Meta and EssilorLuxottica Extend Smart Glasses Partnership for Years to Come

Meta To Continue Making Ray Ban Smart Glasses For Many Years: Know More

Meta has signed a long-term deal to make smart glasses for many years MILAN:EssilorLuxottica said on Tuesday it had extended its partnership with Meta Platforms for developing smart eyewear by agreeing a new long-term deal that will take both companies into the next decade. "The incredible work we've done with Meta, still in its early stages, has already proven to be an important milestone in our journey to making glasses the gateway to the connected world," EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri said. In the press release there was no reference to the possibility of Meta buying a stake in the eyewear maker. In July the head of EssilorLuxottica said the tech giant had informed him that it might invest in the company. Previously the Wall Street Journal reported that the two companies had discussed Meta taking a 5% stake in the Franco-Italian group. EssilorLuxottica and Meta have been collaborating since 2019, creating two generations of Ray-Ban branded smart glasses. Although the launch of the first smart glasses struggled to gain traction among consumers, the latest version, introduced in late 2023, has sold more units in a few months than the previous ones did in two years. Ray-Ban Meta's smart eyewear allows consumers to make phone calls, listen to music and take photos just by pressing a button on top of the right temple of the glasses. A multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) function was also added in May for U.S. and Canadian customers only. "I'm proud of the work we've done with EssilorLuxottica so far, and I'm excited about our 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 CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. Shares in EssilorLuxottica closed down by 1.2% on Tuesday.

Meta and Ray Ban's owner extend smart glasses partnership

The pair have released two Ray-Ban models over the last few years. Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica have extended their partnership into the next decade. The duo have collaborated since 2019, producing two generations of Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The agreement between Meta and EssilorLuxottica should bring more "multi-generational smart eyewear products." The first iteration launched in late 2021, right before Meta became Facebook, and was known as Ray-Ban Stories. We weren't totally sold on them, though there were some good points. The $300 sunglasses looked like a slightly bulkier Ray-Ban with, thankfully, no Facebook logo on them and offered decent audio quality through their tiny speakers at mid-range volume. The camera was so-so and worked better in brighter light. But privacy is really where we had an issue with data sharing and audio transcriptions on by default. We were more into the 2023 Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, giving them an 85 in our review. The new model's perks include slimmer frames, hands-free photo messaging and Instagram livestreaming abilities (with an improved 12MP ultra-wide camera). It also offers better mics and sound quality -- including at higher volumes. Plus, the charging case looks just like a classic Ray-Ban pouch. The smart glasses originally came with an AI assistant, but Meta has since introduced Multimodal AI. The toolset allows the assistant to see and comprehend the world in real-time, processing photos, videos, text, and audio. You can ask it to identify things you're looking at, such as a dog's breed, the name and information for landmarks, and a road sign in a different language. Plus, there are new frame designs to choose from, starting at $300. Notably, in July, reports from the media and EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri indicated Meta might take a five percent stake in the company. Whether that will happen is still up in the air, with no mention of a purchase in the extended partnership release.

EssilorLuxottica expands smart glasses partnership with Meta

(Reuters) -EssilorLuxottica said on Tuesday it had extended its partnership with Meta Platforms by entering into a new long-term agreement to continue the development of smart eyewear into the next decade. "The incredible work we've done with Meta, still in its early stages, has already proven to be an important milestone in our journey to making glasses the gateway to the connected world," EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri said. EssilorLuxottica and Meta established their partnership in 2019, and have focused on two generations of Ray-Ban branded smart glasses since. Despite initially struggling to gain traction among consumers, the latest version, introduced in late 2023, has sold more units in a few months than the previous ones did in two years. Ray-Ban Meta's smart eyewear allows consumers to make phone calls, listen to music and take photos just by pressing a button on top of the right temple of the glasses. A multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) function was also added in May for U.S. and Canadian customers only. "I'm proud of the work we've done with EssilorLuxottica so far, and I'm excited about our 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 CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Tom Hogue)

EssilorLuxottica extends smart glasses partnership with Meta

In the press release there was no reference to the possibility of Meta buying a stake in the eyewear maker. In July the head of EssilorLuxottica said the tech giant had informed him that it might invest in the company. Previously the Wall Street Journal reported that the two companies had discussed Meta taking a 5% stake in the Franco-Italian group. EssilorLuxottica and Meta have been collaborating since 2019, creating two generations of Ray-Ban branded smart glasses. Although the launch of the first smart glasses struggled to gain traction among consumers, the latest version, introduced in late 2023, has sold more units in a few months than the previous ones did in two years. Ray-Ban Meta's smart eyewear allows consumers to make phone calls, listen to music and take photos just by pressing a button on top of the right temple of the glasses. A multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) function was also added in May for U.S. and Canadian customers only. "I'm proud of the work we've done with EssilorLuxottica so far, and I'm excited about our 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 CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Elisa Anzolin; Editing by Tom Hogue and Louise Heavens)

Meta strikes long-term deal with Ray-Ban maker following rumors of possible Google partnership

Smart glasses are still largely a dream as the hardware just doesn't fit the vision yet, but there's been significant progress. One shining example has been Meta's Ray-Ban series of smart glasses, and that partnership has now been renewed for years to come. The company behind Ray-Ban glasses is EssilorLuxottica, which has been putting out eyewear products for decades now. Meta first partnered with the company back in 2019 to develop the Ray-Ban Stories, a pair of glasses with an embedded camera that could be used with Instagram and Facebook Stories to capture point-of-view pictures and video. In 2023, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses launched to wide acclaim for their image quality, built-in speakers, and now smart features including integration with Meta's AI. Now, Meta has signed a "long term agreement" with EssilorLuxottica to continue developing "multi-generational smart eyewear products" following in the footsteps of those first two Ray-Ban releases. There's no explicit word on how long the deal will last, but it's mentioned that it will work "into the next decade." EssilorLuxottica explains in a press release: EssilorLuxottica announced today that it has extended its partnership with Meta Platforms by entering into a new long term agreement, under which the parties will collaborate into the next decade to develop multi-generational smart eyewear products. The two companies have been collaborating successfully since 2019, resulting in two generations of Ray-Ban branded smart glasses that broke the barriers to adoption and redefined the potential for wearables in consumers' lives. This news comes as somewhat of a blow to alleged plans that Google had. It was recently reported that Google was looking to partner with EssilorLuxottica over smart glasses that would integrate the company's Gemini AI. It's still unclear when or how Google plans to move forward with smart glasses plans, but the company is clearly working towards that goal as it showed off "Project Astra," a multimodal AI assistant, at Google I/O on a pair of smart glasses. Meanwhile, Google and Samsung's work towards a new mixed-reality experience is reportedly going to culminate in a pair of smart glasses.

Meta Deepens Smart Glasses Push With Ray-Ban Maker EssilorLuxottica Deal -- Update

Meta Platforms struck a new long-term agreement with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, deepening a push into smart eyewear as the tech giant starts to roll out artificial-intelligence features. The Facebook and Instagram parent already works with European eyewear group EssilorLuxottica to make Ray-Ban smart glasses, and the two companies plan to build on that relationship into the next decade, EssilorLuxottica said Tuesday. Meta and EssilorLuxottica aim to make glasses a new gateway to a connected world as companies begin to introduce AI tools in gadgets beyond smartphones and computers. "We have the opportunity to turn glasses into the next major technology platform, and make it fashionable in the process," Meta Chief Executive and founder Mark Zuckerberg said. The companies recently integrated Meta AI into their smart glasses in the U.S. and Canada, allowing users to take pictures, get information on what they look at, access news or ask for recommendations. The agreement indicates both companies' commitment to the integration of AI features, underscoring the potential of the smart glasses segment, Equita Sim analyst Domenico Ghilotti said in a note to clients. EssilorLuxottica Chief Executive Francesco Milleri said the work his company has done with Meta, which began in 2019, is still in its early stages. Financial details of the agreement weren't disclosed. In July, The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta was in talks to buy a stake of about 5% in EssilorLuxottica after sales of the latest Ray-Ban smart glasses, called Ray-Ban Meta, exceeded expectations. The agreement could still open the door to a possible acquisition by Meta of a stake in EssilorLuxottica, though there is no reference to this in Tuesday's announcement, Equita's Ghilotti said. Milleri said in an earnings call in July that Google and other big technology companies had shown interest in exploring partnerships with EssilorLuxottica. Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Will Continue Into The Next Decade

I Thought I Didn't Need a Bluetooth Speaker, but Then I Was Gifted One Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban, have announced a long-term partnership extension into the next decade. The two companies will continue working together to develop multiple generations of smart eyewear products. While financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, there were previous reports that suggested Meta might buy a 5 percent stake in EssilorLuxottica. However, the official announcement did not mention that kind of investment. Companies like Apple are reportedly developing smart glasses, but Meta and EssilorLuxottica have a strong foothold in this emerging market. Both companies see potential in turning glasses into a major technology platform, seamlessly blending functionality with fashion. The partnership's focus on "multi-generational" products means the glasses will continue to evolve, getting sleeker and gaining more features over time. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses themselves start at $300 and have many frames to choose from. Even though the collaboration began in 2019, the first generation, known as Ray-Ban Stories, was launched in late 2021. The glasses faced criticism over privacy concerns due to default data sharing and audio transcriptions, but because of many other issues that we highlighted in our review. The second generation, released in 2023, received a warmer review from us with its slimmer frames, improved camera quality, and better audio capabilities. These glasses also introduced hands-free features like photo messaging and live streaming. While Ray-Ban Meta has the Meta name on it, it's not like the Quest series of headsets. It does not play video games, and the lenses do not change the world around you. These smart glasses can stream on Instagram live, take pictures, listen to music, and send messages. However, a key development in the evolution of these smart glasses was the introduction of Meta's Multimodal AI. This toolset lets glasses' AI assistant process and understand visual and audio information in real-time. This can help buyers identify objects and landmarks, and even translate road signs into different languages. Source: EssilorLuxottica via Engadget