GoPro Needs to Be Concerned About Meta's Latest 'Performance' Smart Glasses

Meta’s next generation of smart glasses is here, but it’s not Ray-Ban doing the heavy lifting on design. This go-around, it’s Oakley at the center, which may seem like a strange choice at first but makes more sense once you unpack how Meta is positioning its first new pair of smart glasses since its original Ray-Ban collab. In Meta’s words, these things are all about “performance.”

What does that mean, exactly? Sports, mostly. This pair focuses primarily on athletes who want to capture footage from the field, or mountain, or wherever you might be wearing a pair of Oakley glasses and not look like a total rube. And given that positioning, Meta’s new glasses, which are called HSTN and pronounced “HOW-stuhn,” unfortunately, will come with a few major upgrades over their Ray-Ban forebear. One big upgrade will be the camera, which will be higher resolution and capable of capturing video in 3K. Perfect for an action sports scenario where you’d want crisper, sharper video.

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Meta’s Oakley glasses will also have a longer battery life. According to Meta, the HSTN glasses will last up to eight hours with “typical use” and up to 19 hours if the glasses are on standby. The company also says the glasses can charge from 0% to 50% in 20 minutes. For context, Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses last about four hours with “moderate use.” I can corroborate that battery life estimate, having worn Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses as my main pair of sunglasses for the better part of a year, though sometimes I feel like I get a little less. Having a longer-life battery also makes sense from a “performance” sports-oriented perspective since you probably don’t want to be charging these things up when you’re hanging off the side of a mountain covered in fresh powder.

And, of course, Meta’s glasses wouldn’t be complete without some AI. Just like Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, Meta’s Oakley glasses will come loaded with Meta AI. Meta suggests asking Meta AI stuff like “How strong is the wind today?” while golfing or triggering the video function hands-free by saying, “Hey Meta, take a video.” Again, having used Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses extensively, my success with Meta AI has varied wildly. Meta’s voice assistant is mostly fine for simple stuff like “take a picture” and “record a video,” but I’ve had very mixed results with more complex vision-based tasks like “What kind of car is that?” or even sometimes asking for weather and triggering specific songs on Spotify. What I’m saying is, take Meta’s examples here with a grain of salt.

If you’re really yearning for a pair of sports-oriented smart glasses and you’re okay with Oakley’s distinct style, then you’ll be able to pre-order HSTN fairly soon. According to Meta, the full collection will drop later this summer for $399 while a limited-edition pair in a special colorway (Desert 24K Prizm Polar) will be available for preorder starting July 11 for $499 USD. That’s a premium compared to the Ray-Ban glasses, which typically retail for $299, but at least you’re getting some extra battery and a nicer camera to go with it.