Meta expands to Oakley sunglasses
Meta has added Oakley sunglasses to its AR-infused smart glasses range. The new Oakley Meta HSTN will be available in several colors and variants over time, but the first iteration is a $499 limited edition with gold accents and 24K Prizm Olar lenses. Additional models will arrive later in the summer, priced at $399. The new Oakley variant comes with some significant upgrades: the camera can capture video footage in 3K, compared to the 1K on the Ray-Bans and the battery life is expected to be double that of the Ray-Bans – eight hours.
All of the usual features, such as Meta AI, the ability to take videos and so on are all available on the new Oakley’s. Somewhat disappointing is that these new glasses – which are positioned as more action, “Performance AI glasses” – do not come with better waterproofing. As with the Ray Bans, the Oakley glasses are IPX4 water resistant – so they will be adequate for sweat, but not ready for swimmers or surfers and so on. That’s a little disappointing in terms of product differentiation between Oakley and Meta but to an extent is not the point: the new devices offer a smart alternative to the Ray-Ban styles which should further drive Meta smart glass products into the hands of consumers.
The Circana Take:
- The bigger goal for Meta will be to infuse Meta AI into more devices. Not just in Facebook and WhatsApp, but rather in a range of home smart speakers. Think of how Google and Amazon expanded their voice-footprint by firstly offering low-priced speakers and then also putting the Alexa, Hey Google into other OEMs speakers. The battle for voice supremacy is just beginning and has the potential to upset the smartphone ecosystem (see the upcoming Ecosystem Report).
- Meta should embrace the “action” angle for its glasses, potentially adding the functionality to helmets ) think live streaming the high school football games.
- It is not clear if the Oakley’s have the same 3 minute video limitation that the Ray-Bans do. While there is clearly a balance to be found between battery life, on device storage and recording length, being able to record for longer durations will be key in the more sports-oriented arena.