Meta is targeting the performance sports market with its latest AI wearables, launching a new line of smart glasses in a major partnership with eyewear giant Oakley. The move extends Meta’s ambitions beyond the fashion-conscious audience of its successful Ray-Ban collaboration, positioning the new Oakley Meta HSTN line as a direct challenger to action-camera mainstays like GoPro.
The new glasses integrate Meta AI into Oakley’s sport-centric frames, offering athletes hands-free convenience for everything from listening to music to capturing video. Featuring significant hardware upgrades, the Oakley Meta HSTN boasts a camera capable of shooting in 3K resolution, a notable improvement over the 1080p video of its Ray-Ban predecessors. The device also promises up to eight hours of battery life and an IPX4 water-resistance rating, tailored for use in demanding athletic conditions.
This expansion is a critical component of Meta’s broader strategy to establish AI-powered glasses as the next major computing platform. A limited-edition model will be available for preorder on July 11 for $499, with the rest of the collection starting at $399 later in the summer. The launch signals Meta’s intent to dominate the nascent smart glasses category by embedding its technology into iconic, trusted brands, as detailed in the company’s official announcement.
Built for the Field: Hardware Gets a Sporting Chance
The Oakley partnership represents a calculated pivot from style to substance. Where the Ray-Ban models focused on aesthetics, the Oakley line is explicitly engineered for performance. The glasses are based on Oakley’s popular “HSTN” frame style and are constructed from a lightweight BiO-Matter material derived from plant-based sources. For enhanced stability during activity, they feature Unobtainium nose pads, a specialized synthetic compound that increases its grip when exposed to moisture.
These sport-specific design choices are paired with significant technological enhancements. Beyond the 3K video camera, the glasses can be fitted with Oakley’s proprietary PRIZM Lens technology, which is engineered to enhance color and contrast in various light conditions, helping athletes see more detail and react faster. The integration of Meta AI allows for hands-free control, enabling users to start a recording with a simple voice command like, “Hey Meta, take a video.”
Rocco Basilico, Chief Wearables Officer at EssilorLuxottica, described the initiative as part of a “broader multi-brand, multi-technology strategy” aimed at building a connected eyewear category that spans multiple lifestyles and use cases. This vision reflects a deep investment in making the technology both powerful and practical for a new demographic of users.
A High-Stakes Play in a Crowding Market
Meta’s expansion comes as the smart glasses market is rapidly maturing. According to a market analysis from Counterpoint Research, the industry is bracing for a “war of hundreds of smart glasses” in 2025, with major tech players like Xiaomi and Samsung expected to enter the fray. Meta’s strategy appears to be one of early market capture through its partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of both Ray-Ban and Oakley.
The strong performance of the first-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which according to EssilorLuxottica have sold millions of units since launch, indicates a healthy consumer appetite. Building on this momentum, EssilorLuxottica’s CEO recently stated a goal of producing ten million smart glasses annually by the end of 2026. Meta’s head of wearables, Alex Himel, confirmed the strategic direction, stating, “This is our first step into the performance category. There’s more to come.”
However, as the market grows, so does the competition. Some rivals are differentiating themselves by tackling the industry’s biggest vulnerability head-on: privacy. Solos launched AI smart glasses with a modular, removable camera, a design choice its co-founder said was intended to give consumers more control over their experience with AI and privacy.
The Unblinking Eye: Privacy in the Crosshairs
As the capabilities of smart glasses grow, so do the profound ethical and privacy challenges. The core tension between utility and surveillance remains the industry’s greatest hurdle, and Meta’s latest product launch brings these issues back into sharp focus. Concerns were previously stoked by reports that Meta had explored integrating facial recognition into future devices, a possibility that continues to revive concerns over surveillance.
Recent developments have further alarmed privacy advocates. In April 2025, Meta updated its privacy policy, removing the option for users to prevent their voice command data from being stored, as reported by Laptop Mag. This means user queries are saved to Meta’s servers, raising questions about data use and security.
This normalization of wearable surveillance technology could have far-reaching consequences, blurring the line between public and private spaces and posing unique dangers. In an age of deepfakes, the proliferation of surveillance is concerning, and leaving an urgent need for new privacy laws.
Ultimately, the success of the Meta-Oakley venture will depend on a delicate balance. The company must prove it can deliver powerful, intuitive AI assistance in a high-performance package while convincing a wary public to embrace a technology that sees everything they do. The challenge lies not just in technological innovation, but in building a foundation of trust that is as durable as the frames themselves.
