Giants Clash: Samsung’s Tech Challenge Against Meta Ray-Ban
In collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, Samsung plans to launch its lightweight and powerful AR glasses in 2025, featuring advanced recognition capabilities and enhanced connectivity.
Samsung Unveils Smart Glasses Set for 2025 Release
In the fast-paced world of technology, Samsung, in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, is keeping up. According to a report by Maeil Business Newspaper, Samsung’s much-anticipated smart glasses won’t hit the market until late 2025, featuring specifications similar to Ray-Ban’s Meta glasses.
Technical Specifications
The glasses will be powered by Qualcomm’s AR1 chip and will have a 155mAh battery, all while weighing just 50 grams. They will also feature a 12MP Sony camera and a custom Gemini LLM developed with Google. These specs mirror those of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which also use the AR1 chip, although Qualcomm has since released an AR2 chip.
The key difference will lie in the AI technology between Meta and Google’s Gemini, which is likely to handle a variety of tasks. According to the report, it could be used for “QR code recognition payments, gesture recognition, and human recognition functions.” While Ray-Ban’s glasses don’t offer these features, Meta has teased live translation capabilities at its September conference.
Technological Partnership
The partnership among Google, Qualcomm, and Samsung for the XR platform was announced in February 2023. At the Unpacked event in July, Samsung and Google stated that a device would be released in 2024. However, Samsung seems to have pivoted several times in response to Apple’s Vision Pro headset and its reported shortcomings.
A Highly Anticipated Innovation
Interestingly, the report does not mention a headset. Earlier this week, a Samsung patent revealed both a VR/AR headset and a pair of smart glasses, suggesting that the glasses might work in conjunction with the headset or as a standalone visual display device.
It is clear that Samsung is developing some form of XR device. If the company plans to launch it next year, we might get a sneak peek at CES early in the year or possibly during the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25, scheduled for January 23. Earlier this year, Samsung used a similar strategy with the Galaxy Ring, teasing the smart ring at Mobile World Congress in February before its July release.