Samsung is taking aim at Meta's dominance of the booming AI glasses market with a new pair of camera-equipped smart glasses — but the South Korean giant is entering a market where its rival already has a huge head start. The company is preparing to launch its first Android XR-powered glasses in November, according to a Samsung official who confirmed the timing to The Korea Herald. The price, however, remains secret.
Samsung first tested the device publicly alongside Google at Google I/O in May, before showing off more of its design and features at Galaxy Unpacked in London in July.
Known as Intelligent Eyewear, the glasses look more like ordinary spectacles than a futuristic headset. There is no screen built into the lenses. Instead, cameras and microphones capture what the wearer sees and hears, with Google's Gemini AI processing the information through a connected Galaxy smartphone.
The glasses then deliver answers through built-in speakers — essentially turning a pair of ordinary-looking spectacles into a hands-free AI assistant.
Based on the design, Samsung is betting that lighter could mean better.
At its July Unpacked event, the company claimed Intelligent Eyewear would be "lighter than most AI glasses". Local reports suggest Samsung is targeting a weight up to 5 grams below Meta's 51-gram base Ray-Ban Meta model, although the final weight has not yet been confirmed.
Samsung's AI Glasses Challenge: Meta's Dominance
AI glasses shipments surged by 263 per cent year-on-year during the first half of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research. Display-free glasses accounted for a staggering 96 per cent of all shipments — and Meta controlled 94 per cent of that segment.
Meta is also expanding its range just as Samsung prepares to arrive.
At Meta Connect on 23 September, the company upgraded its camera-equipped Ray-Ban Meta glasses and unveiled Ray-Ban Meta Audio, its first camera-free AI glasses. The new model is aimed at consumers who want AI assistance without having a camera sitting on their face. They also collaborated with pop star household Lisa, from BLACKPINK, and launched The Meta Glasses by LISA collection.
That camera, however, has become one of the industry's biggest headaches.
Meta's camera-equipped glasses have faced criticism over privacy and the possibility of people being recorded without their knowledge. In some cases, critics have even dubbed them "pervert glasses" after reports of people being filmed without consent.
Meta uses a visible recording light on its glasses and disables the camera if the indicator is covered.
Samsung is now facing similar questions before its glasses have even reached shops.
South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission reportedly met Samsung in late July to discuss how people nearby should be alerted when the glasses' cameras or microphones are operating. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT began drafting safer-use guidelines in September amid concerns over covert filming and even potential cheating in exams.
Samsung says it has built its own safeguards into Intelligent Eyewear. LEDs on both the inside and outside of the frame will indicate when the glasses are recording, while the camera will be disabled if the external indicator is deliberately obscured.
For Samsung, the challenge is therefore not simply building an AI-powered pair of glasses.
It is convincing consumers to put a camera, microphone and AI assistant on their face — and trust it.
