HTC challenges Meta for the US smart glasses market with Vive Eagle

HTC may not be in the phone business any longer, but the company has discovered new niches to fill, as we’ve seen with the HTC Vive VR platform. This time last year, we heard about plans to expand Vive into smart glasses with the launch of the Vive Eagle smart glasses. Earlier this summer, we learned that the Vive Eagle was finally coming to the US in September, and today we’ve got the full details on that debut, ready to share.

The Vive Eagle take a glasses-first approach to smart eyewear, and that means a priority on a sleek, comfortable fit — and that also means one not encumbered by screens. That makes these feel like a direct competition to the likes of Meta’s smart glasses.

For the US market, HTC is giving us a choice of two frame styles in a variety of colors: “square” frames (above) in coffee, black, and berry red, as well as round frames (below) in charcoal, clear brown, and navy. You also have a pick of lens options — there’s a Zeiss lens by default, but you can also go with sunglasses or even photochromic lenses.

The hardware is equipped with 4GB of RAM and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 chip. The onboard 12MP ultrawide camera records up to 10 minutes of video at once, and can even do slo-mo for a minute straight. You can livestream to YouTube or Twitch, and capture in 2K resolution vertical format for social media. You’ve got 32GB of encrypted on-board storage to house your clips.

Without a screen, you’ll be relying on voice commands for much of your interactions with Vive Eagle, and you’ll have the option of working with OpenAI or Gemini out of the box — and can toggle between them as needed — as well as its own Vive AI. A side button lets you call up your agent of choice without needing a wake word, and you can also reconfigure the button in software. HTC includes two years of AI access with your purchase, and there will be monthly plans available after that.

Rather than a charging case, HTC goes with a more flexible pogo-pin cable solution. And for charging on the go, a tiny magnetic battery pack weighing just 8GB can snap right on the frames to fill them back up to 80%. The frame’s electronics are all IP54-certified, keeping them safe against light water exposure.

Privacy is a big deal for smart glasses right now, and HTC is equipping the Vive Eagle with some clever protections because of that. Rather than just letting people know you’re filming by illuminating an LED, HTC also listens for “stop recording” commands from your subject. The glasses also won’t record if you take them off and leave them sitting somewhere.

Pricing starts at $499 for clear or sun lenses, with auto-darkening photochromic lenses available for $599. HTC is taking US orders as of today.