Samsung, Google to launch AI glasses in December, challenging Meta's dominance

Pre-orders open in US on Wednesday; South Korea launch also set for December

Voice commands enable AI assistant, real-time translation and more

Global AI glasses market projected to reach $44 billion by 2032

A new design of the Intelligent Eyewear unveiled July 22. [Samsung Electronics]

Samsung Electronics and Google are set to challenge Meta's grip on the AI glasses market, with the two companies planning to officially launch their jointly developed Intelligent Eyewear in December in both South Korea and the United States.

The launch comes as the global AI glasses market is expected to grow rapidly, intensifying the race among major tech companies to establish an early lead.

According to industry sources, Samsung Electronics, Google and Gentle Monster will open pre-orders for the Intelligent Eyewear — an AI glasses product built on Google's Android extended reality (XR) platform — to US customers on Wednesday (local time). A domestic launch is also expected in December.

The Intelligent Eyewear was first unveiled at Google I/O 2026, held May 19 (local time) in Mountain View, California. A second design was subsequently revealed at the 2026 Galaxy Unpacked event in the United Kingdom.

The Intelligent Eyewear pairs Samsung Electronics-developed hardware with Google's generative AI, Gemini. South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster and US brand Warby Parker are collaborating on frame design.

Users can interact with Gemini entirely through voice commands. The device supports a range of hands-free functions, including an AI assistant, real-time translation and interpretation, navigation, context-aware information, visual recognition, music playback, voice calls and photo capture.

For example, users can say "order food delivery" or "find a nearby convenience store," and the glasses will carry out the corresponding task.

Specific product specifications and pricing have not yet been disclosed.

Two additional new designs of the Intelligent Eyewear unveiled July 22. [Samsung Electronics]

The global AI glasses market is forecast to grow rapidly, drawing intensifying competition among major technology companies.

According to Counterpoint Research, the AI glasses market — encompassing augmented reality (AR) glasses and smart glasses — is projected to reach $44 billion by 2032, equivalent to roughly one-fifth of the total wearables market.

Big tech companies are competing fiercely for a share of that growth. Counterpoint Research expects the market's expansion to continue as investment and competition from Google, Samsung Electronics and Apple build on the momentum already established by Meta.

Meta currently leads the AI glasses market by a wide margin. In the first half of this year, Meta held a 94 percent share of AI glasses shipments in the display-free segment, followed by Xiaomi at 1 percent, Alibaba at 1 percent and others at 4 percent.

Samsung Electronics and Google are now entering that market together. Apple is also considering launching its own display-free AI glasses next year, powered by Siri and Apple Intelligence.

"As the wearables market is expected to grow strongly, competition among big tech companies over AI glasses is entering full swing," an industry official said. "The launch of the Intelligent Eyewear, jointly developed by Samsung and Google, is expected to further expand the existing AI glasses market."

ko@heraldcorp.com