Samsung gave us more details on its smart glasses at Unpacked, but there are still one or two things it's leaving out
We've now seen Samsung's Intelligent Eyewear in the flesh, but we're still missing a few key details
Quick Summary
Samsung showcased its "Intelligent Eyewear" AI glasses at Galaxy Unpacked, but still hasn't revealed how much they will cost and when you'll be able to buy them.
The glasses are built by Samsung, powered by Qualcomm and run on Google's Android XR platform. They are designed by glasses brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.
Samsung used Galaxy Unpacked to showcase its new AI glasses (again), but it didn't go as far as telling us when we'll be able to buy them or how much they are going to cost. All we know is that they are still on track for 2026, launching "this fall".
Samsung, Google and Qualcomm announced they were getting together to work on XR devices in 2023. While Qualcomm provides the chip to power these devices, Android supplies the platform – Android XR – with Samsung building the devices themselves.
That's resulted in the Galaxy XR headset, but it's also powering a new wave of AI glasses – what Samsung currently calls "Intelligent Eyewear". That starts with audio glasses, before moving into display glasses at some point in the future.
To nail down the design of these glasses, Samsung worked with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, so these aren't generic Samsung-branded glasses. They come with a name that some will recognise and will, ultimately, have a range of styles to choose from.
Google stole Samsung's thunder to a certain extent, previously revealing the glasses at Google I/O earlier in the year, mostly as a way of pushing the Android XR platform's progress.
At Unpacked, the AI glasses had a little time on stage, showing how they would slot into the Galaxy ecosystem, offering access to Google's Gemini for AI tasks, while in partnership with the Galaxy phone in your pocket and Galaxy Watch on your wrist.
These glasses are powered by the Snapdragon AR1 Gen1 chip, with Samsung suggesting that they will be able to do things like summarise meeting notes on a whiteboard, provide live translation, give real time information and route guidance, while also sharing and recording what they can see.
Samsung confirmed that the glasses will offer nine hours of battery life, beating Meta's eight hour claim.
Privacy concerns mount when it comes to smart glasses
While AI glasses have seen a huge boom in popularity with influencers and online content creators, they are also getting the attention of lawmakers, with concerns about privacy and surveillance. Filming using the camera is generally only indicated by a small LED on the front of the glasses.
Meta is facing a lawsuit over such concerns, in fact, and the European Parliament is also looking into privacy risks.
Samsung's own plans for smart glasses have been confusing to date, and when I asked what the go-to market name would be for the glasses, I was told that that hadn't been announced yet. Some believe that Samsung will release its own Galaxy AI glasses separate to the Warby Parker and Gentle Monster models that have come out of this collaboration.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked introduced a slew of new folding phones, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8 which already appears to be winning fans, along with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and refreshed Galaxy Z Flip 8.
