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Facebook to Sell 'Smart Glasses' Starting in 2021
By: TheStreet | September 16, 2020

• Details were light on what Facebook's smart glasses will do.

Facebook (FB) announced on Wednesday that it's releasing a consumer smart glasses product next year.

The social media giant announced the smart glasses at its Facebook Connect conference, broadcast virtually. Facebook shares dropped 2.3% on Wednesday to $266.25.

The smart glasses were described by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as "the next step on the road to augmented reality glasses,” but didn't give a detailed description of what the capabilities will be, nor did the company disclose pricing or a name for the product. Facebook teamed up with Luxxotica, the maker of Ray-Ban, on the design of the glasses.

Facebook joins a few other tech firms in releasing a smart-glasses product, though none have been a sales hit so far.

Google (GOOGL) released Google Glass in 2013, but currently sells an enterprise version only. Snap's (SNAP) Spectacles, which had the ability to capture photos and video for Snapchat, were considered a flop. Amazon's (AMZN) Echo Frames, which integrate Alexa, went on sale last year, but it's unknown how many have sold.

Facebook suggested that eventually its smart glasses could integrate augmented reality through a research initiative called Project Aria, also announced Wednesday. In a blog post, the company wrote the augmented reality tools "open up an entirely new way of moving through the world" through integrations like live mapping.

In addition to the smart glasses, Facebook unveiled the Oculus Quest 2, a standalone VR headset, which will sell for $299 and up. It will no longer make PC-based Oculus headsets.

Facebook hasn't disclosed total unit sales of Oculus headsets, but Nielsen's SuperData research group estimated that Facebook sold 177,000 Oculus quests in Q2.

Facebook shares are up 26% year to date.

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