Samsung Expected to Launch Smart Glasses at Galaxy S25 Event in January

According to a fresh report from South Korea’s Yonhap News, Samsung is gearing up to introduce a new pair of XR glasses during its upcoming Unpacked event, which many expect will occur next month.

Back in July, Samsung indicated that we would hear more about their “XR platform” by the end of the year. This ambitious project is being developed alongside tech giants Google and Qualcomm.

The specifics of this “XR platform” are still under wraps. There have been whispers about a potential rival to Apple’s Vision Pro, as well as something to take on Ray-Ban Meta’s smart glasses. These murmurs were further fueled by an October report from The Information.

Now, the latest from Yonhap News, relayed through TechRadar, suggests Samsung might reveal a device that resembles ordinary glasses or sunglasses, and interestingly, it’s said to weigh around 50 grams.

It’s rumored this gadget will pack several intriguing features, including a payment function, gesture and facial recognition. Insiders in the industry are predicting a product launch around the third quarter of 2025. We might also get a glimpse of its Android-powered XR software sometime this month.

While Yonhap refers to it as “AR glasses” (after a machine translation from Korean), the reported weight and absence of built-in displays hint at similarities to Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses rather than Meta’s Orion AR glasses prototype.

For those curious about the distinctions between AR glasses and smart glasses, we’ve got a handy guide that breaks it down. But here’s the gist: smart glasses focus on providing data access similar to what you’d get on a smartphone or smartwatch, like a visual heads-up display or audio output, reminiscent of the Ray-Ban Meta. AR headsets, contrarily, overlay immersive visuals, akin to Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 or Meta Orion, making them more complicated and pricey to manufacture.

If Samsung does opt to release smart glasses instead of a full-fledged AR device, they’d be joining a growing market. Meta’s partnership with Ray-Ban has been a hit since its 2021 debut, so much so that they’ve extended their collaboration with EssilorLuxottica through 2030. Plus, rumors from China suggest Xiaomi is on the verge of launching a similar device, aiming to rival Ray-Ban Meta with the help of Goertek, a reliable ODM partner.

Interestingly, Samsung’s movements have been underscored by several new trademarks that hint at the next wave of XR devices. In mid-2023, they applied for the “Samsung Glasses” trademark in the UK, followed by a similar request in the US for “Galaxy Glasses” in early 2024.

Although Samsung hasn’t officially announced when Unpacked will take place, it’s traditionally held in January or February. However, a leak, as reported by Android Police, hints at a date: January 23rd in San Francisco, California.