Samsung Galaxy XR launch teases some cool smart glasses

Overnight, Korean tech giants, Samsung, finally launched a long-awaited device. Dubbed the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, the model marks the brand's first move into the mixed reality headset space, and sees it go toe-to-toe with the Apple Vision Pro.

It makes a good case for itself, too, with a substantially lower price tag than Apple's equivalent offering, which should make it more appealing to the general public. The headset is currently only available in the USA and South Korea, though we're hoping it comes further afield in due course.

But it wasn't the only piece of exciting news. The final moments of the presentation were utilised to offer insight into the brand's work in the smart glasses space.

While very little was actually confirmed, the speaker did note that Samsung would be working with both Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on the project. For the unaware, those are two eyewear manufacturers, and are the same two partners noted by Google at its showcase earlier this year.

Personally, I think that's a really smart move from Samsung. Tech is one half of the battle, but something you wear needs to be stylish and fashionable if it's really going to work.

It's a big part of the reason why I think Meta has been so successful in its Ray-Ban collaboration. Users aren't seeing a tech product, they see a pair of fashionable glasses with a cool, technological twist and that's much more palatable for the masses.

The end sequence shows a dramatized idea of what those smart glasses could offer. That includes overlays in the airport which point you towards the right gate for your departure, or at a football match, to give you a virtual scoreboard and live player data.

There's no word on when this is coming, but it certainly looks like an interesting development. We'll be keeping a close eye on this one.