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Oakley Meta Vanguard

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Oakley Meta Vanguard is a pair of wraparound AI glasses for high-intensity sports, made by Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica under the Oakley brand. Priced at $499, it was introduced by Mark Zuckerberg at Meta Connect on 17 September 2025 and reached stores on 21 October 2025 [1][2]. Its 12-megapixel camera sits in the middle of the frame, just above the bridge of the nose, and has a 122-degree wide-angle lens [1][3]. The glasses are rated IP67 for dust and water, have open-ear speakers that Meta says are 6 dB louder than those of the Oakley Meta HSTN and a battery rated for nine hours of typical use, and have no display [1][2]. Through the Meta AI app they connect to Garmin watches and bike computers and to Strava, features Meta markets as "Athletic Intelligence" [1].

The Vanguard is the second and more specialized model in the Oakley Meta family, and unlike the HSTN it cannot take prescription lenses [4][3]. Software updates have since added Garmin workout creation by voice, single-word voice shortcuts, snow-sports tracking and Meta's Muse Spark model [5], and in 2026 Oakley added colorways including the debut of its PRIZM Transitions lenses [6]. The standard versions still cost $499 in the US on 15 October 2026 [4].

Development and announcement

Zuckerberg announced the Vanguard on 17 September 2025 in his Connect keynote, which also introduced Meta Ray-Ban Display and Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) [7]. Meta called it "a brand-new line" of Performance AI glasses for high-intensity sports and said they were its "most water-resistant frames" [1]; the Brazilian edition of the announcement said Meta had worked with Oakley for years to build the product from scratch for such sports [8]. UploadVR described the frame as using Oakley's Sphaera design [2]. Meta took orders on Meta.com and Oakley.com from the day of the keynote, and UploadVR reported the glasses shipping and on sale in stores on 21 October [1][2].

Design and frame styles

Meta says the wraparound PRIZM shield lens is designed to block sun, wind and dust [1]. Fit comes from Oakley's Three-Point Fit design and three swappable nose pads, among them low- and high-bridge versions, and Meta says the design accommodates cycling helmets and hats [1]. The frame measures 136 mm hinge to hinge, with a 59 mm lens height and 120 mm temples, and weighs 66 g; the charging case weighs 258 g [4]. UploadVR noted that this is almost 30% heavier than Ray-Ban Meta but found the weight better distributed [2].

The capture button and, behind it, an action button are on the underside of the frame rather than on top [3]. Meta says the placement lets athletes wear helmets comfortably [7]. The action button can be assigned in the Meta AI app to a custom Meta AI prompt or another shortcut, and Engadget's reviewer used it for a speed-dial call, a hyperlapse recording and a Spotify playlist [7][3]. Volume and playback are on a touchpad on the right arm [3]. A recording light is mounted directly over the camera at the middle of the frame, and a second, small LED next to the right eye flashes when the assistant is listening and can show whether the wearer is on target in a pace or heart-rate workout [3][9].

The lenses are interchangeable. Meta priced spare lenses at $85 and said a PRIZM Low Light option was coming, but there is no prescription version [8][3][4]. On 31 March 2026 Oakley announced three more frame and lens combinations: two available at once, and a Black frame with PRIZM Transitions Ember lenses due on 30 June [6]. It also listed accessory lenses including PRIZM Dark Golf, PRIZM Rose Gold and several PRIZM Transitions tints [6].

FrameLensIntroducedMeta US store price, 15 October 2026
BlackPRIZM 24K21 October 2025 [7]$499 [4]
WhitePRIZM Black21 October 2025 [7]$499 [4]
BlackPRIZM Road21 October 2025 [7]$499 [4]
WhitePRIZM Sapphire21 October 2025 [7]$499 [4]
BlackPRIZM Black31 March 2026 [6]$499 [4]
WhitePRIZM Rose Gold31 March 2026 [6]$499 [4]
BlackPRIZM Transitions EmberDue 30 June 2026 [6]$579 [4]
BlackClear, listed as Z87+ certifiedListed by October 2026 [4]$499 [4]

Expanded article table

Hardware

Qualcomm lists the Vanguard as using its Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 platform [10]. The centered camera's 122-degree field of view compares with 100 degrees on the HSTN, Ray-Ban Meta and Meta Ray-Ban Display [2]. It records 3K at 30 fps and 1080p at 30 or 60 fps [4], slow motion at 720p and 120 fps for up to a minute, and hyperlapse for up to 30 minutes [2]. Electronic stabilization is set automatically by default, or manually to low, medium or high, and is fixed at medium when recording in 3K [3].

The two open-ear speakers adjust their volume to the surroundings, and Meta says they remain audible in winds of up to 30 mph [11][4]. Meta says the five-microphone array, with two mics in the frame and three around the nose, was designed to cut wind noise during calls, messages and spoken Meta AI requests [1][4]. Meta's store page gives up to six hours of continuous audio playback or nine hours of typical use per charge [4]. The case holds another 36 hours and can bring the glasses to 50% in 20 minutes, and Meta says battery performance is optimized for a wide range of temperatures [1][11]. Meta's fine print says these figures come from pre-production hardware running a mixed-use script [4][12]. The Guardian reported that the battery keeps at least 80% of its capacity after 500 cycles but cannot be replaced, and that the glasses are not repairable [9]. Meta says the IP67 rating covers dust and immersion in water to 1 meter for 30 minutes [11].

VR & AR Wiki's Oakley Meta Vanguard article lists the full hardware specifications.

SpecificationOakley Meta Vanguard
ProcessorQualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 [10]
CameraCentered 12 MP ultra-wide, 122-degree field of view; 3,024 x 4,032 photos [4]
Video3K at 30 fps; 1080p at 30 or 60 fps; slow motion, hyperlapse [4]
AudioTwo open-ear speakers, 6 dB louder than HSTN; five microphones [4]
Storage32 GB, over 1,000 photos or over 100 30-second videos [4]
ConnectivityWi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3; iOS 15.2 or Android 10 and later [4]
ControlsCapture and action buttons under the frame, touchpad, voice [11][3]
BatteryUp to 9 h typical use, 6 h audio; full charge in 75 min [4]
Charging case36 h extra; 50% in 20 min [1]
Water and dustIP67 [1]
Weight66 g; case 258 g [4]
Prescription lensesNot available [4]

Expanded article table

Meta AI and sports features

The assistant

Apart from its sports features, the Vanguard works like Ray-Ban Meta and the HSTN: it takes photos and video hands-free, plays music and podcasts, handles calls and first-person video calls on WhatsApp and Messenger, translates speech, scans QR codes and lets Meta AI respond to questions about whatever the camera is pointed at, a use of computer vision [2]. Samuel Gibbs of The Guardian used it to identify plants, translate text and convert paces between metric and imperial mid-run, but found it less capable than Google's Gemini on a phone [9]. Music, volume and basic camera commands work with any Bluetooth device, such as a running watch, while the AI features need a phone running the Meta AI app [9]. Visual questions go to Meta's servers: road.cc's reviewer noted that asking "What am I looking at?" takes a picture "to beam to Meta's servers for a best guess" [13].

UploadVR reported on 9 June 2026 that Muse Spark, the first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, would replace Llama 4 as the model behind Meta AI on all Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses except Meta Ray-Ban Display [14]. Meta began rolling Muse Spark out to Oakley Meta glasses in the US and Canada on 12 May 2026, and the v26 release notes of 29 June call it "Next-gen Meta AI on your glasses delivering smarter answers, with enhanced visual perception" [15][5]. At its Connect 2026 keynote on 23 September 2026, Meta said its Muse personal agent would come to its glasses "in the coming months" [16]; EssilorLuxottica said Muse would reach all of the companies' AI glasses, in the US only, and listed guided workouts and nutrition features among coming additions [17].

Other assistant features arrived through updates. Software v22 (3 February 2026) added detailed responses, richer visual descriptions for accessibility, to Live AI sessions on the Vanguard in the US and Canada; v25 (14 May 2026) brought general-purpose autocapture in Early Access in the same countries; and v26 added 14 live translation languages [5]. Meta's December 2025 and February 2026 announcements of conversation focus, which amplifies the voice of the person in front of the wearer, named Ray-Ban Meta and the HSTN but not the Vanguard, and its later notes do not name models [18][5].

Garmin, Strava and fitness apps

Garmin's announcement of 17 September 2025 described a Meta AI app in its Connect IQ store. With it, a wearer can ask for pace, speed or heart rate, set the glasses' status LED to track pace, heart rate or power zones, and have the glasses capture video automatically at performance milestones, with a highlight video assembled afterwards; activity summaries were initially available only in the US [19]. Meta's own examples were "Hey Meta, what's my heartrate?" and "Hey Meta, how am I doing?" [1]. Ray Maker of DC Rainmaker reported that Garmin's Meta AI app runs on most of the company's watches and cycling computers announced since about January 2022. He added that Meta's phone app was the first allowed to install a Connect IQ app on a Garmin device by itself, a capability Garmin planned to open to other partners in the first quarter of 2026 [12].

Strava's part is narrower. After an activity is saved, the wearer can pick photos or clips from it in the Meta AI app, lay Strava figures such as distance, elevation gain and average pace over them, and post the result to Strava; Meta says the same overlaid clips can also go to Instagram, Facebook or WhatsApp [20][1]. Linking Garmin Connect, Apple Health or Health Connect by Android adds a summary to the app after each workout [1], but The Guardian found that people without a Garmin get neither autocapture nor stats during a run [9].

Meta's v21 notes of 16 December 2025 list these integrations as "Athlete Intelligence" [5]. The same update let wearers with a compatible Garmin device create workouts by voice, for example "Create a 1 hour bike ride targeting 20 miles per hour", a feature Meta also offered on Ray-Ban Meta and the HSTN [5][18]. It also added Voice Shortcuts for the Vanguard: once switched on, single words such as "photo", "video" and "music" work without "Hey Meta", and more commands become available with a paired Garmin watch [18]. Later updates added snow-sports tracking with Garmin (v23) and workout stats during WhatsApp group voice chats (v26) [5], and on 1 July 2026 Meta began rolling out 18Birdies and Arccos golf integrations in the US and Canada [21].

Availability and pricing

MarketDateStarting price
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States21 October 2025$499 (£499, EUR 549, A$789) [1][9]
Brazil31 October 2025 in São Paulo; other cities from 3 November 2025R$4,299 [8]
Mexico15 December 2025MXN 10,609 [22]
United Arab EmiratesOn sale by 19 December 2025 [23]AED 2,400 on Meta's UAE store, October 2026 [24]
India3 February 2026Rs 52,300 [25]
SingaporePreorders from 13 April 2026 [26]SGD 819 on Meta's Singapore store, October 2026 [27]
Japan21 May 2026JPY 96,580 including tax [28]
South Korea25 May 2026 [29]900,000 won at Musinsa's online store in June 2026 [30]
Malaysia20 October 2026RM2,589 [31]
Thailand20 October 202620,390 baht [32]

Expanded article table

Meta's Connect 2026 announcements on 23 September 2026 included no new Oakley model [33]. Meta said Oakley Meta would reach Turkey, Poland, Portugal, Israel, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia and the Philippines later in 2026 [33].

Reception

DC Rainmaker's Ray Maker (21 October 2025) wrote that "after more than a decade of trying smart glasses, we finally have one that doesn't suck" and ordered a pair with his own money, but called the 9-hour battery claim "pretty darn optimistic": heavy 3K shooting with autocapture lasted about 90 minutes, lighter use perhaps 4 to 5 hours. He found the "Hey Meta" wake word struggled above about 20 to 22 mph and that autocapture mostly took "a bunch of random pictures at non-exciting times" [12].

Karissa Bell of Engadget (30 October 2025) scored it 82 out of 100 and got a little over six hours of audio from a charge. She found hyperlapse clips jittery, liked being able to use the action button instead of saying "Hey Meta", and called the glasses "even more niche" than Meta's other models [3]. Samuel Gibbs of The Guardian (3 November 2025) called them "the best smart glasses for sport I've ever tested"; an hour-long run with music, Meta AI queries, 14 autocaptured clips and 13 minutes of manual video left 25% battery [9].

Others were cooler. Will Jones of Cyclingnews (20 November 2025) called the glasses "technically brilliant, but undeniably creepy" [34]. Scott Windsor of BikeRadar (21 January 2026) gave 3.5 out of 5, finding convenience the main appeal and objecting that the app opens on a feed of AI-generated content [35]. Jez Ash of road.cc (8 May 2026) gave 5 out of 10, citing "limited battery life, limited abilities and pretty intrusive requirements from Meta" [13].

Privacy and race rules

Meta's capture LED lights while the camera records, and the glasses ask the wearer to clear it if it is covered [11]. Jones's objection was that the centered camera is so subtle that "even with the recording halo around it, I am certain many people wouldn't know they are being recorded" [34]. Engadget reported on 31 July 2026 that a seller offered a clip-on cover for the Vanguard's LED, at $15 for ten, that made the recording light "completely imperceptible"; Meta said such products violate its policies and that it was exploring ways to detect them [36]. Meta had said earlier that month that an update would disable the camera if the LED was physically tampered with [37]. These questions are covered more broadly at smart glasses privacy.

Ironman's 2026 competition rules, in force from 2 March 2026, ban capturing images during a race with any device, glasses included [38]. In cycling, Cyclingnews reported that Willie Smit was disqualified after the first stage of the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai on 12 July 2026 for wearing the Vanguard. The rule applied was UCI regulation 1.3.006 bis, which allows image capture only from devices fitted to the bicycle unless a discipline's rules permit worn devices. Smit called it a double standard, since riders can film at the Tour de France with handheld cameras [39].

References

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  2. ^1 ^2 ^3 ^4 ^5 ^6 ^7 ^8Heaney, David. "Oakley Meta Vanguard Now Shipping & Available In Stores." UploadVR, 2025-10-21. uploadvr.com/oakley-meta-vanguard-out-now
  3. ^1 ^2 ^3 ^4 ^5 ^6 ^7 ^8 ^9 ^10Bell, Karissa. "Oakley Meta Vanguard review: Sporty to a fault." Engadget, 2025-10-30. engadget.com/...review-sporty-to-a-fault-183000829
  4. ^1 ^2 ^3 ^4 ^5 ^6 ^7 ^8 ^9 ^10 ^11 ^12 ^13 ^14 ^15 ^16 ^17 ^18 ^19 ^20 ^21 ^22 ^23 ^24 ^25 ^26"Oakley Meta Vanguard" product, specification and variant pages. Meta Store (US), accessed 2026-10-15. meta.com/...oakley-meta-vanguard-glasses
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  6. ^1 ^2 ^3 ^4 ^5 ^6"Oakley Meta Vanguard Debuts Prizm Transitions in New Colorway Launch." Oakley Media Hub, 2026-03-31. oakley-media-hub.prezly.com/...akley-meta-vanguard
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  33. ^1 ^2"Introducing Ray-Ban Meta Audio and More AI Glasses Styles." Meta Newsroom, 2026-09-23. about.fb.com/...audio-glasses-new-styles-plus-muse
  34. ^1 ^2Jones, Will. "Oakley Meta Vanguard AI glasses review: Technically brilliant, but undeniably creepy." Cyclingnews, 2025-11-20. cyclingnews.com/...ey-left-me-feeling-like-a-creep
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Reviewer note: Checked against Meta's newsroom, store and release-note pages, Garmin, Strava and Oakley releases, and reviews and reports from Engadget, The Guardian, DC Rainmaker, UploadVR, Cyclingnews, BikeRadar and road.cc on 15 October 2026.

Cite this page: AI Wiki. "Oakley Meta Vanguard." aiwiki.ai, updated 15 Oct 2026, fact-checked 15 Oct 2026. CC BY 4.0. https://aiwiki.ai/wiki/oakley_meta_vanguard

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