Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth says the key goal of the company’s new $ 299 smart glasses is to start a social conversation about the rules around these products. In this sense, the company has already been successful.
State of play: Coverage of the release of Ray-Ban’s stories focused on both privacy issues and the product itself.
Driving the news: Announced Thursday, Ray-Ban’s stories look like the shadows of the company’s signature, but include two cameras, speakers, and a variety of microphones that allow you to take photos, record short videos, and play music or make phone calls.
Why is it important?: While smartphones can do these things and more, it’s clear when you have a smartphone. By contrast, Ray-Ban’s stories are hard to distinguish from the company’s traditional sunglasses.
- Bosworth said the goal is for viewers to recognize the glasses they are recording thanks to the small white LED that lights up during recording or the audio control or button the wearer will use to start recording.
- From my experiences last week as well those of others, this is often not the case. I found, especially in larger group settings, that people had no idea that the glasses were capable of taking pictures until I showed them.
Between lines: Facebook notes that it consulted with various advocacy and privacy groups while developing the product. However, those whose name is Facebook and who talk to the press about their work are funded in part by Facebook. And even many of them still have their concerns.
- Jeremy Greenberg, a privacy advisor at the Future Privacy Forum, said it was good for glasses to signal when recording, but warned that people at a distance, with little vision or simply inattention could easily miss the indicators. “We hope we don’t have people using them for persecution.”
- John Breyault, vice president of public policy for the National Consumers League, said that while Facebook strives to educate homeowners about best practices for taking pictures, “post them freely and people will use them for the same. way they will use them “.
- Carlos Gutiérrez, of LGBT Tech: “There’s still a huge privacy issue around people who use them incorrectly,” he said, noting the risks to people who aren’t caught in social settings, in a march proudly or in protest.
The other side: Facebook took several steps to preserve privacy that is worth calling.
- The devices do not automatically upload anything to the Facebook cloud and cannot be used for live streaming. Customers must transfer their photos and videos to a smartphone app. From there they can save the images and, if they want, share them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or wherever.
- There are several tracks designed to indicate when the device is capturing content, though none is foolproof.
The general picture: Facebook is not the first to offer smart glasses and will definitely not be the last.
- The pioneer in this area was Google Glass, which was probably a decade ahead of its time when it arrived in 2013, resulting in a more creepy than capable product.
- Snap’s first shows, which came a couple of years later, were similar to Ray-Ban’s stories in that they focused primarily on adding a camera to traditional frames. They showed more novelty than widespread success. (The latest version of Spectacles adds augmented reality and other features, but they are only available to Snapchat-selected creators).
That follows: Facebook, along with the rest of the industry, is pretty clear that augmented reality glasses are the next big thing. Still, fully functional, stylish and affordable glasses are still years away.
- In the meantime, expect a lot of experimentation with devices that combine some, but not all, of these features. Ray-Ban stories represent an experiment of what is possible without losing style and affordability. In the high end, devices like Microsoft’s Hololens are bulky and expensive, but hint at the more powerful possibilities.
My thought bubble: Bosworth is right: it’s time to discuss where these devices are appropriate and what rules should apply to the people who make the products, as well as those who use them.
- This conversation began with Google Glass, including an abrupt initial reaction. But the problem fell off the radar because the products were not taking off.
The conclusion: Expect a lot more from Facebook in the coming years. The company wants to control the next generation of hardware instead of complying with the rules of Apple and Google.