Samsung releases two new AI smart glasses, with features almost copied from Meta, and privacy issues remain unresolved as well

Samsung for the first time publicly reveals the physical designs of two new smart glasses models, and along with the two unveiled in May, the lineup it has co-developed with Google expands to four frames, with an expected launch this fall. Battery life is up to 9 hours, powered by the same Qualcomm chipset as Meta, and the feature set is also highly similar.
(Background: Google teams up with Samsung to launch new smart glasses: Audio glasses to hit the market this fall, challenging Meta’s over 70% market share)
(Additional context: Snap’s new AR glasses, “Specs,” vows to end the smartphone era with a $2,195 price tag on a big bet)

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• Four frame options, complete the specs in one go
• Feature combinations, almost a copy of the Meta playbook
• Privacy—the hurdle every industry can’t get around

Nine hours is the specific battery-life figure Samsung is giving for its smart glasses this time. Samsung claims it’s more durable than Meta’s currently featured smart glasses. This is also the first time Samsung has laid out the physical details of the glasses in front of the public, to show that it genuinely wants to partner with Google and directly take on Meta in this market where Meta has over 70% market share.

Four frame options, complete the specs in one go

Samsung disclosed two new designs in an official announcement: a square black frame designed by Gentle Monster, and a more rounded reddish-brown model made by Warby Parker. Combined with the first two models unveiled at Google I/O in May, Samsung and Google’s Android XR “smart glasses” lineup has now expanded to four frame options, with a formal launch expected this fall.

From first appearance in May to now releasing physical design details, Samsung has followed a cautious step-by-step approach: first let the outside world know the product exists, then gradually fill in the specs, the look, and the launch timeline, so it avoids getting compared to Meta point by point right after laying everything out at once.

In the specs, Samsung provides concrete numbers to CNBC for the first time: battery life up to 9 hours, and the included charging case can provide up to 7 additional charges—meaning total usage time can last through a full week of commuting plus intermittent use. The glasses are driven by the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset, the same silicon chip used in Meta’s latest-generation smart glasses.

Jaein Choi, executive vice president of the Mobile Experience business unit, said more designs are coming, but pricing and the exact launch date have not been announced yet. She only described it as a “premium” product, signaling that Samsung plans to position the smart glasses at a flagship price tier.

Feature set, almost a copy of the Meta playbook

Users can choose to pair with Google Gemini or Samsung’s own Bixby to handle message summaries, real-time translation, navigation guidance, and analysis and descriptions of what the camera captures. But this feature list is almost identical to Meta smart glasses’ selling points word for word—so strong that it makes one wonder whether Samsung simply copied the opponent’s product briefing.

In terms of industrial design, Samsung also follows a path of “not looking like a tech product”: the frame weight is not much heavier than a thick-acrylic pair of glasses, and the overall size is about the same. Speakers and microphones are hidden in the temple arms, with a single button on the right side, a power switch on the left side, and a camera plus a recording LED in front of the frame.

In other words, Samsung didn’t choose to carve out a different battlefield with its appearance—it directly copied the success formula Meta has already proven: make smart glasses that look like ordinary eyewear and encourage people to wear them every day out of the house, then use Google’s ecosystem and the Galaxy phone user base to capture market share. It lacks imagination but is pragmatic—first catch up, then talk about differentiation.

Privacy—the hurdle no industry can bypass

The LED light in front of the frame will turn on during recording; Jaein Choi told Bloomberg that once the glasses detect that the LED is covered or obstructed, they will directly prevent recording. This mechanism is identical to Meta’s.

But the same mechanism couldn’t stop Meta’s smart glasses from being labeled “pervy glasses” by the public, nor could it dispel bystanders’ concerns about “being secretly filmed by the glasses.” Choi framed the privacy controversy as “a problem shared across the industry,” rather than a burden Samsung alone has to carry.

That statement is honest, yet it also highlights an awkward reality: the two companies have invested in the same chipset, the same AI features, and the same lightweight frames, but neither can produce a true solution. In the end, they both can only rely on an LED light and a promise to users: “I’m not secretly filming you.” This trust checkpoint won’t automatically get cleared just because another vendor joins the fight.