Samsung's first smart glasses is coming in 2025 to rival Meta's Ray-Ban

Samsung first teased its ambitions for smart glasses during the Galaxy S23 launch in 2023, introducing its vision for an “XR Experience” device. At the time, the company hinted at a bold entry into augmented reality, partnering with Qualcomm for chipsets and Google for AI capabilities.

However, while competitors like Meta and Apple moved forward with their own smart glasses in 2024—Meta with its Ray-Ban Stories and Apple reportedly working on lightweight smart glasses under Project Atlas—Samsung’s plans appeared to stall.

Now, it appears Samsung is finally ready to enter the space. According to reports from Sammobile, Samsung is planning a Q3 2025 launch for its first smart glasses, with a limited production run of 500,000 units. The move aligns with Samsung’s cautious approach to testing demand in an increasingly competitive smart glasses market, which is projected to reach $13.2billion by 2031.

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The glasses will reportedly feature Qualcomm’s AR1 chip as the primary processor, supported by an NXP auxiliary chip. Interestingly, the AR1 chip also powers Meta’s Ray-Ban Stories, Samsung’s potential primary competitor in this space.

Additionally, both devices appear to have similar specs, with Samsung’s glasses featuring a 12-megapixel Sony IMX681 CMOS camera for gesture recognition, QR code scanning, and potentially human recognition. Weighing 50 grams and powered by a 155mAh battery, Samsung’s glasses seem to mirror the lightweight form factor of the Meta Ray-Ban Stories.

Meanwhile, unlike Apple’s rumored AR glasses, Samsung’s glasses may lack a built-in display, relying instead on Google’s Gemini AI for enhanced functionality. This integration is expected to provide natural language processing and seamless connectivity with Android devices, making the glasses an extension of Samsung’s ecosystem.

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However, the timeline for an official announcement remains unclear. Some sources suggest Samsung may reveal the glasses during the Galaxy S25 launch in January 2025 or at CES 2025. Delays in previous milestones, such as missed XR hardware launches in late 2023 and October 2024, further suggest Samsung is taking a measured approach to refine the product and avoid past pitfalls seen with other smart glasses.

By balancing practicality with innovative AI capabilities, Samsung appears to be positioning itself as a serious contender in the smart glasses market. Whether these glasses will redefine AR wearables or serve as a stepping stone for future innovations remains to be seen, but with competition from Meta, Apple, and even Xiaomi, the battle for who has the better smart glasses is just heating up.