Dive Brief:
- EssilorLuxottica is extending its partnership with Meta Platforms into a long-term deal agreement to develop multi-generational smart eyewear products, according to a Monday press release.
- The Mark Zuckerberg-led technology company first partnered with luxury eyewear conglomerate EssilorLuxottica in 2019, and has released two generations of Ray-Ban-branded smart glasses since then, per the release.
- The eyewear’s most recent iteration, released last year, incorporates hands-free technology into the frames, and allows wearers to make phone calls, take and share photos and videos, livestream content and listen to music, the company said in its release.
Dive Insight:
Smart eyewear and med-tech glasses have both been growth drivers for Essilor Luxottica, according to the company’s H1 earnings report released in July. At the time, company executives said its Stellest myopia management lenses were “seeing exponential growth,” while its Nuance Audio eyewear, which incorporates hearing aids, and its Ray-Ban Meta wearable visual technology were “set to establish a new category in the market.”
“Over the past six decades, EssilorLuxottica has led the transformation and modernization of the eyewear and eyecare industry, positioning among the world’s leading innovators,” Francesco Milleri, EssilorLuxottica’s chairman and CEO, said in Tuesday’s release. “We invest hundreds of millions every year in R&D to create products that improve quality of life for billions of people, and impact how they see the world and each other. 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.”
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses are currently available in markets including the U.S., Canada and the U.K., as well as in Australia and several other countries in Europe, per the release. In addition, the company noted that the functionality of the product could be augmented with the recent integration of Meta AI in the U.S. and Canada.
“I'm proud of the work we've done with EssilorLuxottica so far, and I'm excited about our long term roadmap ahead,” Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta, said in the release. “We have the opportunity to turn glasses into the next major technology platform, and make it fashionable in the process."
The expanded agreement between EssilorLuxottica and Meta was “exactly the right move,” said Natasha Cazin, senior consultant at market research firm Euromonitor International.
“This extension could transform the landscape of the sector finally bringing [augmented reality] experiences closer to mainstream acceptance, with Meta’s long-term vision to build the next generation AI,” Cazin said in emailed comments.
Yet Cazin said there was still a question about whether the AR landscape would be significantly changed by a major brand such as Ray-Ban, or another major tech company, or even a small startup.
“The race is on,” Cazin said. “Of course challenges remain regarding privacy and data security concerns, battery life and socially acceptable designs. However, in Euromonitor’s opinion, smart eyewear is no longer five to 10 years away from becoming part of the mainstream.”
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the terms of the agreement.
