Facebook is teaming up with global eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica for a new pair of RayBan-branded smart glasses, to release next year.
At Facebook’s virtual Connect event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the glasses – which will not have AR capability – as “the next step on the road to augmented reality glasses”.
“We don’t have a product yet to share with you today but I am excited to share that we have formed a multi-year partnership starting with building and releasing our first pair of smart glasses next year,” he said.
The new glasses will build on Project Aria (pictured above), a research device that is helping Facebook build its augmented reality technology. According to Andrew Bosworth, Vice President of Facebook Reality Labs, the RayBans will be smart glasses that consumers will love wearing.
“We’re passionate about exploring devices that can give people better ways to connect with those closest to them. Wearables have the potential to do that.
“With EssilorLuxottica we have an equally ambitious partner who’ll lend their expertise and world-class brand catalogue to the first truly fashionable smart glasses,” he said.
Rocco Basilico, Chief Wearables Officer at Luxottica, says the partnership will bring the iconic RayBan brand into the digital era.
“Combining a brand that is loved and worn by millions of consumers around the globe with technology that has brought the world closer together, we can reset expectations around wearables. We are paving the way for a new generation of products destined to change the way we look at the world,” he said.
More details, including specs and pricing, will be released closer to launch next year.
