There’s a lot to catch you up on in the world of Meta’s AI wearables. It all started with Mark Zuckerberg declaring the end of smartphones during an interview with Joe Rogan.

And after Meta declaring it’s now or never for its mixed reality products with Android XR looming, we’re starting to see more of what the company’s plans will be — namely watches, earbuds and Oakley-branded glasses.

Now on one hand, making the kind of shades that I’d normally see in my Dad’s golf bag is a smart move, to bring Meta AI to more people outside of myself and anyone else who loves the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Plus, the expanded size of the glasses means Zuck’s crew can do some new things with them, like add a display to the lens.

But I can’t lie… It’s a little cringe. Oakleys are peak Dadcore, and I fear this will lose the stylistic cool factor that Meta specs have at the moment.

Champagne Supernova

Let’s talk about what benefits the bigger wraparound lenses of Oakleys will bring, though. According to Bloomberg, the model codenamed “Supernova 2” will be based on Oakley’s Sphaera model — aimed specifically at outdoor athletes.

We’ve already seen other companies with their own take on this — namely the BleeqUp Rangers we saw at MWC 2025 — and Meta’s version sounds like it’ll be similar. Rumors are pointing to the camera being placed in a central position, along with all the Meta AI features you’re used to in the Ray-Ban specs.

All I can do is hope that people respect that “outdoor athletes” designation for this, or we’re going to see a whole lot of people giving off the dad-who-loves-cycling-but-just-got-into-golf vibes walking around, asking what they’re looking at. Meta is reportedly targeting a 2025 launch.

All the other future plans

But that’s not all that’s coming this year. Meta’s also bringing a high-end version of its specs codenamed “Hypernova.” These will sport a design closer to the Ray-Bans (fortunately), and include a display on the bottom of the right lens to project information into your field of view.

Think quick things like notifications, simple apps like arrows for navigation and photos you capture. This is bringing us closer to Meta’s Orion prototype, and the price is estimated to match those lofty expectations at $1,000.

Looking further ahead, Meta looks set to give us something that is more advanced and lighter than Orion in 2027 in a pair of AR glasses codenamed “Artemis.”

You’ve seen the progress on this so far, and my thoughts on that puck computer accompanying the package currently. Count me as stoked for these — provided they can find some real-world use cases for this computation.

Outlook

But speaking of real-world use cases begs the ultimate question — is the smartphone truly going to die in a decade like Zuckerberg told Rogan? The answer is a little more complicated in my opinion.

You see, the smartphone is really good. It’s a phenomenally powerful device that has become an essential part of any portable tech arsenal with no signs of slowing down. In fact, all of Meta’s tech and any AI accessory in general has had to connect to the smartphone to make it fully possible.

I’m sure there will be a time when that connection is no longer needed, but do people want that?

That will come down to making sure smart glasses don’t enter gimmick territory. But for now, let’s just worry about the influx of Oakley-wearing people at the barbecue.

I mean nothing bad to Oakley wearers — I just think they’re a little cringe when not worn for sports.

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