I biked with the Meta Oakley Vanguard, and they're easily the best smart glasses for athletes

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• The Meta Oakley Vanguards start at $499 and come in four shades.
• They're based on the classic Sphaera design.
• The glasses pair with Garmin for real-time workout info.

I'm not a professional snowboarder, nor will I ever bike down a mountain like I have nine lives, but putting on the new Meta Oakley Vanugard glasses this week sure gave me false hope.

The Vanguards were introduced at Meta Connect this week alongside two other pairs of Ray-Ban-branded glasses. And while I expected these to interest me the least -- because the extent of my workouts is chasing the subway to the office -- I left my hands-on session with curiosity and exhilaration.

Also: Meta Connect 2025 live updates: Ray-Ban Display, Oakley Vanguard glasses, more

These are only the second pair of smart glasses ...