After a couple of years of fitful starts and delays, Samsung's AR smart glasses finally appear to be becoming a reality.
Earlier this week, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported that Samsung will reveal its new wearable during the Samsung Galaxy S25 Unpacked Event in January 2025.
Today, in a late Friday tweet, tipster Jukanlosreve claimed that the new smart glasses will not feature a display, instead they will be similar to Meta's Ray-Ban glasses (pictured above, worn by Tom's Guide managing editor Kate Kozuch).
This is, they say, due to micro-LED technology being "immature." They went on to say that the second or third generation of Samsung's glasses will feature a micro-LED display starting in 2026.
Exclusive: Samsung’s first AR device will not feature a display, similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses. This is because micro-LED technology is still immature.Instead, Samsung plans to release its 2nd or 3rd generation AR devices featuring micro-LED in 2026. Meta is also expected…December 6, 2024
We've seen other clues that point to Samsung launching a new platform soon. During its summer Unpacked event, when Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, the company announced that we would see a new XR product by the end of the year. In November, a Samsung patent popped up showing off a headset, more like the Meta Quest 3S, with controllers and gesture controls. That patent also hinted a set of smart glasses.
Speaking of Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook might release a competing product with a display in 2026 as well. Earlier this year, the company revealed Project Orion, a set of smart glasses which already uses micro-LED displays. However, that project is more conceptual having only produced 1,000 units meant for testing and developers. It's not clear when a mass-produced commercial version will debut.
The tweet claims that the glasses might use displays from the Chinese company JBD which already makes micro-LED projectors for smart glasses. Though, as of this writing, their product is not associated with any smart glasses manufacturers that we're aware of.
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