Want to learn more about Ray-Ban Stories? Go behind the scenes and learn how Meta combined tech and fashion to create its first smart glasses.

We’re excited to announce that we’re rolling out Ray-Ban Stories, our first-ever smart glasses, launched last year in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, in four new countries. Starting at €329, Ray-Ban Stories will be available online and in select retail stores in Spain, Austria, and Belgium beginning March 17, and in France beginning April 14. These stylish glasses offer everyday wearability and help you be more present with friends, family, and the world around you by letting you capture a moment or listen to music, while your phone stays in your pocket.

With Ray-Ban Stories’ dual integrated 5MP cameras, you can take photos and videos hands-free using your voice or the glasses’ built-in capture button. The glasses also have built-in streamlined, open-ear speakers, as well as a three-microphone audio array that delivers rich voice and sound transmission for calls and videos. Using the Facebook View app for iOS or Android, you can easily import, edit, and share your photos or videos to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, and others.

Ray-Ban Stories made their debut in the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and the UK last September, and we’re delighted to bring the glasses to more people around the world with this expansion. We’re also unveiling new color and lens variations, and software features, including the ability to use voice commands in French and Italian in all markets.

Over the last six months, we’ve been encouraged by the many exciting ways people have used Ray-Ban Stories in their everyday lives. From skydiving to exploring a new city to sharing favorite performances from a music festival, Ray-Ban Stories has helped people capture and share more of life’s spontaneous moments while enabling them to stay in the moment.

New color combinations and software features

In early April, we’ll introduce four new color combinations in all our markets, giving people more options to choose from, including Round Shiny Black with Gray Transitions® , Round Shiny Black with Brown Transitions®, Wayfarer Matte Black with Gray Transitions® and Wayfarer Shiny Black with Brown Transitions®. These new additions to our collection offer seamless all-day wear with lenses that intelligently filter light for optimum vision in all environments – inside and outside, day to night, up a mountain or in front of the TV. That means that all told, Ray-Ban Stories will be available in 28 different variations. If you can’t decide which style to choose, you can visit Ray Ban’s Instagram Shop now to virtually try them on through a special Spark AR effect and see how each style looks on you.

We’re also expanding the product’s software features:

• Ray-Ban Stories will be able to record up to 60 seconds of video. The glasses were previously limited to a maximum of 30 seconds. You’ll be able to toggle between 30 and 60 seconds as the max recording length in the Facebook View app settings in an update coming in April.
• In April we’ll begin rolling out the ability to use voice commands in French and Italian for a hands-free experience in those languages, and you’ll be able to use voice commands to take photos and videos from your glasses as well as to check the status of your battery and storage. (Currently available in English, and will be available in Italian and French soon).
• In December we added the ability to make phone calls, send messages, and hear message readouts using your voice via Messenger, and control media playing on your glasses. (Available in English).
• The Facebook View app will now be available in French, Spanish, Dutch, and German.

Privacy is built-in

From its inception, we knew we had a big responsibility to ensure that people feel safe and comfortable with Ray-Ban Stories. That’s as true for those around the device as it is for those wearing it. That’s why we designed hardware-based privacy features directly into the product. You can read more about this in our newsroom post from last fall.

We’ve published guidelines that outline what is and isn’t appropriate use of the glasses on our privacy microsite, and we also surface some of these tips on the Facebook View app when you set up your glasses. These include suggestions like powering off the glasses while in private places and using a clear gesture to let those around you know you’re about to capture content.

In April, we’ll roll out a marketing campaign in our EU markets to educate people on wearable devices and smart glasses and how they work. The campaign will aim to raise awareness about what signals people should look for when the glasses are in use, and that you should stop recording if anyone around you indicates that they don’t want to be in a photo or video. The campaign will also alert people to being mindful of taking photos around minors.

This is ongoing work and we’ll continue to consult with external experts on new features and updates we add to Ray-Ban Stories with a focus on how to strengthen the product’s privacy and safety features and expand our user education.

Working to bring smart glasses to more people

After our launch in France next month, Ray-Ban Stories will be available in 10 countries, and we’re working to add more over time in the right way – with local languages and customer support.

Today’s software update is only our latest in the few months since launch, and we’re just getting started. Ray-Ban Stories will continually get better over time through regular software updates and added functionality, and we’re looking forward to sharing more soon.