Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Fail to Catch On

livemint.com:

The Ray-Ban smart glasses launched by Meta Platforms almost two years ago have struggled to catch on with owners, many of whom appear to be using the devices infrequently, according to internal company data. Less than 10% of the Ray-Ban Stories purchased since the product’s launch in September 2021 are used actively by purchasers, according to a company document from February reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Meta sold a total of 300,000 of the wearable devices through February, but the company only had about 27,000 monthly active users. The device, an important part of Meta’s hardware strategy, allows users to take photos and listen to music with the frames of their glasses, among other features.

It has experienced a 13% return rate, according to the document. Among the top drivers of poor user experience were issues with connectivity, problems with some of the hardware features including battery life, inability for users to import media from the devices, issues with the audio on the product and problems with voice commands for the smart glasses, according to the document.

“We’ll also need to better understand why users stop using their glasses, how to ensure we are encouraging new feature adoption, and ultimately how to keep our users engaged and retained," the document said. A Meta spokesman declined to comment on the document.

Despite the poor initial numbers, Meta is hoping to release the second generation of its Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses either in the fall—in time for the holiday shopping season—or next spring, according to people familiar with the matter. The smart glasses were developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, which makes and sells numerous types of glasses, including brands such as Ray-Ban