Meta’s previous AI-enabled smartglasses, partnering with both Ray-ban and Oakley, were slick, tech-savvy frames that put hands-free audio, artificial intelligence assistance, and camera controls right onto your head. They’re great (and the newly-announced generation of the Meta Ray-bans are better than ever) — but they’re designed for everyday use. Sure, they’ll be ok in a spot of rain. But what if you’re hitting the slopes? Hitting the surf? Hitting the turf, even, as you hurtle over the handlebars of your mountain bike?
Enter the all-new Oakley Vanguard glasses, made in collaboration with Meta AI. Designed for sports of the more ‘gnarly’ persuasion in mind, they’re so well suited for the extreme sports fanatic that it’s hard to imagine seeing anything but these shades on the slopes next season. We’ve been hands-on, eyes-in with the new shades, and came away very impressed.
The Oakley Vanguards look pretty much like any regular pair of Oakley’s, with that signature wrap-around style and boldly-coloured lens design. You’d be hard-pressed to notice the centrally-mounted camera lens or next-to-ear speakers here at first glance. The glasses are comfortable and well balanced on your face, with swappable nose clips ensuring a snug fit whatever your sniffler shape.
A smart style for the slopes
Like previous Meta AI smartglasses, they’re packed with smart hands-free control features, too. Though there’s a touch-sensitive panel on the frame arm and a camera shutter button, you can use the voice activation trigger term ‘Hey Meta’ to control basically everything the Vanguards are capable of. Whether that’s placing a call, starting a playlist or asking the Llama AI agent for detailed information on every conceivable topic, that hands-free functionality is particularly needed in extreme sports scenarios, where your hands and fingers might not be readily available, or covered in obstructive protective gloves.
But the Oakley Vanguard glasses are tailored to sporting experiences way beyond simply offering hands-free controls. Compared to the Meta Ray-bans, their onboard speakers are dramatically louder and clearer, with improved bass response - another important consideration in noisy sporting environments.
That central 3K camera unit is also not only centrally placed — better positioned for capturing in-the-moment sporting action, but also offers a wider 122-degree field of view, too. That’ll give you a better sense of your surroundings when capturing videos of high-impact action and, for cyclists, means you’ll be able to capture handlebars and front wheels without having to dangerously peer down towards them. No more disembodied bike vids. Image stabilisation can be toggled at up to three intensity settings — so if you need super smooth footage of your downhill run, or want to add a sense of danger with some camera shake, you’re covered. 30fps and 60fps shooting modes are included. Throw in slo-mo and fast-forward hyperlapse video capture, and you’ve got all the tools you need to brag about your adventure.
Great with Garmin
The sporting functions don’t stop there. If you pair the glasses with a Garmin smartwatch, you unlock a whole bunch of additional features. You can set videos to automatically record when certain metrics are achieved — for instance at a certain speed hit or peak heart-rate — letting you focus on your performance while the glasses capture the memory for you. These videos can also be set to overlay key performance metrics over your videos without any additional editing needed on your part, so you’ve got a record of the exact moment you beat that personal best.
With sports eyewear there’s always a degree of acceptance that you’re probably going to scratch or chip your lenses at some point, and so Oakley makes provision for this in the Vanguard by letting you replace the lenses if needed. Just note that if you go for a different lens colour or style than what your original pair shipped with, they won’t match the wrap-around side-panelling that extends to the arm of the frames. But the Vanguards are well protected against the elements regardless, with an IP67 rating meaning they’ll survive a dunking in water or exposure to fine dust and desert sand.
As for battery life, this is the most Meta’s ever managed to squeeze out of a pair of its smart glasses — you’ll get 9 hours of connected use out of the frames themselves per charge, and an additional 36 hours in the accompanying charging case.
The Oakley Vanguard smartglasses go onsale from October 21st, priced at £499 ($499), just in time for winter sports season.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
-
5 things you need to know about the Meta Ray-Ban Display glassesYou can be a Kingsman too
-
Hands-on: Next-gen Meta Ray-ban AI smartglasses offer same slick style, better battery and cameraBattery and camera improvements make the best smartglasses on the market better than ever.
-
Arcade2TV-XR review: Meta Quest controller brings the arcade to your living room in VRMeta Quest compatible kit lets you create your own virtual arcade, no change machine required.
-
You can now stream Spotify in VR with Meta headsetsPlay that funky music
