Oakley Meta HSTN Glasses Have Double The Battery Life Of Ray-Bans & Capture 3K Video
The Oakley Meta HSTN glasses were just officially announced. They have double the battery life of Ray-Ban Meta and capture 3K video, up from 1080p.
Oakley Meta HSTN glasses are official, after months of rumors and a tease earlier this week.
Ray-Ban and Oakley are both owned by EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear giant with which Meta last year secured an agreement extending their partnership “into the next decade”.
The partnership has been a success so far, with EssilorLuxottica announcing in February that 2 million Ray-Ban Meta glasses had been sold, as it vowed to increase annual production capacity to 10 million units by the end of 2026. Now, it's expanding to Oakley's HSTN design.
Meta says the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses have 8 hours of battery life in typical use, compared to 4 hours for the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. They also capture 3K video, up from 1080p.
The included charging case also has a larger battery, delivering up to 8 recharges, compared to 6 for the Ray-Ban Meta case.
No Centered Camera?
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman was the first to report the existence of an Oakley smart glasses project at Meta.
His January report claimed that Oakley Meta glasses would have a camera in the center, instead of on a temple, but the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses do not.
Gurman now says that the centered camera model will be coming later this year, in a separate Oakley Meta Sphera glasses product.
Other than these improvements, Oakley Meta HSTN glasses function the same way as Ray-Ban Meta. They're screenless smart glasses with a camera, microphones, and speakers. You can use them to capture photos and videos, listen to music/podcasts/audiobooks, make and receive calls, share your first-person view on WhatsApp/Messenger/Instagram video calls, translate speech, scan QR codes, and query Meta AI, the company's LLM-based assistant that can see via the camera when you ask about something in view. It'll also read out some phone notifications, if you want.
Like the existing Ray-Ban Meta glasses, Oakley Meta HSTN glasses are IPX4 water resistant, meaning they repel splashing water, but aren't rated for water jets or submersion. And also like Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta HSTN feature an LED on the front that illuminates whenever the camera is in use, be it for capture or for Meta AI.
Oakley Meta HSTN glasses are not replacing Ray-Ban Meta, to be clear. They're a slightly higher-end option, aimed at athletes and smart glasses power users.
Oakley Meta HSTN glasses will be available "later this summer", starting at $400, in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark.
They'll also be coming to Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates later in the year.
The glasses will be offered in six regular frame and lens color combinations:
The sunglasses models use Oakley's PRIZM lens technology, which EssilorLuxottica says enhances colors and contrast.
Before the regular models hit the market, preorders for a limited-edition model with gold accents and gold 24K Polar lenses will open on July 11, priced at $500.
Meta says it's still "just getting started" with smart glasses, and Oakley says this is "just the first chapter of a new era for sports".
