Ray-Ban Stories get software update adding Facebook Messenger support

Photo by Amanda Lopez for The Verge

The Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses are getting the ability to let you send and receive Facebook Messenger messages right from your face, according to a Wednesday post by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He says that the features being rolled out are just the beginning for the product, which was made in partnership with eyewear titan Luxottica.

Zuckerberg says that you’ll be able to use the glasses’ built-in mics, speakers, and assistant to send messages, have messages read out to you, and make audio calls using Facebook Messenger. He also promises that more updates will be coming in 2022.

Adding the ability to use the Stories as a Tony Stark-esque communication device makes them significantly more useful as a piece of wearable tech. The glasses’ main selling point is that they put a camera on your face, but when they first launched they weren’t a whole lot more than that. You could use the assistant to take videos and pictures, and the glasses could act as wireless headphones, but beyond that there weren’t many smart features.

The update should also make some improvements if you use your Stories as headphones — Zuckerberg says you’ll now be able to control volume and track playback with your voice, if you don’t feel like using the touchpad built into the frames. Of course, saying “hey Facebook, pause” is probably going to attract more attention than just tapping your glasses’ right arm, but you do you.