GM of Android XR, Shahram Izadi, on stage at Google I/O 2025.
Google I/O (screenshot by Jason Hiner)
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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Samsung’s AI glasses running Android XR would compete with the Meta Ray-Bans.
- The smart glasses will reportedly be announced at an Unpacked event on September 29.
- The product will be powered by Google Gemini and have features not included in Meta Ray-Bans.
Samsung’s AI smart glasses to compete with Meta Ray-Bans will reportedly be one of the three cutting edge devices Samsung will announce at an Unpacked event in South Korea on September 29, as ZDNET has reported. The other two products are the Project Moohan XR headset and the tri-fold smartphone.
Like the Meta Ray-Bans, Samsung’s glasses will be audio-only and will be focused on features such as providing faster and more convenient access to an AI assistant, cameras, and audio for calls, music, and podcasts, Also, based on the same reports out of Korea from Newsworks, ETNews and NewsPim, the Samsung glasses will include navigation, real-time translation, and situational awareness.
The name of the product will likely be “Samsung Galaxy Glasses,” based on a Samsung filing with the US Patent Office.
Also: I wore Google’s XR glasses, and they already beat my Ray-Ban Meta in 3 ways
Based on prior statements by Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm, the Galaxy Glasses will run Android XR and will most likely be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1, the same chip that powers Meta Ray-Bans — even though Qualcomm announced its next-gen Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1 in June 2025 at the AWE event.
During the Google I/O keynote in May 2025, the GM of Android XR, Shahram Izadi, said, “We’re taking our partnership with Samsung to the next level by extending Android XR beyond headsets to glasses. We’re creating the software and reference hardware platform to enable the ecosystem to build great glasses alongside us. Our glasses prototypes are already being used by trusted testers.”
As one of Google’s founding collaborators on Android, Samsung would certainly be considered a trusted tester.
Android XR prototype demoed at Google I/O 2025.
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
Anshel Sag, Principal Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, sees a clear path forward for Samsung in this space. He said, “Samsung really gets it, based on everything I’ve seen from the company regarding wearables. Samsung makes some of the best hardware available, and if the company can ship competitive hardware paired with Google Gemini and Android XR, that could be a very powerful solution.”
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However, Sag doesn’t think there’s been enough time for Samsung to have integrated the next-gen Snapdragon AR1+ Gen 1 chip for smart glasses that was released this spring and promises a 20% smaller footprint, lower power consumption, better image quality in photos and videos, on-device language models, and better privacy by sending fewer AI queries to the cloud.
“I am not sure it will be an AR1+ Gen 1, but it could be — only if the announcement happens this year and the product ships next year,” said Sag. “When I last spoke to Qualcomm at AWE 2025, it didn’t seem like we were getting AR1+ Gen 1 products until sometime next year.”
Let’s not forget that before Samsung’s September 29 announcement, Meta will unveil its next smart glasses at Meta Connect on September 17. Meta is expected to release two products — a set of $800 AR glasses codenamed Hypernova and an incremental upgrade to its popular audio-only AI glasses, the Meta Ray-Bans.
There’s also a lot more happening in the smart glasses space this fall with new products expected from Rokid, Even Realities, Brilliant Labs, and others.
ZDNET reached out to Samsung for comment and will provide updates when we learn more.