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Facebook has entered the augmented reality glasses arms race and announced a partnership with Ray Ban that will see glasses on faces in 2021.
The company is pumping money into Project Aria, through Facebook Reality Labs, a new research and referral platform, which the company hopes will produce a pair of AR glasses for consumers.
The company admits that a true AR product might be a bit far off, but its medium-term plans are much more modest.
Facebook has announced a partnership with Ray Ban to create a pair of smart glasses for launch in 2021, but has yet to reveal what they will do.
We reported rumors in 2019 that Facebook was working on an eyewear project with Luxottica, and it appears that the fruits of that partnership are not far off.
However, Facebook has ruled out the use of AR or any type of screen in the Ray Ban association, thus practically leaving a Snap Spectacles-style device, possibly with cameras. Or so we think. We can already hear the privacy arguments.
Of course, Facebook is just one company lining up to run on AR.
Google’s long journey with Glass is a testament to that, but it bought North, one of the few companies to move forward with an AR product for the consumer.
And Apple has been dabbling in the space, with constant rumors of a couple of Apple AR specs, which has been evident through the hiring of staff.
But he still feels that the consumer’s AR dream of a seamlessly connected real and virtual world experience is far, far away.
