After months of rumors and speculation, they’ve finally lifted the curtain and shown us the Oakley Meta HSTN (pronounced “how-stuhn”, in case you were wondering). And heads up, because these glasses are coming in strong with improvements that are going to make the Ray-Ban Meta look a bit outdated.
Let’s see what they’ve got in store for us, because there’s more substance here than it seems. To start with, these glasses are designed specifically for athletes and sports fans. Finally someone has remembered those of us who like to move!
And here comes the good part: they have double the battery life of the Meta Ray-Bans. Double! We’re talking up to 8 hours of normal use and up to 19 hours on standby. And if you run out of battery, no problem, because in 20 minutes they’re charged to 50%. Mind-blowing!
Don’t tell me that isn’t awesome, but these glasses can record video in 3K. Three thousand! While the Ray-Bans stay at 1080p. Basically, the difference is abysmal. With that quality, the videos you record are going to look cinematic.
And of course, as you’d expect, they come with all the Meta AI fanfare built in. You can ask it things like “Hey Meta, how strong is the wind today?” or “Hey Meta, take a video”. It’s like having a personal assistant in your glasses!
This promises a lot, because the prices are quite reasonable for what they offer. The limited edition with gold accents costs $499 and will be available for pre-order on July 11. But if gold isn’t your thing, the rest of the collection will start at $399 and will arrive later this summer.
To me, $399 for smart glasses with these features seems pretty good. Especially when we compare them to other options on the market that cost twice as much and do half as much.
And here comes what I like most: these glasses aren’t just for recording cool videos. You can also use them to listen to music (with open-ear speakers, which is super comfortable), make and receive calls, and of course, interact with Meta AI.
And you know what the coolest thing is? You can ask the AI about what you’re looking at. So, if you’re in a museum and you see a work of art, you can ask it what it is and it explains it to you. Or if you’re abroad, it can translate what you’re reading!
To me it seems like Meta is doing things right with these glasses. After the relative success of the Ray-Ban Meta, it was logical that they’d want to expand the range. And choosing Oakley for the sports segment seems like a very well thought-out decision to me.
Because let’s be honest: the Ray-Bans are great for everyday use, but if you’re going to do sports or outdoor activities, you need something more durable and functional. And Oakley knows a thing or two about that.
This is the good kind of technology, because it shows that smart glasses aren’t just a geek’s whim. They’re starting to become real products for real people with real needs.
And I ask myself: will this be the year smart glasses really become popular? Because with improvements like these (better battery, better video, better AI), they’re getting closer and closer to being something anyone would want to have.
Don’t tell me it isn’t amazing how this market is evolving. We have Apple working on its own glasses (although those lean more toward augmented reality), Google with its experiments, and now Meta expanding its range with Oakley.
The truth is I love that there’s competition, because in the end, the ones who win are us, the users. Each company tries to outdo the other and the result is better and cheaper products.
I think that in a couple of years we’re going to see smart glasses everywhere. And not just for athletes or early adopters, but for everyone. Because when something is useful, comfortable and reasonably priced, people adopt it.
Did you know smart glasses were going to evolve so fast? Because I certainly didn’t expect that in such a short time we’d go from weird experiments to products you actually want to buy.
And here comes what I like most about all this: technology is ceasing to be something for geeks and becoming something for everyone. These glasses aren’t a weird gadget, they’re a useful tool that can improve your day-to-day life.
Whether it’s to record your sporting adventures, to have information at your fingertips, or simply to listen to music wirelessly, these glasses make sense. And that’s what makes a technology succeed: that it makes sense.
A digital hug to everyone! And stay tuned, because something tells me this summer we’re going to see a lot of Oakley Meta glasses around. What do you think? Would you give smart glasses a try? Tell me in the comments!
