The market for artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses, widely seen as a next-generation device after smartphones, is expected to heat up in the second half of the year as Samsung Electronics and Meta prepare competing launches. As AI moves into eyewear, companies are betting on real-time translation, hands-free controls and faster processing of visual information to push “wearable AI” into the mainstream.
Industry sources and foreign media reported Sunday that Samsung, working with Google and Qualcomm, is expected to reveal its next AI smart glasses as early as July. Attention is focused on Samsung’s second-half “Galaxy Unpacked” event, scheduled to be held in London, where the company could show the device publicly for the first time.
The product is being developed as a three-way effort: Samsung’s hardware, Google’s Android-based wearable operating system and a dedicated Qualcomm chipset. Samsung previously said at an Unpacked event early last year that it would work with Google and Qualcomm to build an extended reality, or XR, ecosystem.
Samsung’s glasses are expected to emphasize a lighter, everyday eyewear form rather than a headset-style XR device. Cameras and sensors in the frame are expected to track a user’s gaze, while Google’s generative AI, Gemini, would analyze objects in view or provide real-time interpretation and translation services.
The device is also expected to be “screenless,” with no separate display, to keep weight down and focus on an AI assistant and audio functions. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 chip is expected to serve as the device’s processor, handling complex AI algorithms quickly. The glasses are expected to support immediate interaction without a smartphone connection. The price is expected to range from $379 to $499.
Meta, meanwhile, is stepping up its push into South Korea with its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The company recently set July as the launch date for its AI glasses in the country, after strong global demand. It is expected to lead with the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses and also introduce two Oakley Meta series models in a goggle-like design.
Unlike Samsung’s expected approach, Meta’s product is described as keeping the look of regular glasses while inserting display lenses and maximizing voice-based “Meta AI” assistant features. Users can listen to music, make calls and capture point-of-view photos. The South Korea models are expected to include Korean-language features and services tailored to local users, as part of a strategy to improve convenience for customers in the country.
Both companies are investing heavily in AI smart glasses as they compete for leadership in what they see as a “post-smartphone” market. Smartphones have clear physical limits, while glasses are directly tied to a user’s field of view, making them a strong platform for AI to understand context, the report said.
Counterpoint Research said the global AR smart glasses market grew 98% in 2025 from a year earlier. Growth in the second half of last year rose 148% from the same period a year earlier.
“AI smart glasses will be a contest over who delivers the most convenient AI user experience,” an industry official was quoted as saying. With Samsung’s ecosystem strength facing Meta’s early technology lead, the official said, the smart glasses market appears to be approaching a turning point.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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