When Meta launched the second technology of its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in late 2023, few predicted the success that lay forward for the collaboration—maybe not even Meta itself.
However now, with greater than two million gross sales below its belt, Meta has been in search of a approach to widen its partnership with eyewear big and Ray-Ban proprietor EssilorLuxottica and sustain the momentum. The reply it appears was staring them within the face: a collaboration with the corporate’s second largest model, Oakley.
“We launched our second generation of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses at [Meta] Join a yr and a half in the past, and so they’ve taken off quicker than we anticipated,” Alex Himel, VP of wearables at Meta tells WIRED. “However they have been by no means meant to be the one and solely factor we did with EssilorLuxottica.”
“We have discovered individuals leaning into completely different energetic use instances with [Ray-Ban Meta]. And so Oakley, which is a model that has represented each efficiency and technical innovation, felt like probably the most pure subsequent step for our collaboration.”
Like Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta might be a full sensible glasses vary, with a lot of kinds to select from as the road expands. Nevertheless, it’s the favored Oakley HSTN frames (pronounced HOW-stuhn) which are the primary to get the Meta makeover, with the entire identical Meta AI performance as Ray-Ban Metas, however with improved options geared toward a efficiency market.
This features a 50 % longer battery life, with a completely charged pair of Oakley Meta HSTN lasting as much as eight hours of typical use in contrast with 4 hours on the Ray-Ban Meta. The Oakley Meta’s charging case additionally will get a lift, with as much as 48 hours of charging time on the go, versus 36 hours within the Ray-Ban Meta.
That’s maybe all of the extra shocking while you hear that the Oakley Meta even have a better decision digital camera, permitting you to share video in 3K video, up from full HD within the Ray-Ban Metas. It is a all the way down to a brand new bodily battery plus software program enhancements, Himel says, however can Ray-Ban Meta homeowners anticipate comparable enhancements sooner or later?
