: green for fully charged, orange for low battery, blue for pairing mode, red for dead battery or overheating, and white for a capture error. A physical button on the top of the right side of the frame lets you manually capture if you’d rather not use the “Hey Facebook” wake phrase. The dual 5-megapixel cameras can capture just over three dozen, 30-second video clips or roughly 500 photos before the on-device memory fills up. Initial pairing was easy, and syncing footage from the glasses back to the View app took only a few seconds through a Wi-Fi connection the glasses initiate. Both companies also see them as a step toward more advanced augmented reality glasses that overlay graphics onto the real world.Īfter testing a pair of Ray-Ban Stories for the past week, I’m impressed with the build quality and how well they work. While they’re limited in what they can do, Ray-Ban Stories are the most normal-looking, accessible pair of smart glasses to hit the market so far. Ray-Ban Stories are the first product in a multiyear partnership between Facebook and the European eyewear conglomerate EssilorLuxottica, Ray-Ban’s parent company. A touchpad built into the side of the frame lets you change the volume or play and pause what you’re hearing. However, speakers on both sides of the frame can play sound from your phone over Bluetooth, allowing you to take a call or listen to a podcast without pulling your phone out. These Ray-Bans don’t have displays in the lenses, like the latest Spectacles that were unveiled earlier this year. With their core ability of taking photos and videos, Ray-Ban Stories are essentially a sleeker version of Snapchat’s Spectacles, which first debuted in 2016 to a lot of hype that quickly fizzled.