Increasing investment in wearable hardware! Meta launches new Oakley smart glasses within three months

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, at the Connect Conference 2025 held on Wednesday, Meta (META.US) officially launched the new Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses, primarily aimed at sports enthusiasts engaged in running, cycling, and other activities. The retail price of these glasses is $499, and they will be officially released on October 21.

It is understood that Meta Connect is the annual flagship conference of this social networking giant, traditionally serving as a platform for the debut of new smart glasses and VR headsets.

Unlike the earlier Meta smart glasses and the Oakley Meta HSTN model, which placed dual cameras at the top corners of the frame, the new model features an integrated large front lens that supports video recording at a maximum resolution of 3K and is equipped with a 12-megapixel camera with a 122-degree wide angle.

The Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses have programmable buttons, allowing users to customize AI command-triggering functions through the Meta AI app. Meta emphasizes that all buttons are located beneath the temples to ensure comfortable operation for athletes wearing helmets.

In terms of battery life, the Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses can last up to 9 hours on a single charge, with a continuous music playback time of 6 hours. The included charging case provides an additional 36 hours of battery life and supports a 20-minute fast charge to 50% battery for emergency power.

In terms of audio performance, these glasses feature an open speaker design, with a volume increase of 6 decibels compared to the Oakley Meta HSTN, making them the loudest among Meta's smart glasses products. Additionally, the glasses are equipped with a five-microphone array that effectively reduces wind noise interference during calls, messaging, or voice commands to Meta AI.

Regarding protection performance, these glasses achieve an IP67 dust and water resistance rating, making them the highest-rated smart glasses from Meta in terms of protection, suitable for high-intensity training. The frame features a wrap-around design that integrates Oakley PRIZMTM lens technology, effectively blocking sunlight and wind and sand interference.

In sports scenarios, these glasses also support interaction with Garmin (GRMN.US) smartwatches—users can directly check real-time data such as heart rate and pace through the glasses while running or cycling. Furthermore, they can achieve deep integration with the sports social platform Strava—sports metrics can be overlaid in a visual format on videos and photos taken with the glasses and shared directly to the Strava community.

The Oakley Meta Vanguard smart glasses are available in four frame and lens color combinations, with initial markets including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Meta plans to launch these glasses in markets such as Mexico, India, Brazil, and the UAE later this year.

It is worth mentioning that this release comes just three months after Meta launched the Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses. At that time, Meta stated that the Oakley Meta HSTN was its "first product aimed at both athletes and sports enthusiasts." In addition to the new Oakley series products, Meta also launched two models of Ray-Ban smart glasses at Wednesday's conference: one with a built-in display that supports applications, photos, and navigation information, and is paired with a wristband for control; the other is the Ray-Ban Meta 2, which has doubled the battery life compared to its predecessor and supports 3K ultra HD video recording