Oakley's Meta Smart Glasses Film Your Draw, But Footage Falls Short

Oakley's $500 Meta Vanguard smart glasses can film your draw, grip, and transitions in first-person, but RECOIL's hands-on test found the video quality lagging years behind cheap action cams, with privacy baggage attached.

Snapshot

RECOIL writer Jack Hennessy tested the Oakley Vanguard Meta AI glasses for pistol competition use, following in the footsteps of shooters like JJ Racaza and USPSA Grandmaster Andrew Yoder. The verdict: the glasses make capturing first-person footage effortless and genuinely useful for diagnosing mistakes, but the camera hardware and privacy implications hold them back.

Key points

• Specs: 66 grams, 12MP camera shooting up to 3K video, 32GB storage, roughly 8-9 hours of battery per Meta's claims, which RECOIL says held up in testing.
• Training value: Centered camera placement gave a tight first-person view that helped Hennessy catch issues like rushing a transition between targets, and Yoder says it solves the problem of only being able to focus on one thing in real time.
• Weak camera: RECOIL calls the photo and video quality "abysmal," comparing it unfavorably to a 2015 iPhone and noting a GoPro HERO11 or Insta360 X3 offers far better resolution for less money.
• Privacy concerns: The glasses can record covertly, prompting RECOIL to flag reports of secret filming and Norway's proposed public ban on smart glasses, plus unease over Meta's data practices.
• Social boost: Content shot with the glasses reportedly gets algorithmic preference on Meta platforms, with one example cited of a video hitting 1.1 million views.

Quick take

RECOIL's conclusion is that the convenience here is real, but the footage quality and the surveillance questions make these glasses a tough sell for shooters serious about dialing in their performance, especially when dedicated action cameras do the job better and cheaper.

Read the full story: Jack Hennessy