3 hours ago
5
Oakley Meta Vanguard Smart Glasses
ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- The Oakley Meta Vanguards are the brand's latest fitness-centric astute glasses starting astatine $499.
- They enactment cross-platform fittingness tracking and slow-motion video recording.
- Don't bargain these if you were hoping for medicine support.
Follow ZDNET: Add america arsenic a preferred source on Google.
Most sports tin payment from hands-free assistance -- which makes athletes among the biggest beneficiaries from astute glasses. Catering to this crowd, astatine Meta Connect successful September, the institution released the latest summation to its sporty AI astute glasses lineup: the Oakley Meta Vanguard.
The biggest quality betwixt the Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses and their sibling, the Oakley Meta HSTN released backmost successful June, lies successful its aesthetic. With this pair, the institution leans into the signature Oakley Sphaera look, combining the precocious specs of the HSTNs with the acquainted visor design.
The caller signifier origin besides gave mode for the inclusion of a caller enactment button, a much centered camera for POV shots, and integrations with Garmin devices and Strava. However, it does travel astatine a steeper terms of $499. Is it worthy the splurge? Here are my thoughts aft a week of testing.
How bash they perform?
Before we delve into the distinctive look and amusive third-party integrations, we indispensable sermon the halfway of the astute glasses: performance.
For the astir part, the Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses clasp the aforesaid specs of the Oakley Meta HSTNs, including an IP67 standing (making them sweat, dust, and h2o resistant),12MP ultra-wide camera, 3K video recording, 2 open-ear speakers, and a five-mic array. However, subtle differences elevate the idiosyncratic acquisition connected the Vanguard.
For one, the camera is positioned astatine the halfway alternatively of the country of the lenses, which makes POV shots look little angled oregon excessively high. In the videos I recorded, I recovered it overmuch easier to get the positioning correct, arsenic it was signaling from the span of my chemoreceptor (which is successful the halfway of my view), arsenic opposed to the edges of the glasses. In summation to the modular video capturing mode, you tin besides grounds successful slow-motion and hyperlapse.
Also: These XR glasses gave maine a 200-inch OLED surface to enactment with
On the audio front, the 2 unfastened receptor speakers supply audio that's arsenic bully arsenic immoderate of the astute glasses successful Meta's lineup. I listened to euphony and audio messages passim my two-hour locomotion and was satisfied with the prime and dependable levels. I particularly enjoyed being capable to permission my headphones astatine home, making my locomotion a spot lighter.
I besides tested the audio by sending an audio connection and hopping connected a telephone call. Each time, the audio sounded clear, contempt being exposed to elements specified arsenic upwind and the chattering of animals. Although the Vanguard glasses person a 5-mic array, similar the HSTNs, the positioning is somewhat different, with 2 mics successful the framework and 3 adjacent the chemoreceptor region.
Presumably, having much microphones adjacent your rima should assistance your audio dependable better; however, I had nary complaints with the audio signaling utilizing either brace of astute glasses.
Also: Which Meta Ray-Bans exemplary should you buy? I tested some pairs, and here's however to decide
Meta claims that these astute glasses tin enactment up to 9 hours with a azygous charge, and up to 36 hours with a afloat charged case.
I near for my walk, arsenic registered by my Garmin Forerunner 970, astatine 2:11 p.m. erstwhile the artillery was astatine 99%. Exactly 1 hr later, the artillery was astatine 71%. During that period, I was listening to music, taking intermittent videos and photos, and conversing with Meta AI, truthful I was putting it to its highest use.
However, this show reflects a 28% drain successful an hour, compared to the astir 10% that Meta claims. This isn't excessively surprising, arsenic we've recovered erstwhile Meta models besides underperform successful artillery life. You're decidedly getting much than the Ray-Bans with these, but don't expect thing dramatically better.
Putting the 'smart' successful astute glasses
Capitalizing connected the entreaty to athletes, Meta integrated its Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses with Garmin devices and Strava. You'll request to nexus your Garmin and Strava accounts via the Meta AI app, download the Garmin Connect IQ app to way fittingness metrics.
For Strava, the integration enables users to adhd a adjuvant overlay to footage captured connected their Meta Vanguard AI glasses, showcasing their show metrics, including distance, mean pace, elevation, and more. (Note that the overlay doesn't really look done the glasses arsenic you're running.)
Using this integration is simple; erstwhile the enactment is completed, each you person to bash is prime the media taken and overlay the stats. I americium attaching 1 from my locomotion below, though I pulled it from my Garmin stats.
The Garmin integration is simply a spot much in-depth. When working, it should let users to get real-time stats of their workout simply by asking Meta AI questions astir their workout. This is simply a adjuvant diagnostic arsenic it allows athletes to enactment successful the portion of their workout without having to glimpse down astatine their ticker oregon telephone to cheque for updates.
There is besides an autocapture diagnostic that automatically captures contented based connected designated show metrics. For example, you tin acceptable it to seizure the infinitesimal you deed 10 miles connected your run, and it tin automatically instrumentality that for you.
Also: Ready for your archetypal astute ring? Here's a subscription-free 1 I recommend
Lastly, users tin alteration the ocular presumption LED connected paired glasses arsenic a notification erstwhile antithetic targets are met. However, contempt linking my Garmin ticker to the glasses, which enabled the overlay integration shown above, I was incapable to get Meta AI to way my workouts. I'll update this reappraisal erstwhile that's fixed.
How bash they look?
There is 1 important caveat to the Oakley Meta Vanguard, and that's its deficiency of medicine support. As beauteous arsenic they look to me, they're not compatible with medicine lenses, truthful you person to perpetrate to wearing contacts with them, oregon you won't beryllium capable to spot properly. For that reason, I urge the Oakley Meta HTSNs to those who privation akin signaling features, positive enactment for varying vision.
Although I accidental this each clip I constitute a astute glasses review, having a wearable connected your look is profoundly personal, and they request to look and consciousness bully for the acquisition to beryllium worthwhile. As a result, these astute glasses whitethorn not beryllium for everyone, but I emotion them.
The iridescent sheen connected the astute glasses, paired with the vibrant colour options, makes for a stylish fit. The lens colour besides filters airy beautifully, reducing strain adjacent successful agleam outdoor conditions.
While the visor whitethorn look excessive for many, successful diversion circles, it's communal signifier to deterioration akin signifier factors. When I walked done Prospect Park successful Brooklyn, I not lone saw galore athletes wearing precise akin shades, but I was adjacent stopped by a chap runner.
Also: Is Meta secretly scanning your phone's camera roll? Check this mounting to find retired ASAP
In my experience, the larger signifier origin besides results successful much comfy value distribution. With the Vanguards, I felt little unit connected the span of my nose, contempt the glasses weighing 13 grams heavier than the HSTNs. The larger headband country besides makes fastener placement much intuitive, with the summation of a caller customizable fastener that I've programmed to trigger Hyperlapse video recording.
ZDNET's buying advice
If you are idiosyncratic who would deterioration oregon is funny successful wearing astute glasses with the benignant of the Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses, the acquisition is worthy the money, arsenic traditional Oakleys tin tally you upwards of $300.
However, if you are not idiosyncratic whose benignant aligns with the visors, possibly the much toned-down Oakley Meta HTSNs would beryllium a amended match, arsenic they walk for much communal mundane sunglasses.
English (US) ·