Recently, Meta’s founder Mark Zuckerberg introduced a smart glasses collaboration with the premium sunglasses brand Ray-Ban, calling it a significant step toward achieving augmented reality (AR) glasses. These glasses are stylish and integrate cutting-edge technology, potentially revolutionizing the smart glasses market.

The design looks almost identical to regular glasses, but they are connected to Meta's powerful Llama models in the cloud and equipped with a high-definition, anti-shake camera. This allows for first-person photos and videos, similar to condensing a GoPro into a small pair of glasses.
The glasses, named "Ray-Ban Stories," start at $299 and allow users to take photos, record videos, listen to music, and make calls, offering basic functionality.

                                              (Orion AR Glasses, Source: Internet)

Glasses Specifications

• Equipped with two 500-pixel cameras. To protect privacy, the LED light on the glasses will light up when the cameras are active, alerting those nearby.
• Battery life: The glasses can capture up to 200 photos and 50 short videos on a full charge. Photos and videos can be uploaded to Facebook's social platforms via the Facebook View app.
• Storage: Supports around 500+ photos or 30 videos (30 seconds each). Photos have a resolution of 2592x1944 pixels, and videos are 1184x1184 pixels at 30 frames per second, with an estimated storage of around 3GB.

                                        (Source: Ray-Ban Store Official Website)          

Control Features

Users can adjust volume and take photos/videos via touch controls on the arms and buttons. The glasses also support voice assistant control.

The open-ear bone-conduction design allows users to hear environmental sounds while on a call. The glasses also feature 3 microphones for improved sound capture.

                                       (Source: Ray-Ban Store Official Website)   

AI Model Features

The new version integrates a large AI model, enabling you to ask, "Hey Meta, tell me what this is," and the glasses will interpret and identify the scene.

The bone-conduction earpiece enables real-time translation, allowing you to understand foreign speakers immediately.

Additionally, the glasses have a facial recognition feature. If you encounter unfamiliar people, such as clients or leaders, the glasses will recognize them and provide reminders.

Can AR Glasses Replace Smartphones?

Meta's AI glasses are certainly impressive. Their collaboration with Ray-Ban results in stylish eyewear that doesn't overload the glasses with excessive functionality, solving power consumption and weight issues. This makes them a step ahead of other AR glasses.

Some believe, including Zuckerberg, that glasses could eventually replace smartphones. While these AR glasses are lightweight, practical, and easy to wear, there are still many technical challenges to overcome before they can fully replace smartphones.

Technical Challenges Faced by AR Glasses

The main challenge for AR glasses is battery life. Zuckerberg mentioned that future glasses may be powered by a wearable device on the wrist. Although this innovation is promising, it will be difficult to achieve.

Additionally, the size, weight, and comfort of the glasses are crucial factors for users. AR glasses need to offer powerful computing capability and long battery life while remaining lightweight and stylish.

To overcome these technical hurdles, FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits) is essential.

                                                  Flex PCB fromJLCPCB 

FPC plays a critical role in connecting and transmitting signals in electronic devices. For compact, high-integration devices like smart glasses and smartwatches, FPC is key to achieving lightweight, flexible designs.

Currently, many smartwatches and AR glasses on the market use FPC flexible circuit boards.JLCPCB has already supplied hundreds of flexible circuit board samples for AR glasses manufacturers in China.

Although AR glasses face numerous technical obstacles, breakthroughs in technologies like FPC flexible circuit boards will undoubtedly lead to major advances in the AR glasses industry. While we can't yet say whether AR glasses will fully replace smartphones, they are certainly poised to become a crucial part of future technology and are worth keeping an eye on.