Smart Stories: Facebook, Ray-Ban launch smart glasses

The glasses start at $299

Facebook and Ray-Ban have partnered to launch a new line of smart glasses called Smart Stories. The glasses have dual integrated 5MP cameras that let you snap photos and record 30 second video clips.

To let people know when the cameras are activated, the glasses have LED lights that turn on. They also have open-ear speakers built-in to take calls and listen to music along with a three-microphone array for voice transmission during audio calls and videos.

The glasses use beamforming technology and a custom noise isolation algorithm that enhance the calling experience and make listening to music comparable to dedicated audio headsets.

Smart Stories come installed with Facebook's view app that let you share media right to your timeline. They will be paired with the View app on iOS and Android that will help import videos and pictures, giving you the ability to edit and share content across Social Media platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Tik Tok, Snapchat and more. Users can store approximately 500 images and 35 30 second video clips.

The glasses also have touch controls on the temple that let you control music playback, take calls and adjust volume with tap gestures. They also have a dedicated shutter button to capture images and video.

If you want, you can also control the functions using Facebook's voice assistant that let you operate the glasses hands free.

Smart Stories are compatible with phones running Android 8 or higher and iOS 13 or higher. They connect wirelessly over Bluetooth 5.0. They also come equipped with dual-band Wi-Fi.