Review: Oakley Meta Vanguard Smart Glasses

I was blessed with a week of nearly perfect weather in Portland, Oregon, while testing the Oakley Meta Vanguard. It’s strange to have been working at WIRED for so many years, testing electric bikes and fitness trackers, and finally be able to show you my beautiful city, where I’ve been running and biking for so long. I do have a GoPro, but when it comes to the multilayered process of testing and writing about a product, I tend to neglect the video part.

That’s who the Vanguard are for—all the people who have spent the last 10 years or so fiddling with straps and different form factors to find the best and easiest-to-use action camera for outdoor sports. Now that the camera is on the bridge of your nose, you don’t get the weird fisheye effect that you had with the side camera on the OG Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers. The Garmin integrations are also designed for fitness influencers. Anyone who posts Instagram Reels of their latest hike will love these.

Power On

Photograph: Adrienne So

As we reported when the glasses were announced, the Vanguard look basically like the ubiquitous wraparound Oakley Sphaera glasses. There are a few differences—most notably that the Vanguard weigh a significantly heavier 66 grams compared to around 30 grams for the Sphaera (and around 53 grams for the Oakley Meta HSTN). That’s to be expected, considering that there’s a camera and speakers on it, and I didn’t find it uncomfortable to wear while riding.

It comes with three nose bridges to optimize your fit and prevent sliding, but I didn’t end up having to swap it out. The lenses are not polarized, but they do have Oakley Prizm technology, which are a set of special dyes in the lens that purport to optimize contrast when you’re outdoors and help you spot things like potholes or ice.

I did go to the river with the Vanguard and peer out at the water; I wasn’t immediately blinded by glints. But the sunglasses are also only IP67 rated, so not as waterproof as a GoPro, and I wouldn’t take them sailing or surfing. In fact, Meta states that they are not suitable for "submersion or high-speed water sports," so keeping them on dry land is very much recommended.

My review sample featured the Prizm 24K lenses, which are best for sunny conditions, but they also come in Road (red), Black, and Sapphire. The lenses are also interchangeable, and new lenses are $85 apiece. (We have a more detailed description of which lenses are appropriate for which conditions in our guide to ski goggles.) The process is a little more harrowing than Oakley would have you believe (the lens doesn't pop out nearly as easily as on my ski goggles), but it does work.

Photograph: Adrienne So

The other standout feature (besides the camera) is Garmin and Strava integration. You’ll need a specific Garmin watch (the Instinct 3 does not work; boo), and it has to be installed from both ends—that is, you’ll need to both connect the watch in the Meta AI app and then install the Meta AI app from the Garmin ConnectIQ store on the watch. If you want to take hands-free calls, you’ll also need to integrate your phone, WhatsApp, or Messenger into the Meta AI app.

Finally, the Vanguard has both voice control with the Meta AI assistant and button controls, with two buttons and a volume slider on the arm (positioned on the underside for anyone wearing a helmet). The glasses also have two over-ear speakers and a 5-mic array for calls.

Photograph: Adrienne So

The glasses charge in the case and have nine hours of battery life, which is more than enough for a full day of skiing or hiking (for me, anyway). The case comes with an additional 36 hours of battery life. After a week and a half of daily use, the case was at 6 percent but the glasses were still at 100 percent charge.

Sun and Sweat

Photograph: Adrienne So

Smart helmets, open earbuds, and bone conduction headphones have shown that there’s a real market for being able to listen to music and ambient noise while you’re outside running or biking. The Vanguard have a pretty big advantage in that department because, you know, they’re also sunglasses. That leaves me with one less device to prop on my ears (or as I like to call them, the coat hooks of my head).

You can integrate music apps like Apple Music into the Meta AI app so you can just tap the touchpad to play, but you can also just play over Bluetooth from your phone. The speakers on the Oakley Vanguard are 6 decibels louder than the Meta Wayfarers, and you can really tell. They sound amazing. On every other pair of open headphones I've tested, I have had to turn the volume all the way up to listen to podcasts or music while I’m biking. With the Vanguard, I had zero problems hearing Hayley Williamson’s new album while riding over 20 miles per hour on a busy road with cars. (The volume slider is sensitive enough that stray hair or breezes can activate it though, which is a little annoying.)

Here’s where it gets complicated: The video specs are not really comparable with that of a GoPro, or any other action camera for that matter. It’s a 12-MP camera with 32 GB of memory and an ultrawide 122 degrees of view. Most action cameras have better sensors, two or three times as much memory, a much wider field of view (177 degrees, all the way up to 360!), and much longer recording times. But the thing is: This is a camera and sunglasses and headphones and it’s on your face.

The most important thing with an action camera is that it’s easy and convenient to use. I have spent some time trying to use straps or selfie sticks to put GoPros on my helmet or chest, and it’s so incredibly annoying. Plus Go Pro Hero13 Black, I'mma let you finish, but you weigh 153 grams. As heavy as these glasses might seem compared to their regular versions, it’s nothing compared with having a dongle strapped to your head or in the middle of your chest or on a selfie stick.

There are so many times when you’re running and pass something beautiful. It’s so easy to say, “Hey Meta, start taking video” and just get a quick clip as you happen to be zipping past. You can also customize the Action button to pick different filming modes, like slow motion or hyperlapse.

The Garmin integration is designed to address your social media needs. Yes, it syncs with Meta AI, allowing the glasses to tell you if you're hitting your target pace or HR zones—something I don't think you really need if you’re already wearing a beeping, buzzing Garmin on your wrist. What you’re really wearing the watch to do is to trigger the camera’s auto-capture at key moments in your workout, so you can put together highlight reels and overlay your Garmin stats on top of it afterward.

That this is a device for social media fitness is also reflected in the fact that you’re limited in your filming to 30-second, 1-minute, 3-minute, and 5-minute clips. Meta informs me that most people usually just keep it to 30-second video clips, all the better for TikToks and Reels. You can also set the clips to auto-import, so it’s just in your Photos library when you think back to check and post on Instagram.

I’m private on Strava; I don’t really need anyone to witness my leisurely 10-minute-mile trail runs. But every running influencer who is filming “Mile 1!” all the way through “Mile 26.2!” of their latest marathon is going to love these.

Outside of the fitness stuff, I do think the Meta AI assistant is kind of fun. I have a few friends who can identify plants and animals as we’re hiking, and Meta AI can do that on a basic level, even if it’s not up to pinpointing specific varietals. I think it’s a bit of a superpower to be able to identify if you’re not sure if those flowers are zinnias or dahlias as you pass. Nota bene: I would not ask Meta AI or any other chatbot super personal questions. I would also go into Settings, Data & Privacy, and Remove All Public Vibes (ew!), because I find everything about Meta AI as a social media platform to be (double ew!) gross, but that's just me.

Photograph: Adrienne So

With that all switched off, I ride hard for these glasses. If you like outdoor sports, these aren’t even particularly expensive. A regular pair of decent cycling sunglasses or ski goggles that protect your eyes and face in adverse conditions will run you up well into three figures (the standard Sphaera, for example, cost $244). And that’s without all the other features that these offer.

Even just being able to grab your sunglasses and tap the frame to start playing music when you start your run or jump on your bike is a game changer. I can actually hear my podcasts when I’m biking at speed, which is something you can't really do even with the Oakley Meta HSTNs.

I’m looking forward to being able to take the Vanguard sunglasses snowboarding this season. All the times when your friend has demanded that you film her doing this or that to check her form—now I can just click a button or use a voice command, instead of digging through my pocket for a phone that I am terrified to drop off a lift! Whatever your disagreements with Meta as a company, it was a masterful insight to realize that there are real problems to be solved for a specific community. All smart glasses should be glasses that you'd already wear.