Oakley Meta Vanguard are the perfect Garmin and Strava companion
The new $499 performance-focused glasses get deep integration with Garmin and Strava
Meta has officially unveiled the Oakley Meta Vanguard, a new set of 'Performance AI glasses' aimed squarely at cyclists, runners, and other athletes.
The new smart glasses, announced at Meta Connect last week, are available for pre-order for $499/£499 ahead of their launch on October 21. They feature a killer integration for the training-obsessed, providing real-time data from your Garmin watch or bike computer.
The new Garmin integration enables users to pair their Garmin watch or Edge computer with the Vanguard glasses and then use "Hey Meta" voice commands to receive audible, real-time statistics, such as heart rate, pace, and power, without needing to glance down at their wrist.
The glasses can also use a small status LED in the user's peripheral vision to provide at-a-glance alerts for heart rate or power zones, and even automatically capture video clips at key milestones during a workout.
Alongside the Garmin integration, the glasses also feature a deep connection with Strava. Users can now add graphical overlays of their performance data—such as speed, distance, and elevation—to the 3K videos and 12MP photos they capture, all within the Meta AI app, before sharing them to their Strava feed.
The hardware, as you would expect, is also specifically designed for high-intensity sports. The classic Oakley wraparound design is IP67 water-resistant, features powerful open-ear speakers, and boasts a battery that lasts up to nine hours. It's a significant step up from the more lifestyle-focused Oakley Meta HSTN, positioning the Vanguard as the actual performance model in Meta's growing smart eyewear lineup.
The Wareable take
This is another significant step for the smart glasses space, and the most high-profile example yet of the form factor branching out from a lifestyle gadget into a genuine performance tool. The Garmin and Strava integrations are key to this.
Instead of trying to replace the sports watch, Meta is wisely turning the glasses into a powerful, hands-free heads-up display for your existing devices. However, the smoothness of its integrations will go a long way in determining whether the Vanguard specs are a worthwhile purchase.
Future generations may need to address teething issues. Yet, if Meta's previous glasses are anything to go by, expect these to be a serious contender for being the industry's best sporty smart glasses.
