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| Facebook: Smart glasses will become a standard within a decade |
Facebook's Andrew Bosworth, who is responsible for the company's hardware operations, said camera functionality could become a standard feature for eyeglasses within ten years.
Bosworth's comment came after the release of Ray-Ban Story, a smart glasses collaboration between Facebook and Luxottica.
Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses can take photos and videos with a small camera with the push of a button or voice commands.
Bosworth talks to Rocco Basilico, chief wearable device officer at EssilorLuxottica.
Although smart glasses are still a niche product, they have made great strides in the technology industry.
Google was the first major technology company to launch a product and launched Google Glass in 2012.
Google Glass appears to be quite different from regular glasses. The device does not have a lens but uses a glass prism to reflect an augmented reality image in front of the user's eyes. The glasses also have a camera that can take photos and videos.
Google Glass has faced strong opposition from critics who fear an invasion of privacy. Facebook's products have raised similar concerns among people who fear that the device may not be able to remind people when they are using the camera.
Introduced in 2016 as Spectacles, the Snap is a plastic glass with two distinct cameras on each corner of the frame that can take photos and videos.
Facebook: Smart glasses will become a standard within a decade
Snap announced the fourth iteration of its offering in May. It has a screen with glass lenses that can display augmented reality images from the user's point of view in the real world.
So far, Snap has limited distribution of its latest version of Spectacles to a select group of social media content creators.
Facebook's Ray-Ban Stories glasses don't have augmented reality functionality yet. But the company is working hard on future products.
The company has now installed cameras, speakers, and microphones on many Ray-Ban models. Consumers don't have to buy unfamiliar devices, they can buy existing products and pay an extra $100 to turn them into smart glasses.