Oakley Meta Vanguard: price, specs and the Garmin and Strava features for athletes

Oakley Meta Vanguard is the second Oakley Meta model, and the one Meta designed for running, cycling, skiing and other high-intensity sports. Mark Zuckerberg introduced it at Connect on Sept. 17, 2025, and it went on sale on Oct. 21, 2025, for $499. It wraps around the face like an Oakley sport shield, puts the camera in the middle of the frame and connects to Garmin and Strava through the Meta AI app.

This guide is based on Meta's and Oakley's announcements and spec sheets. We haven't tested Vanguard; the fitness features below are described as Meta describes them.

Price, colors and lenses

Every Vanguard with standard Prizm lenses costs $499 on Oakley.com and Meta.com. The one exception is the Black frame with Prizm Transitions Ember lenses, which Meta.com lists at $579.

Vanguard launched in four versions: Black with Prizm 24K, White with Prizm Black, Black with Prizm Road and White with Prizm Sapphire. On March 31, 2026, Oakley added Black with Prizm Black, White with Prizm Rose Gold and Black with Prizm Transitions Ember, the first Vanguard lens that darkens in sunlight. Oakley scheduled that Transitions version for June 30, and Meta's store now sells seven Vanguard combinations.

The lenses swap out. When Vanguard launched, Meta sold replacement Prizm Road, 24K, Black and Sapphire lenses for $85 each and said a Prizm Low Light lens would follow. Oakley's March 2026 update added extra lenses in Prizm Dark Golf, Prizm Rose Gold and Prizm Transitions in Ember, Cobalt, Red and Blue. Replacement nose pads cost $13 on Oakley's US store.

Oakley Meta Vanguard specs

Resolutions, storage, charging time, frame details and connectivity come from Oakley's product page; the other figures are Meta's. Like HSTN, Vanguard ships with a charging case but no USB-C cable.

The Garmin integration

Vanguard doesn't have a screen, so Meta built the fitness features around voice and a light. With a compatible Garmin device, sold separately, you can ask questions such as "Hey Meta, what's my heartrate?" or "Hey Meta, how am I doing?" in the middle of a workout and hear the answer. You can also set a target for a metric like heart rate or pace, and the glasses will light a status LED in your peripheral vision to show whether you're on target, without looking down.

Meta also built an autocapture feature with Garmin. The glasses record video clips on their own when you reach distance milestones or when your heart rate, speed or elevation climbs, so you get footage without stopping to ask for it. After each workout, the Meta AI app can show an activity summary if you've connected Garmin Connect, Apple Health or Health Connect on Android.

Meta's announcements don't list which Garmin models are compatible, and the integration runs through the Meta AI app on your phone. Garmin's Oakley Meta page says select Garmin smartwatches and cycling computers work, that the voice stats, status LED and autocapture features need the Meta AI app from Garmin's Connect IQ Store, and that the integration is available only in the US for now. The page names HSTN as well as Vanguard.

Strava overlays

For Strava users, the Meta AI app can lay your performance stats over photos and videos you shot with Vanguard and post them straight to Strava. Videos with overlays can also be shared to Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and other apps. Oakley's product page says the same overlays work with stats from Garmin devices.

Built for bikes, roads and snow

Most of Vanguard's hardware changes follow from outdoor training. The frame is shaped to fit with cycling helmets and hats, and Oakley's Three-Point Fit and swappable nose pads (including low- and high-bridge versions) are meant to keep it in place. Meta says the speakers are loud enough for a noisy road or a bike ride in 30 mph wind, and the five microphones are tuned to reduce wind noise on calls and voice commands.

The IP67 rating covers dust and water, including temporary submersion in up to a meter of water, and Oakley says the frame resists extreme temperatures. Meta calls it the most water-resistant frame it has made.

The camera's central position gives what Meta's buying guide calls "a balanced perspective" for workouts, and the 122-degree lens is wider than on HSTN. Slow Motion is aimed at moments like landing a trick on the slopes, which is Meta's own example. As for battery, Meta says nine hours of mixed use, or six hours of continuous music, is enough for a marathon.

Golfers can fit the Prizm Dark Golf lenses Oakley added in 2026, and ask Meta AI about the wind before a shot.

What Vanguard doesn't do

Vanguard can't show you anything: stats come by voice or through the status LED. For a heads-up display, Meta's only option is Meta Ray-Ban Display, an everyday frame based on Ray-Ban's Wayfarer rather than a sports design.

Vanguard isn't available with prescription lenses, according to Meta's prescription FAQ on Best Buy's site, and Oakley's US store and its Oakley Meta page offer prescriptions for HSTN only. And live stats need a Garmin device; without one, Vanguard works like Meta's other camera glasses, with Meta AI, music, calls and capture. Some Meta AI features and voice commands are only available in certain countries and languages.

Vanguard or HSTN

Vanguard costs $100 more than Oakley Meta HSTN. For that you get IP67 instead of IPX4, the centered wide-angle camera, louder speakers, an extra hour of battery, swappable shield lenses and the training features Oakley lists under Vanguard. HSTN is the better pick if you want something that looks like ordinary sunglasses, need prescription lenses or mostly use the glasses away from training. Our Oakley Meta guide covers both models.