Apparently, Facebook is developing AR glasses with Ray-Ban's owner
What's the story
After developing a bunch of Oculus-branded VR headsets, Facebook is shifting gears into the arena of augmented reality (AR). The company is working with Luxottica, the owner of popular eyewear brands Ray-Ban, Oakley and others, to develop a pair of highly-capable AR glasses called Orion, CNBC has reported. Here's all you need to know about them.
Device
Orion would be more like a phone
While Oculus VR allows for an immersive gaming experience in virtual reality, Orion would do much more. The sources familiar with the development told CNBC that the glasses would augment the real world with virtual elements - like Google Glasses - and work as an actual phone. Meaning, it would give you the ability to attend/make calls, see messages, even live stream video content.
Possibility
Not many details available yet
The idea of having a pair of AR glasses that could work as a phone sounds interesting, but it's imperative to note that there are no solid details. Also, The Information's sources say that Luxottica is currently helping with the development of Stella - a toned-down pair of AR glasses that would work like Snapchat Spectacles, and would help bring Orion to life at a later stage.
Launch
Stella to launch in a couple of years, Orion later
Going by reports, Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, is seeing the development of these glasses as a high-priority project. However, despite that, there is no exact launch timeline. The Information report indicates that the Stella might appear sometime within the next couple of years, while CNBC's sources say Orion would launch sometime between 2023 and 2025.
Response
Will you wear Facebook's AR glasses?
As the development continues, it would be interesting to see how the audience responds to AR glasses looking at the world with high-quality cameras. Facebook has already had troubles with data collection and security. And I, for one, would definitely not like the idea of giving Facebook a chance to see (and know) everything that I look at in the real world.