When the Ray-Ban Meta glasses were first introduced in late 2023, they made waves in the tech world. A far cry from failed models like the Google Glass, they’re considered among the first smart eyewear to be truly useful for the everyday consumer.
That’s primarily because Meta Ray-Bans boast hands-free functionalities like calling, texting, and media capture, on top of social media integrations. Despite that, they’re wrapped in sleek, not clunky, Ray-Ban frames like the Wayfarer. With Meta integrating its AI assistant into the glasses soon after, they became even more helpful for making vision-assisted queries, such as requests for live sign translations and landmark identification.
Today, Meta Ray-Bans have outsold its predecessor, the Ray-Ban Stories. They’re also bringing in so much business for Ray-Ban’s parent company, EssilorLuxottica, that the eyewear leader is planning to dramatically expand smart glasses production this year after extending its partnership with Meta for at least another decade. One of its biggest plans for 2025? Pairing Meta with the next biggest brand in its portfolio: Oakley.
Oakley is best known for its sports-minded eyewear and apparel, and further collaborations with Meta can only point to the creation of dedicated smart glasses for active lifestyles. Here’s more on what the final product of this collaboration might look like—and why its release makes sense in the first place.
What will Meta and Oakley’s sporty smart glasses look like?
Towards the end of January 2025, Bloomberg technology journalist Mark Gurman reported that Meta Reality Labs was building on the success of the Meta Ray-Bans by revamping its smart glasses designs to suit more athletic users. Dubbed the ‘Supernova 2,’ the anticipated model will likely have similar features to its Ray-Ban counterpart—such as hands-free calling, texting, media capture, and AI voice assistance—with a few sports-friendly tweaks.
For example, it’s expected to centre the camera on the frames rather than on the corners, as is the case with Meta Ray-Bans. This placement is expected to provide a dashcam-like feature for runners and cyclists while keeping the glasses lightweight. The Supernova 2 is also expected to deliver audio playback at a similar quality to the popular high-end earbuds SOUL SYNC ANC, which come with a “transparency” mode that allows wearers to still hear their surroundings for safety. However, it’s unclear whether the Meta Oakleys will use a bone conduction rather than an open ear system to prevent audio leakage.
As with the Meta Ray-Bans, of course, all these features will be integrated into Oakley frames to lend the final product the appearance and functionality athletes expect from sports shades. In particular, the Supernova 2’s design will be based on the eyewear brand’s Sphaera model, which is considered one of its most popular cycling sunglasses along with the Sutro and Encoder Strike. The Sphaera boasts wider wraparound coverage and Oakley’s patented PRIZM polarised lenses for UV and glare protection, as well as the most supportive frames for accommodating smart glasses features.
Why does a Meta Oakleys release make sense?
In expanding their partnership, Meta and EssilorLuxottica’s Oakley release would help the two companies pivot to the next biggest market for smart glasses outside general, everyday use: sports and wellness. Wearables are already in demand among wearers with active lifestyles thanks to features like health monitoring, with the likes of smartwatches able to track everything from heart rate to steps walked per day. By combining Meta’s AI model with Oakley’s streamlined sports sunglasses design, the Supernova 2 can deliver even more benefits to the athlete.
Its voice-activated AI assistant, for example, can aid with navigation via GPS and landmark recognition, detect obstacles to prevent accidents, and even generate personalised routes or workout routines for the wearer. As mentioned above, its camera can also go beyond capturing content for social media by acting as a dashcam in case of accidents. Since all its features can be used hands-free, it can also keep wearers safer outdoors, especially if they’re running or cycling. At the same time, it will provide the vision protection Oakley’s eyewear is known for.
A Meta Oakleys release would particularly make sense in Australia, which is already considered a hub for sports technology. The majority of the products offered by the country’s sports tech industry are widely used by everyday consumers who practise active living. These same users increasingly want to benefit from AI in smart apparel like wearables, and that’s something they can also expect to get from the Supernova 2.
When can we expect to see Meta Oakleys?
If you’re looking to make your workouts more intelligent, you can expect the Supernova 2 to come out this year. Though there’s still no specific timeline for its release, the new Meta Oakleys are expected to launch before Meta and EssilorLuxottica’s other project—actual augmented reality glasses with holographic lens displays, which may be based on the Orion prototype Meta showcased last year.
Image credit: @thelabstorecl