Samsung, Google unveil AI smart glasses for fall

Samsung Electronics and Google unveiled smart glasses developed with US eyewear retailer Warby Parker and South Korea-based Gentle Monster, with a fall launch planned as the companies push into an AI eyewear market led by Meta.

The first models will use audio and cameras to connect users to Google Gemini for navigation, calls and translation, while versions with built-in displays are planned for 2027.

Pricing and exact release dates were not disclosed, and Google said more privacy details will be shared in coming months. Google is also preparing Project Aura, standalone AR glasses with Xreal, for release this year.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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Meta leads in smart glasses, though its closed platform leaves room for rivals

Google and Samsung are moving into a market that expanded 210% year over year in 2024, driven largely by Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses 1.
Meta’s second-generation glasses sell for $379 and rank as the strongest overall option now 2.
Samsung’s first non-display models are rumored to cost between $379 and $499 3.
Google and partners are aiming for display models in 2027. Meta already released its Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses in the US on September 30, 2025 for $799, with a neural wristband that works as a controller for hand-gesture commands 4.

Glasses are part of a larger contest over the next operating systems

Meta’s current glasses run inside a closed system. They cannot use third-party assistants like Google’s Gemini or Apple’s Siri, and features like livestreaming stay tied to Meta’s own apps 2.
Google is taking a more open approach with Android XR. Gemini can view the same scene as the wearer and work across a range of apps on a connected phone 3.
Google is backing that plan with tools such as AppFunctions, an Application Programming Interface (API) that lets apps offer their features as tools for an AI agent 5.
The result is a platform fight. Developers and buyers may have to pick between Meta’s tighter system and Google’s broader but more fragmented setup, carrying the smartphone software battle into face-worn devices.