I spent a weekend with Meta’s new Oakley smart glasses – they beat my Ray-Bans in every way

jul / 2025

The Meta Ray-Bans have been a hit since their launch, with shoppers (like me) drawn to their common type issue full of mics, cameras, audio system, and AI. Now, Meta is catering to a extra athletic viewers with its new Meta Oakley sensible glasses — and with them, it has upped the ante throughout practically each spec. 

As a glasses wearer, photograph fanatic, and AI reporter, it was an absolute no-brainer for me to buy the Meta Ray-Bans. After months of making an attempt them, I used to be principally impressed. My greatest qualm was the battery life, which solely lasted 4 hours. 

So, when Meta introduced the Oakley model would have eight hours of battery life, I used to be instantly intrigued. I spent the previous weekend with the Meta Oakley HSTN Restricted Version, they usually exceeded my expectations. 

At the start: extra energy 

There are a lot of sensible causes an athlete would wish to put on sensible glasses, together with hands-free entry to music, messages, AI help, a digicam, and video. Nonetheless, which means the glasses should be snug, sturdy, and have a battery that lasts the length of your exercise.

Meta executed on all of those fronts with Meta Oakley HSTN Restricted Version glasses, packing an eight-hour battery life from a single cost (up from 4 on the Meta Ray-Bans) and as much as 48 hours with the absolutely charged carrying case, based on Meta. 

To accommodate out of doors actions in all terrains, the glasses have an IPX4 water resistance score, a step-up in sturdiness from the Ray-Bans. The video high quality can also be greater, capturing 3K video, up from 1080p on the Meta Ray-Bans. 

However these glasses additionally maintain the entire options that made the Meta Ray-Bans so nice, reminiscent of a 12 MP ultrawide digicam, digicam sensors embedded alongside the aspect of the eyewear (nice for recording POV pictures throughout your exercise), two open-ear Bluetooth audio system, and a customized five-mic array. 

Throughout my stroll, I listened to Justin Bieber’s new album and was extraordinarily glad with the audio, a lot in order that I used to be content material with my resolution to forgo my standard open-ear headphones, the Shockz OpenFit. 

I used to be additionally capable of ship audio messages, which is my most popular mode of communication, with no concern. I even bought the suggestions, “your audio sounds nice, really,” after I apologized upfront for any splotchiness that will ensue from speaking into my glasses. 

I additionally examined the photograph and video capabilities by snapping pictures throughout my stroll. I’ve all the time been amazed at how properly it takes photographs, even if you find yourself in movement, with the ultimate end result being secure, good-quality pictures. Probably the most spectacular half, nonetheless, was the improved video high quality, which was evident as quickly as I considered the video after getting dwelling. You may distinctly hear the sound of my ft hitting the pavement as I did my gentle jog, and the standard and POV make it really feel such as you have been taken alongside the trail of my jog. 

This performance is especially essential as a result of in case you are out there for these glasses to doc your train, on the worth level, which is double that of a standard GoPro, it’s crucial that the standard of the pictures be as excessive as doable. 

Elevated consolation

Regardless of the extra rugged design and the higher elements underneath the hood, I discovered the glasses to be extra snug than the Meta Ray-Bans. In response to the specs posted on the Meta web site, each glasses are the identical actual weight at 49 grams. Nonetheless, the Oakley pair sits a lot extra comfortably on the bridge of my nostril that they virtually really feel lighter. 

Utilizing the smartglasses hands-free is simply as simple with both voice or touchpad instructions, relying on which you like. Earlier than my outing, I synced the glasses to Apple Music and my messages, so I did not have to have a look at my cellphone in any respect. Fairly, I bought a voice notification each time I acquired a textual content, and did easy motions on the touchpad, reminiscent of swiping ahead to manage quantity or tapping to pause a track.  

Utilizing Meta AI was simply as easy, with a easy command of “Hey Meta” unlocking a multimodal AI assistant that may see what you see, present audio help, and even carry out different extra superior duties reminiscent of AI language translation. 

The Oakley pair’s case is a bit bulkier and fewer glossy than that of the Ray-Bans. That stated, it was seemingly a purposeful design, as you most likely need one thing extra heavy-duty when on a run, bike trip, hike, and so forth. The Meta Oakley charging case holds 48 hours of cost versus the 32 hours on the Ray-Bans. 

There’s additionally the added comfort of getting high-quality sun shades catered to athletes. The sensible glasses have Prizm 24K Polarized lenses, which not solely shield towards the beaming solar rays outside but additionally let you see components you could have in any other case missed. 

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The audiences for the Meta Ray-Bans and the Meta Oakleys are a bit completely different. In case you are an outside fanatic who’s trying to doc a few of your adventures and have easy accessibility to your cellphone, music, and an AI assistant, the added specs and design make the $499 funding within the Meta Oakley HSTN Restricted Version glasses value it. 

In case you are simply on the lookout for sensible glasses you need to use often, with out a specific want for prolonged battery life or capturing high-quality video, chances are you’ll wish to both persist with the Meta Ray-Bans, which begin at $240, or wait till extra fashions are made out there later this summer time on the lower cost level of $399.

You may sustain with my newest tales and tech adventures on social media. Observe me on Twitter/X at @sabrinaa_ortiz and on Instagram at @sabrinaa.ortiz.