Meta and Snap Focus on Smart Eyewear

Meta Platforms extended its partnership with EssilorLuxottica to continue the development of next-generation eyewear into the next decade. Simultaneously, Snap unveiled its latest device in the smart glasses segment.

Italy-based EssilorLuxottica explained the agreement builds on the duo’s collaboration dating back to 2019, which has resulted in the launch of the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses line. The companies claim the devices have broken the barriers to adoption and redefined the potential for wearables in consumers’ lives. Described as a long-term partnership, financial details, terms of the agreement, or even the length of the renewed deal were not revealed.

EssilorLuxottica noted the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are in high demand in the markets they’re available in, and the company’s chairman and CEO, Francesco Milleri, said the tie-up has already proven to be an important milestone in our journey to making glasses the gateway to the connected world.

The deal comes a few months after Meta was reportedly considering an investment into the smart glasses designer, as part of a push to advance its presence in the wearable devices segment. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he is excited about the long-term roadmap ahead. “We have the opportunity to turn glasses into the next major technology platform, and make it fashionable in the process”.

Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica’s partnership was announced on the same day as Snap rolled out its latest Spectacles device. The new AR device is powered by a revamped operating system and represents the company’s fifth-generation eyewear accessory, launched as part of its Spectacles Developer Program.

The social media company stated its new Snap OS is designed to encourage developers to build shared experiences for friends and family, highlighting the system’s feature which enables users to control their viewing experience through voice and hand gestures. Like its predecessor Spectacles 4, the glasses are motored by the Snap Spatial Engine which allows digital effects to integrate naturally with surrounding environments.

It weighs 226 grams, is significantly lighter than VR headsets, and packs four cameras capable of capturing vivid, sharp images. The device comes with a lens technology that adjusts the tints automatically based on natural lighting and runs on dual Qualcomm Snapdragon processors.