I’ve been running long distances for about a decade, and for as long as I’ve been a runner, I’ve used Beats Powerbeats earbuds to play the music that powers my runs. Compared to mainstream earbuds like AirPods, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are more secure, easier to control while on the move, and still sound great. When the Powerbeats Pro 2 came out earlier this year, I thought they could be my go-to running earbuds for the next decade. That is, until an unlikely contender ended up replacing them: smart glasses.
Specialized accessories, like earbuds, are great because they do one thing extremely well. However, smart glasses are a different kind of accessory. They’re a jack-of-all-trades and can be a camera, headphones, or a multimodal AI device depending on the situation. On top of that, they’re also either prescription glasses or top-notch polarized sunglasses. After a few weeks of using Oakley Meta HSTN and Vanguard, I now only carry smart glasses and a smartwatch on my runs.
It’s a numbers game
Smart glasses do more to help me carry less on a run
If you haven’t been following the smart glasses space, it’s easy to have missed the gigantic leaps Meta made in the form factor in recent years. The hit Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which have sold millions of units to date, are now only a small part of Meta’s wearable portfolio. The company also sells Oakley Meta HSTN frames for everyday wear and Oakley Meta Vanguard as a fitness-first pair. As someone who already wears Oakley prescription glasses, Meta immediately grabbed my interest.
I started with the Oakley Meta HSTN style, which supports sunglasses and transition lenses—which change color and become sunglasses when you step outside. Oakley Meta HSTN glasses also offer a 12MP camera with 3K video recording, a microphone for calls and using the Meta AI assistant, and integration with Garmin smartwatches for workouts. Crucially, the smart glasses add a discreet open-air speaker that handles music, videos, and pretty much everything else.
Then, I tried Oakley Meta Vanguard, the brand’s sports-focused smart sunglasses, and I was blown away. The open-air speaker design here is similar to that of Oakley Meta HSTN, but the sound is louder and fuller. Meta took an already-great audio experience and made it better. But if I’m being honest, the reason I love smart glasses for music playback during workouts has nothing to do with sound quality.
Instead, it’s a numbers game—carrying a lot of gear can be overwhelming and frustrating. More things to carry means more things that can cause discomfort during a grueling workout, plus extra points of failure. There’s nothing worse than wearing a pair of earbuds or a smartwatch for a run and them becoming dead weight when something doesn’t work right.
That’s why I love wearing Oakley Meta glasses while working out. They simplify my running, hiking, and gym loadouts by handling double- or triple-duty, turning something I already wear (glasses or sunglasses) into a multipurpose device. Instead of wearing sunglasses and earbuds, or bringing glasses and a camera, smart glasses handle all of those functions as a single device. I don’t even need a smartphone, since Oakley Meta glasses can connect to my Apple Watch over Bluetooth for offline music playback.
When less is actually more
Smart glasses’ audio flaws become features while working out
As a budding audiophile, I’m not here to say that the speakers included on smart glasses sound fantastic. They are simply good for what they are—open-ear speakers. Compared to Meta smart glasses and traditional earbuds, like the Powerbeats, they replace them in my setup; they lack bass, volume, and clarity. However, if you compare them to the true competitors in their market—open-air and bone-conduction earbuds—Meta smart glasses start to look (and sound) a lot better.
The volume is impressive, considering that sound is naturally lost when it is fired out into the air rather than straight into your ear canal. Oakley Meta Vanguard sounds particularly stunning, as it packs beefier audio drivers that crank up to six decibels louder than Oakley Meta HSTN and Ray-Ban Meta frames. I’ve never had trouble hearing my music, even with planes passing overhead and cars honking nearby.
Technically, my Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds are better than the Oakley Meta Vanguard, since they offer both passive and active sound isolation. Smart glasses offer neither. In the context of running and working out, though, this deficiency becomes a feature. While running or cycling outdoors, you actually want to let your ears pick up environmental sounds. They help keep you safe on a road or path, where being aware of your environment is crucial. Due to the Meta smart glasses’ open-air speaker design, I can actually play music louder while remaining alert on my runs than I could using workout earbuds.
Smart glasses like these also include handy features I’ve never seen on workout earbuds, like adaptive audio. This mode can automatically raise the volume of your tunes when there are loud sounds nearby, like a train passing. The smart glasses raise your volume dynamically, and then lower it back to its original setting when the noise clears up. It’s an amazing feature that more earbuds should try to copy. Additionally, I find it easier to adjust the volume on the glasses’ capacitive touchpad than tiny earbud buttons.
Who smart glasses are (and aren’t for)
Anyone who already wears glasses or sunglasses should consider them
Before switching to Meta smart glasses, my average running loadout could include sunglasses, workout earbuds, a smartphone, and a smartwatch. That’s quite a lot. I’ve now narrowed it down to just Oakley Meta Vanguard and a smartwatch, since the smart glasses handle the music playback and camera duties that previously required me to carry a phone and earbuds.
The end result is a simpler and smarter everyday carry for workouts. There are drawbacks, like the fact that others around you can hear your music when played at high volumes. Or, the high price — usually $400 or $500 — that comes with smart glasses. That said, if you have the budget and the need for a simpler running loadout, smart glasses can be the unlikely solution. They’ve completely replaced my trusty Powerbeats Pro 2 for workouts, and I don’t miss a thing.
