5 days ago
I Don't Think I Can Pull Off Wearing Meta's Oakley Glasses
They're white. They're gold. They're very round. They make me look sort of like a guy who should be on a boat.
Meta's next designer line of smart glasses has arrived. Meta Ray-Bans have been around for years, but the new line of Oakley HSTN glasses arriving this summer add another, sportier style option. They also promise boosts over the Ray-Bans, both in battery life and video recording resolution.
How would they look on my face, though? I finally got an answer when I tried out a pair of the Oakley limited-edition glasses this week. The $499 glasses are more expensive than Ray-Bans, though cheaper models will arrive later on in the summer in a wider range of styles.
The glasses do cut a bold look.
Scott Stein/CNET
The color is technically "warm grey," which looks like white to me. The lenses are Prizm polarized gold, which along with the gold Oakley logo highlights on the arms, push this in a direction I don't normally wear.
Sadly, my kid agreed. I asked if I could pull these off. He took one look and said "No."
The round-lens design has angled cuts near the nose piece, a look that adds a bit of chunkiness. The tapered arms aren't much thicker than the Ray-Bans, but hug my temples instead of angling down around the ears. The white look makes the camera on the side stand out more, making it more obvious that these are smart glasses.
In fact, the whole design feels like it's trying to tell you the glasses are something unusual, a bit reminiscent of Snap's older Spectacles. Meta's Ray-Bans feel a lot more everyday understated to me.
The Oakley HSTN glasses (left) next to Meta's Ray-Ban Wayfarers (right). Similar size and camera placement, pretty different styles.
Scott Stein/CNET
These Oakleys work the same as the Ray-Bans, with a power switch on the inside of the left arm, a right-arm touchpad, speakers above the ears, and a camera off to one side of the frames. They can take photos and videos, and engage in a lot of assistive and continually-updating live AI functions just like the Ray-Bans can, but they should be able to do it for longer on a battery charge. The included recharge case keeps them safe and has a battery inside, but I don't like the design of the magnetic flip-open nylon-type case as much as the Ray-Bans' classic leather look.
The glasses in their included recharging case.
Scott Stein/CNET
I haven't had a chance to test out the claims of longer battery life yet, which is the improvement I'm most curious about. Meta's second-gen Ray-Bans are pretty great to use, but run out of charge for me in just a few hours. Will the Oakleys make it through a full day, or at least good chunk of one? We'll see. I'm also waiting to see if I can get a prescription set of lenses so I can wear them for a longer span of time without popping in contacts.
If you love the style of Oakley glasses, these are worth a look. Personally though, these lean a bit too bold for my tastes.
