Oakley x Meta smart glasses: 8h battery life, better camera, more

Meta’s smart glasses experiment is moving into its next phase. After scoring a surprise hit with its Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, the company is now teaming up with Oakley for a more rugged, sport-focused lineup and good tech upgrades. Here’s when to get them.

What’s new here?

For starters: battery life and video quality.

The Oakley Meta glasses double the runtime of the Meta Ray-Bans, offering up to 8 hours of continuous use, plus 48 hours with the included charging case. Video capture also gets a big boost, jumping from 1080p to 3K resolution.

And while some early rumors suggested Meta might experiment with a center-mounted camera for this athlete-focused model, that’s not the case. The camera stays tucked into the temple, just like on the Ray-Bans.

Also like previous Meta glasses, the Oakleys feature open-ear speakers, built-in microphones, and full Meta AI integration. That means you can still take calls, stream music, or get real-time answers from Meta’s voice assistant, including visual queries about what you’re looking at.

The first model in the new lineup is the Oakley Meta HSTN. Preorders open July 11 for $499 in 15 countries, with other Oakley styles starting at $399 set to follow later this summer.

Here’s the full launch list:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Canada
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Norway
• Spain
• Sweden
• UK
• US

Meta also says it’s working to “bring Oakley Meta HSTN to Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates later this year.”

The biggest shift here is the target audience

Meta is positioning these as its first entry into the “performance” category, with IPX4 water resistance for sweat and splashes, and Oakley’s signature wraparound frame styles to match.

At launch, there will be five frame and lens, including transitions, with color options including black, brown smoke, clear, and warm grey (all prescription-ready for an extra fee). The $499 limited-edition launch model comes with gold accents and Oakley’s PRIZM gold lenses to underline the special-edition angle.

A Prada partnership is reportedly in the works too

The Oakley collaboration isn’t the only brand extension Meta has planned. According to a recent report from CNBC, Meta is also prepping a Prada-branded smart glasses line as part of its expanded multi-year partnership with EssilorLuxottica (the parent company behind Ray-Ban, Oakley, and more).

While details on the Prada glasses are still under wraps, including timing and final design, former Meta employees told CNBC that Prada’s signature chunky frame styles could make them a good fit for housing the cameras, mics, and chips needed for Meta’s smart glasses tech.

Did you like the new glasses? Are you curious about this product category? Let us know in the comments.