Meta is expanding its presence in the smart eyewear market, collaborating with Oakley to introduce the Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses. Positioned as “Performance AI glasses,” this new lineup is specifically designed with athletes and active individuals in mind, combining Oakley’s distinctive style and lens technology with Meta’s cutting-edge AI and hardware.
These glasses build upon the success of Meta’s existing Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses but introduce several notable advancements tailored for performance. The core concept, supported by a long-term partnership between Meta and Oakley’s parent company, EssilorLuxottica, is to establish glasses as a significant hardware category in the age of AI, augmenting human potential.
Built for Action: Design and Core Features
Based on Oakley’s popular HSTN design (pronounced “HOW-stuhn”), the frames are engineered for durability while maintaining an aesthetic appeal. While earlier rumors suggested a central camera or deep fitness tracking features, the final design keeps the familiar layout: a high-resolution camera on one side and an LED privacy light on the other.
Key hardware highlights include:
An ultra-wide 12MP camera capable of capturing stunning 3K video and photos, a significant upgrade from the 1080p found in previous Meta models. This enables seamless, hands-free capture of point-of-view content during activities.
Integrated open-ear Bluetooth speakers and five onboard microphones for audio playback, calls, messaging, and interacting with Meta AI.
An IPX4 water resistance rating, making them suitable for use during sweaty workouts or light rain.
Oakley’s renowned Prizm and Prizm Polarized lens technology for enhanced color, contrast, and protection against UV light. Options with Transitions lenses are also available.
The Oakley Meta HSTN glasses are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 Platform, a chipset specifically designed to support on-device AI features like voice commands, scene recognition, and real-time translation while optimizing battery life.
AI as Your Performance Assistant
A central feature of the Oakley Meta HSTN is the integration of Meta AI. This built-in AI assistant acts as a hands-free tool, providing contextual information and assistance directly through voice commands (“Hey Meta”). For athletes, this means getting insights relevant to their activity without breaking stride. Examples include asking Meta AI for the current wind speed while on the golf course to help adjust a shot, or simply using voice commands to start recording a video of a skateboarding trick.
Beyond performance, Meta AI enhances accessibility. The glasses can describe what the camera is seeing, and wearers can even connect to the Be My Eyes network to receive assistance from sighted volunteers completely hands-free. The platform also supports features like live translation.
Extended Battery Life and Fast Charging
Battery performance sees a substantial boost in the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses. They offer up to eight hours of typical use and up to 19 hours on standby – potentially double the typical use time of previous Ray-Ban Meta models. The included charging case is not water-resistant but provides significant on-the-go power, delivering up to 48 additional hours of charge.
Charging is also notably faster:
Reach 50% battery capacity in just 20 minutes.
Reach 85% capacity in 45 minutes.
Integrated touch controls on the frames allow for easy volume adjustment and other functions.
Pricing and Availability
The Oakley Meta HSTN collection will roll out in phases. A limited-edition model featuring gold accents and 24K Prizm Polar lenses will be the first available, priced at $499. Preorders for this version begin on July 11th.
A broader collection of Oakley Meta HSTN models will follow later in the summer, with prices starting at $399. These will come in various frame and lens color combinations, including options like:
Desert with Prizm Ruby Lenses
Black with Prizm Polar Black Lenses
Shiny Brown with Prizm Polar Deep-Water Lenses
Black with Transitions Amethyst Lenses
- Clear with Transitions Grey Lenses
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Initial markets for the launch include the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. Meta and Oakley plan to expand availability to Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates later in 2025.
To highlight their performance focus, the glasses are set to debut at major sporting events like Fanatics Fest and UFC International Fight Week. The global launch campaign features elite athletes from Team Oakley, including soccer star Kylian Mbappé and NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, alongside others like J.R. Smith, Boo Johnson, and Gabriel Medina, showcasing the glasses in action across diverse sports.
The Oakley Meta HSTN glasses represent Meta’s strategic effort to scale its smart eyewear offering, combining popular brand design with advanced AI capabilities to carve out a leading position in the evolving market for AI-powered wearables.
