On June 20, 2025, Meta officially unveiled its latest innovation in wearable technology: the Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses. This new line, born from a multi-year partnership with Italian eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica, marks a significant expansion of Meta's smart glasses portfolio beyond its well-known Ray-Ban collaboration. Designed with athletes and fans in mind, the Oakley Meta HSTN promises to blend high-performance features with stylish design, making it a standout in the increasingly competitive smart eyewear market.
The Oakley Meta HSTN glasses, pronounced "HOW-stuhn," will be available for preorder starting July 11, 2025, with a limited-edition model featuring gold-colored accents retailing at $499. The broader collection, starting at $399, is set to launch later this summer. The glasses come in six distinct frame and lens color combinations, including warm grey with ruby lenses, black with polar black lenses, brown smoke with polar deep water lenses, black with amethyst lenses, clear with grey lenses, and black with clear lenses. Notably, all models are compatible with prescription lenses for an additional cost, catering to a wide range of users.
One of the defining features of the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses is their enhanced battery life. They offer up to eight hours of typical use and an impressive 19 hours on standby. Users can recharge the glasses to 50% capacity in just 20 minutes, and the included charging case provides up to 48 hours of additional power, ensuring the device can keep up with active lifestyles. This is a marked improvement over the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, which have a shorter battery lifespan.
In terms of camera capabilities, the Oakley Meta HSTN boasts an Ultra HD 3K front-facing camera, enabling users to capture high-quality photos and videos on the go. This upgrade is a significant leap from previous iterations, offering crisp, clear imagery suitable for both casual use and athletic recording. The glasses also feature open-ear speakers and built-in microphones, allowing for hands-free calls and audio playback without compromising situational awareness—a crucial aspect for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts.
Integral to the Oakley Meta HSTN is Meta's AI assistant, which users can engage via voice commands. The assistant can answer a wide range of questions, such as weather updates, and can even translate languages in real-time. For example, users might ask, “Hey Meta, how strong is the wind today?” or instruct, “Hey Meta, take a video.” This AI integration enhances the glasses’ utility, turning them into a smart companion that supports both everyday tasks and athletic performance.
The glasses also incorporate Oakley's proprietary PRIZM Lens technology, designed to optimize vision across changing light and weather conditions. This technology helps athletes see more clearly and perform at their peak by enhancing contrast and visibility, a feature that underscores the product's athletic focus. Additionally, the glasses carry an IPX4 water resistance rating, protecting them against splashes and light rain, which further suits them for outdoor activities.
Meta's collaboration with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of both Oakley and Ray-Ban, has already seen success. The Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses have sold over two million units to date, according to EssilorLuxottica’s fiscal year 2024 financial results. The Oakley Meta HSTN represents the next chapter in this partnership, signaling Meta's commitment to expanding its footprint in smart eyewear and wearable AI technology.
To promote the Oakley Meta HSTN, Meta launched a high-profile video campaign featuring prominent athletes such as NBA star Stephen Curry and soccer icon Kylian Mbappé, alongside surfers and skateboarders. In the campaign, Curry boldly declares, “This is gonna change everything,” reflecting the company’s vision of smart glasses as a transformative technology. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has been a vocal advocate for smart glasses, predicting that they could one day replace mobile phones as the primary personal computing device.
Meta is not alone in this race. Tech giants Samsung and Google are developing their own smart glasses, with Google showcasing prototype Android XR glasses featuring small augmented reality displays aiming for commercial release in 2026. Apple is also rumored to be working on smart glasses, while Snap recently announced plans to launch its sixth-generation augmented reality glasses next year. In May 2025, Alphabet (Google's parent company) announced a $150 million partnership with Warby Parker to develop smart glasses powered by Google's Gemini AI assistant, highlighting the growing competition in this space.
Meta is reportedly working on a version of its Ray-Ban glasses that will include a small display, expected to hit the market later this year, further demonstrating the company's aggressive push to innovate in wearable technology. The Oakley Meta HSTN glasses, with their blend of athletic focus, AI integration, and stylish design, position Meta strongly as smart glasses evolve from niche gadgets to mainstream tech accessories.
Available initially in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark, Meta plans to expand availability to Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates later in 2025. This broad rollout underscores Meta’s ambition to capture a global market eager for next-generation wearable technology.
As smart glasses move toward becoming a daily accessory, Meta’s Oakley Meta HSTN offers a compelling package for athletes and tech enthusiasts alike. With enhanced battery life, superior camera capabilities, AI-powered assistance, and advanced lens technology, these glasses not only promise to enhance athletic performance but also hint at a future where wearable AI devices seamlessly integrate into our lives.
