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Brief:
- Facebook revealed several products and services for virtual and augmented reality (AR / VR) experiences at its Facebook Connect conference on Wednesday. The social network formed a multi-year partnership with eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica to launch Ray-Ban-branded smart glasses next year, according to an opening announcement from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
- The smart glasses will connect wirelessly to a nearby phone and project an image of a mobile screen onto the lenses. Facebook and EssilorLuxottica will provide more details on the Ray-Ban wearables, including the name, price, specifications, software and other details next year, Variety reported. Facebook also said that independent augmented reality content creators will be able to share their work on its Messenger chat app and on Portal’s smart screens.
- Along with moves that could make augmented reality more common, Facebook introduced a lower-cost model of its VR headsets that will begin shipping on October 13. The gaming-focused Oculus Quest 2 has improved specs and a starting price of $ 299, or $ 100 less than the previous model. As part of the product reveal, Facebook highlighted how its Oculus for Business platform supports business applications such as remote work.
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Coming soon to Facebook Connect, which is fully online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Facebook’s announcement of a partnership with EssilorLuxottica to develop AR glasses can be meaningful to mobile marketers in a number of ways. As users use applications such as the Facebook social network, they are more likely to see advertising and immerse themselves in brand AR experiences.
While it’s too early to say what those experiences will look like, the popularization of AR content on smartphones indicates how technology can be applied to the marketing of these high-tech glasses. In recent years, brands and retailers have created augmented reality content that showcases products including clothing, sunglasses, makeup, hair dye, flower bouquets, home furnishings, luggage, movies, and vehicles, and allows people to order in virtual stores.
Facebook’s announcement confirms an earlier report that the social network was working with EssilorLuxottica on AR glasses. That report described the glasses as a replacement for smartphones, allowing people to make phone calls, view information, and livestream their surroundings on social media. The latest announcement says that the AR glasses will connect to a smartphone, helping offload processing power and cellular connectivity to another device. Until technology improves, fledgling AR glasses are likely to rely on smartphone connectivity rather than being completely independent.
The tech giant’s product announcements for AR / VR devices come as hardware manufacturers rebound from supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic. The VR headset market will decline 6.7% in 2020 before recovering to 46% growth next year in 2021, researcher International Data Corp. (IDC) forecast this week. The company estimates that the virtual reality headset market will grow approximately 48% per year through 2024 as consumers and businesses adopt this technology consistently.
Earlier this year, IDC had forecast that shipments of standalone AR headsets would rise from about 40,000 this year to 24 million by 2024, while connected AR headsets that connect to another device would increase from 25,000 to 17 million during that period. The growth bodes well for Facebook’s continued investment in AR / VR technology.
