Review of the Oakley Meta Vanguard: Impressive AI Running Glasses Featuring Garmin Integration

T
he Oakley Meta Vanguard represents a new era of display-less AI glasses, crafted for running, cycling, and action sports, featuring robust integration with Garmin and Strava. These could potentially be the first functional sports smart glasses on the market.

These innovative glasses serve as running eyewear, open-ear headphones, and alternatives to head-mounted action cameras—all in one. They mark the latest collaboration between Meta and the sunglasses giant, Essilor Luxottica, which includes brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley.

Unlike the popular Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer, which focuses on leisurely use, the Vanguard is specifically engineered for athletes, enabling them to move fast and track their performance without hesitation.

As one of the priciest screenless AI glasses available, they start at £499 (€549/$499/AU$789), surpassing the £399 Oakley Meta HSTN and £379 Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer.

The Vanguard distinguishes itself from traditional smart glasses, thanks to a design brought together by Oakley, ensuring a great fit and finish. The large wraparound visor and 3-point fit system take cues from the renowned Oakley Sephala sports glasses, ensuring that the 66g frame stays snugly in place, even under a helmet.

With two frame colors and four contrast-enhancing lenses, though without prescription options, the glasses incorporate a small button on the left arm to power on and off, allowing for dual functionality as sunglasses.

The hidden speakers within each arm can be directed towards your ear for listening to music, taking calls, and engaging with Meta’s AI chatbot. They offer superior sound quality compared to other open-ear speakers, and are loud enough to be heard over wind and road noise. Although they may not deliver the bass of traditional headphones, they are well-suited for music during physical activity. The five beamforming microphones effectively minimize background noise during calls or interactions with the AI, even in busy environments.

A touch panel on the right arm allows for manual control of playback and volume. Music automatically pauses when the glasses are removed, and the volume adapts to match surrounding noise—a great feature for road use.

Specifications

• Size: 136×120×59mm

• Weight: 66g (258g case)

• Water resistance: IP67

• Camera: 12MP/3K Ultra Wide

• Speaker: Stereo open-ear

• Microphone: 5-microphone array

• Battery life: 6 hours of music playback (30 hours with case)

• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6

• Storage: 32GB

The central camera captures quality 12-megapixel photos and stable video at up to 3K resolution for five-minute intervals. It also supports hyperlapses that combine a series of action shots into a single fast-paced clip, as well as slow-motion video at up to 120 frames per second at 720p.

While it cannot compete with high-end smartphones, the camera effectively captures live action—similar to mid-range action cameras commonly used by adventurers. Users can take photos by pressing the camera button, initiate video recording with a long press, or request the Meta AI for hands-free photo or video capture.

All functionalities, including voice controls for music, auto volume adjustments, and camera operations, work seamlessly with Bluetooth-connected devices, like running watches. For enhanced AI features, however, connections to Android or iPhone devices are necessary, via the Meta AI app.

Similar to any chatbot, you can query Meta AI about its visual input. It can identify plants, translate text, and address inquiries about your surroundings. Notably, it also quickly converts distance and pace between metric and imperial units while running, although it falls short of the comprehensive capabilities of Google’s Gemini on mobile.

Furthermore, users can send messages, share photos, and make hands-free calls using their glasses, connected to devices or apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, or Instagram.

One of Vanguard’s standout features is its seamless integration with the latest Garmin running watches and bike computers. Utilizing the free Meta AI app on Garmin, you can access real-time statistics during activities just by asking.

The AI can relay personal metrics such as pace, distance, heart rate, and cadence on request by saying “my stats,” which are gathered directly from Garmin at that moment. It audibly communicates your pace and other metrics for each lap, mile, or kilometer using a small LED indicator at your right eye to indicate your status in pace or heart rate zones, turning red when outside desired ranges.

Garmin integration also allows the camera to automatically document your workouts, whether walking, hiking, running, or biking. It captures five-second videos every kilometer or mile, or during significant milestones like sprint finishes or heart rate spikes. After your activity, the Meta AI app compiles your manually captured videos and highlight reels. You can overlay workout stats like distance, pace, altitude, time, heart rate, and power data, then quickly share this content with Meta’s app or Strava for immediate posting to your activity log.

All functions operate effectively, and although not every run needs a video documentation, the capability to automatically capture highlight moments without hassle is a substantial bonus.

However, video capture does drain the battery. During a one-hour run, I interacted with Meta AI multiple times, listened to music, automatically recorded 14 five-second videos, and manually shot 13 minutes of 1080p/30fps video along with 14 photos. The glasses concluded the run with 25% battery life intact.

They should survive a full marathon with automatic capture activated, but caution is advised for prolonged filming to ensure coverage over the entire 42km distance.

For those without Garmin devices, the Meta AI app can sync with Apple Health, Google Health Connect, or Strava to retrieve data retrospectively from other trackers, such as Apple Watch and Coros devices. However, the metrics displayed on videos are limited, and there are no automatic capture features or running statistics available for these integrations.

Sustainability

The glasses’ battery retains at least 80% capacity even after 500 full charge cycles. Replacement lenses (£69), charging case (£139), and nose pads (£10) are offered, but the glasses themselves cannot be repaired, and the battery is non-replaceable, ultimately deeming them disposable. Currently, these glasses do not incorporate recycled materials, and Meta lacks any trade-in programs or environmental impact reports for the product.

Price

The Oakley Meta Vanguard is priced at £499 (€549/$499/AU$789).

For reference, the pricing for other models includes the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer (gen 2) at £379, the Oakley Meta HSTN at £399, the Oakley Sphaera at £191, and the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 at £169.

Verdict

The Oakley Meta Vanguard stands out as the finest sports smart glasses available. While expensive, they are clearly crafted for athletes by individuals who comprehend the needs of runners and sports enthusiasts.

By concentrating on the essentials for runners, cyclists, and adventure seekers—like an impeccable fit, lenses that effectively shield from the wind, decent water resistance, clear open-ear audio, extended battery life, and user-friendly controls—you end up with an excellent product without unnecessary bells and whistles.

The nose-mounted camera is excellent and could easily substitute for action cameras for many users. The microphone performs adequately, and Meta’s integrated AI is beneficial for answering inquiries that arise while on the move.

The primary highlight is unquestionably the integration with Garmin, allowing users to monitor statistics and create an automatic highlight reel from their camera capture during activities. However, it requires you to carry your phone while running, which could be a minor inconvenience. The glasses also have links to Strava and other fitness applications for non-Garmin users.

If you utilize them with your running watch to listen to music without needing your phone, basic voice commands for volume, playback, and camera will still operate smoothly.

Although the steep price is hard to justify, the main drawback remains the non-replaceable battery. While the lenses and nose pads are replaceable, like most earbuds and other smart glasses, they cannot be repaired, which detracts from the overall score.

Pros: Large, high-quality lenses; secure fit; powerful and clear open-ear speakers; nose-mounted camera; IP67 waterproof rating; long battery life; protective case; excellent Garmin integration; compatible with Strava and other fitness apps; customizable lenses and nose pads.

Cons: Very costly; non-repairable; advanced features necessitate a phone; excessive vocal commands while driving.