The Bloomberg news agency reports that Facebook has confirmed it plans to launch smart glasses later this year. This request fits with Facebook’s efforts to invest more in the augmented and virtual reality space.
Facebook wants to catch up in the AR and VR sector
At the latest with the acquisition of Oculus, Facebook has impressively demonstrated that it is willing to invest quite a bit to catch up in the AR and VR sector. The greater integration of the Oculus ecosystem into other products of the group, which has been implemented recently, also indicates that Facebook is working to become much more active in this area than before.
With its own smart glasses, Facebook would now take the next step – and tie in with an AR camera announced in 2017 and the Oculus products already presented. According to the news agency Bloomberg, which refers to informed circles, Facebook currently has more than 6,000 employees working in corresponding areas – more than on WhatsApp or Instagram.
No details on the smart glasses
Meanwhile, there is no reliable information about the new product itself so far. It is only known that Facebook wants to cooperate with Ray-Ban and the Ray-Ban parent company. Bloomberg cites Andrew Bosworth, the head of Facebook’s hardware department, as the source. It is also known that the glasses will not be augmented reality glasses, which is why Bosworth refers to them as “smart glasses”. It is not known whether the concept is similar to that of Google’s barely successful Glass. To all appearances, however, Facebook wants to primarily target private individuals; Google’s glasses, on the other hand, will primarily be offered to companies.
