Sunday Runday is a weekly column that talks about the world of wearables, apps, and fitness tech related to running and health. Normally written by Android Central Wearables Editor Michael Hicks, this week is a guest post by Android Central Senior Editor Nicholas Sutrich, who has been on a fitness journey since 2020 when he tried CrossFit for the first time.
The new Oakley smart glasses from Meta have a lot going for them. Great Oakley HSTN style, unique colors, and even the choice of Oakley's patented PRIZM lenses. But they're specifically a great option for athletes who want to save and share first-person footage of their workouts.
The Oakley Meta's battery life improvements and extra camera resolution are great enhancements over Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. But the real draw for athletes will be the improved image stabilization when recording videos from the glasses.
I took my Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses out for several runs and to the gym to see how well they hold up during workouts, and was extremely impressed with the stabilization of the video capture, in particular. To see this in action, hit that 23-second mark in the video below and watch as Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses smooth out my run in a way Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses struggle to do.
Grab a pair of limited edition Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses in warm white with authentic Oakley PRIZM lenses and show the world what you see, all while protecting your eyes.
Smooth operator
Oakley Meta HSTN and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses can't record your heart rate or give advanced workout stats — although that could happen in future smart glasses from Meta — but they can capture your run in a hands-free way that a smartphone cannot. Better yet, because they're a snug fit, they don't bump or jostle on my face like some pairs of sunglasses can, so they won't get annoying even on long runs.
While I'm not a marathon runner, I do enjoy running throughout the week to get my heart rate up and push myself to do something out of my comfort zone. Sometimes, it's fun to record these runs and make a little video out of them, if for nothing but my own historical records.
Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses made Michael's half-marathon look like a super smooth experience, and Meta has further improved the image stabilization on Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses when capturing the action in 1080p. That's great since the default 1080p mode delivers the best battery life and the best stabilization on any camera smart glasses I've tested, a win-win if you ask me.
What particularly impressed me was how the glasses handled stabilization on all kinds of terrain and during all kinds of running activities. Bounding down a hill looked just as smooth as running on a flat sidewalk, and running up stairs two at a time was just as smooth as a light jog.
But I didn't have the same sentiment when setting the Oakleys to 3K recording resolution, though. In fact, it almost looked like the video wasn't stabilized at all at this resolution. It's clear that Meta is using the higher-resolution camera for better electronic image stabilization when the glasses are in 1080p mode.
Considering there's barely any visual quality difference between 3K and 1080p on these glasses, I'd say just stick with the default 1080p resolution and reap the benefits of incredible stabilization and longer battery life!
Working out with perks
While Sunday Runday is usually focused on running, I've also been enjoying doing other types of workouts wearing Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses. I work out at a CrossFit-style gym, so while we do plenty of running and use cardio machines, we're also lifting barbells, squatting til our legs give out, and generally punishing ourselves for our physical betterment.
Wearing Oakley Meta HSTNs posed no issues with most exercises I tried, despite their rigor. They don't move at all on my head while running, as I said previously, but I also found they stay snug when doing pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, everything I tried with barbells, and everything I tried with kettlebells. I even did handstand push-ups (where my head is facing the ground), and they didn't move an inch.
The lone area where they faltered was when I tried to do burpees with them. If you've never done a burpee, here's a very short video on how to do them. Because of the forward-down-up-hop movement, the Oakleys slowly inched off my face until they fell to the floor after the 6th burpee. I tried the same thing with Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and didn't have this problem, so the straighter temple arms on the Oakleys make them less usable for this one movement.
Above all, though, the biggest problem with using this limited edition PRIZM lens-equipped pair is that they're only sunglasses, unlike my Ray-Ban Meta Smart glasses, which have transition lenses for indoor and outdoor wear.
The limited-edition frames are available for $499, but additional styles and lenses are coming in the next few weeks for $100 less. Once they're available, they'll be excellent workout companions that'll help you visually log your workout adventures alongside your favorite fitness smartwatches.
For my next adventure, I'm taking these out for another Spartan Race to finally get some footage of all the obstacles and course hijinks I can. Wish me luck!
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