The gadgets, which haven’t proved as popular as Meta has hoped, can be used on its platforms.
When Ray-Ban Stories first launched with smart glasses, people weren’t nearly as impressed as Meta had expected.
The company has managed to sell only slightly over one third of its original sales goal.
According to a report cited by Tech Crunch, Meta has only sold just over a third of the internal 300,000 smart glasses unit goal within the first seven months that the gadgets were available. Even worse, that same report indicates that among the people who did end up purchasing the wearables, about 90 percent have already stopped using them.
Many have speculated that the limitations of the system were greatly at fault for the lack of enthusiasm among consumers as a whole as well as among those who actually tried the device. After all, while the wearables did have cameras embedded and were meant for Stories, they were unable to livestream video, which was likely a substantial disappointment for wearers who may have intended to use them for exactly that purpose.
An upcoming version of the smart glasses has overcome some of the major initial hurdles.
Though only time will tell whether the new Ray-Ban Meta devices will be more successful than the last ones, the newer models have had a number of issues addressed. The new model was unveiled in Menlo Park, California, at Meta Connect. This revealed that the new sunglasses are able to livestream video to Meta’s social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram.
The models are available in a similar classic Wayfarer look, like the original model. That said, there is also a new Headliner style being released as well. Both appear to be typical sunglasses (or eyeglasses, depending on the lens selection made by the wearer), except for two round modules located at the outer side of each eye.
The right side’s round module is a 12-megapixel camera able to capture still images and record 1080p video. The left side’s module, though highly similar in appearance, is an LED light that turns on to indicate to others that the unit is active and recording.
