Meta and Ray Ban’s owner extend smart glasses partnership

Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica have extended their partnership into the next decade. The duo have collaborated since 2019, producing two generations of Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The agreement between Meta and EssilorLuxottica should bring more “multi-generational smart eyewear products.”

The first iteration launched in late 2021, right before Meta became Facebook, and was known as Ray-Ban Stories. We weren’t totally sold on them, though there were some good points. The $300 sunglasses looked like a slightly bulkier Ray-Ban with, thankfully, no Facebook logo on them and offered decent audio quality through their tiny speakers at mid-range volume. The camera was so-so and worked better in brighter light. But privacy is really where we had an issue with data sharing and audio transcriptions on by default.

We were more into the 2023 Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, giving them an 85 in our review. The new model’s perks include slimmer frames, hands-free photo messaging and Instagram livestreaming abilities (with an improved 12MP ultra-wide camera). It also offers better mics and sound quality — including at higher volumes. Plus, the charging case looks just like a classic Ray-Ban pouch.

The smart glasses originally came with an AI assistant, but Meta has since introduced Multimodal AI. The toolset allows the assistant to see and comprehend the world in real-time, processing photos, videos, text, and audio. You can ask it to identify things you’re looking at, such as a dog’s breed, the name and information for landmarks, and a road sign in a different language. Plus, there are new frame designs to choose from, starting at $300.

Notably, in July, reports from the media and EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri indicated Meta might take a five percent stake in the company. Whether that will happen is still up in the air, with no mention of a purchase in the extended partnership release.