Oakley Meta HSTN: First AI sports glasses presented

Meta is expanding its "Smart Glasses" portfolio: The successful glasses from Ray-Ban are followed by a cooperation with Oakley. The first product is called "Oakley Meta HSTN" and is based on the eyewear manufacturer's HSTN models.

The first Oakley Meta HSTN will be released as a limited edition to celebrate Oakley's 50th anniversary. The limited edition will be available to pre-order from July 11 for 549 euros.

The glasses come with golden accents and polarized Prizm lenses. Prizm is a lens technology developed by Oakley that is designed to improve the colors, contrast and details of the surroundings depending on the sporting activity.

The rest of the collection will be launched over the summer at a starting price of 439 euros. It includes six frame and lens combinations, all of which can be fitted with corrective lenses. However, as with the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, wearers will need to take a few things into account.

The Oakley Meta HSTN will be available in all countries where the Ray-Ban Meta glasses are also available, with the exception of Mexico, India and the United Arab Emirates, where the market launch will follow later this year.

Better video quality and battery performance

Technically, the Oakley Meta HSTN has all the functions of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Both smart glasses have an integrated camera sensor that can be used to take photos and videos as well as transmit live streams. Microphones enable phone calls and the use of voice commands, while open-ear speakers play music and podcasts in good quality. Various AI functions are also integrated, including real-time translation and the ability to ask Meta AI questions about the visible environment. Many of these features require a paired smartphone and the Meta AI companion app.

Oakley's smart glasses are slightly more expensive than the Ray-Ban versions, which are available from €329. The higher price is probably due to technical improvements, among other things. The Oakley Meta HSTN offers a higher-quality sensor that records videos in 3K resolution. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses record videos with 1,440 × 1,920 pixels.

The battery performance has also been improved. The Ray-Ban glasses last for four hours of moderate use before they need to be recharged in the charging case. The Oakley models, on the other hand, last up to eight hours in normal use, according to Meta. They are supplied with a charging case that enables a battery life of up to 48 hours. The charging case of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses achieves 32 hours.

In terms of water resistance, nothing has changed despite the focus on sport: like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, the Oakley Meta HSTN offers splash protection in accordance with the IPX4 standard.

Google and Apple want to get in on the action

Ray-Ban's Meta glasses were launched on the market in the fall of 2023 and became a sales hit. At the beginning of the year, Meta's partner EssilorLuxottica reported that over two million units had been sold. EssilorLuxottica is a leading eyewear manufacturer and owner of the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands.

The success of smart glasses has attracted other tech giants, who are now working on similar products. A few weeks ago, Google showed a prototype with a heads-up display and, together with its eyewear partners Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, wants to develop the first products that are similar to Meta's smart glasses. It is not known when these will be launched on the market. Apple is also said to be working on smart glasses and is aiming for a market launch next year, according to Bloomberg.

The newly sparked interest of the big tech companies in smart glasses cannot be explained solely by the sales success of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses and must be seen in the broader context of AI development. Smart glasses are seen as a potentially ideal hardware platform for AI assistance. As they can theoretically permanently record what users see, they are particularly well suited to providing contextual support in everyday life. By integrating heads-up displays and – at some point – fully-fledged augmented reality, they could establish themselves as an indispensable addition to smartphones in the long term.

Meta's smart glasses do not yet have an integrated display, but according to Bloomberg, the company could launch glasses with a display as early as this fall.

(vbr)