The moment I put on the limited edition Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses, I could tell these were not the Ray-Ban Meta glasses that I've worn on my face for the majority of the last two years.
Between the ultra-reflective orange lenses and angular, sport-forward frame, there's no question these glasses are an Oakley product.
But the camera cutouts on the upper corners, a pair of black holes disrupting the stark white frames, give away that there's more to these glasses than what meets the eye.
And depending on your vibe, that could be a huge selling point. For me, it's the one thing that seems to be holding these smart glasses back.
Set up is easy, style is questionable
Let's backtrack a bit. When comparing the Ray-Ban Meta vs Oakley Meta smart glasses, there are several spec improvements that help justify the Oakley's $499 price tag. A better field of view for the cameras and double the battery life are the upgrades that stand out to me.
But a lot is also the same, such as a quick set up process with the Meta AI (formerly Meta View) app. After a few prompts to familiarize yourself with Meta's "look and tell me" assistant, the HSTN glasses are ready to wear.
Except ready to wear doesn't mean I, personally, am ready to wear them. To put it simply, these aren't a pair of glasses I'd ever reach for on the shelves at Sunglass Hut.
The bold, rounded frame is made to be noticed and doesn't hide the fact that these aren't normal glasses. Compared to my transition lens Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers, which blend into almost any outfit, the Oakley smart glasses are far more overt.
As someone who’s fashion-conscious, I couldn’t help but feel these glasses are bit out of sync with my closet. I'm sure these frames would look amazing out on a paddleboard or bike path, but for my everyday city wear? Not quite my default fit.
Facing the public
Luckily, I planned my first official outing with the Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses to take place in an appropriately sporty setting: T-Mobile Park, home stadium of the Seattle Mariners.
Although I wished the the PRIZM 24K polarized lenses skewed blue to match the Mariners branding rather than the opposing team's yellowy-orange accents, they felt incredible against the sun shining into the park. Everything in my vision, even the players from my second deck seats looked sharp.
Most surprisingly, I could track foul and fly ball paths with ease — usually, I'm futilely circling my neck to spot them. (Side note: I can't wait to try these at the golf course to see if they improve my abysmal ball-locating abilities.)
Other use cases carry over from the Ray-Ban version of these glasses, such as capturing videos and photos of the action from my POV that I could then post on my Instagram stories or send to my family.
Similarly, I could rely on Meta AI to settle in-game debates. Whether it was who else is joining Ichiro Suzuki in the 2025 Hall of Fame class or if the Mariners are actually the only active MLB team to never make the World Series, Meta AI answered accurately and with ease.
Even with the crowd noise, I could hear everything through the built-in speakers, and the mics didn’t miss a beat picking up my queries.
Super smart, but maybe not for everyone (right now)
Functionally, the Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses are epic. But as much as I immediately love the performance, I'm having a harder time warming up to the design.
The style is just... a lot. Unlike the Ray-Bans, which come in tons of frame and lens variations, the Oakley Meta HSTNs are one bold look.
A more subtle, all-black pair has been pictured but wasn't seeded to reviewers like myself and is not yet available to purchase. I would opt for this subdued pair instead, although in a perfect world I'd be able to customize the entire look of something I planned to wear daily.
I know that there are sporty folks who are drooling over the existing edgy white-and-orange combo. If that's your vibe, I'm confident you’ll love them. For me, I still need a little bit of time to come around, but I have a feeling the performance will ultimately outweigh style for me.
All I'll say is, you know a product's performance is good when I'll consider compromising my fashion sense for it.
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