Samsung Electronics doesn't see the smart glasses it teased at this week's Unpacked being launched in 2025, a senior executive has said, perhaps to avoid overshadowing the much-hyped extended reality headset it showcased at the event.
The wearable augmented reality device was among a series of upcoming hardware from the Suwon-based company, including the slimmer Galaxy S25 Edge and the Project Moohan XR headset, which was also on display at Unpacked.
The smart glasses, however, appeared as a mere icon represented by a pair of eyeglasses during a presentation showcasing Samsung's hardware ecosystem. The device is also part of plans to help develop Google's Android XR operating system, which powers Project Moohan.
It also has the sparsest details and will be prepared for launch only "when it's ready", Hyesoon Jeong, executive vice president, and head of framework research and development at Samsung Electronics, told The National.
"For the Galaxy S25 Edge, we plan to launch it in the first half of this year and Project Moohan, perhaps not in the first half but within this year, we foresee that," Ms Jeong said on the sidelines of Unpacked, where the Galaxy S25 series was introduced.
"And for the [smart] glasses, I don't believe [they will be launched] this year, not this year. But we are making it ready, and when it's ready, it will be launched."
T M Roh, president of Samsung's mobile division, had told Bloomberg this week that the company plans to launch the smart glasses "as soon as possible".
Samsung's jump into the smart glasses and headset races will pit it against some of the tech industry's top names in an increasingly crowded sector – though it does have the resources, being the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturer and a top chipmaker, in addition to its partnership with Google.
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, already has its Meta Quest line-up of AR headsets and teamed up with Ray-Ban to launch smart glasses, while Microsoft already has its HoloLens. Apple, Samsung's biggest rival in smartphones, has the capable but highly priced Vision Pro.
For Google, it could be an opportunity to redeem itself from the failure of its Project Iris and, most notably, Google Glass, the Alphabet unit's first major attempt to bring the device into the mainstream that struggled with a number of problems and a hefty $1,500 price tag.
Samsung has given no further hints on its virtual reality wearables. For the time being, it is concentrating on its Google partnership, part of its wider strategy of further optimising the latest technology, Ms Jeong said. Google's generative AI platform, Gemini, has been integrated into the Galaxy S25 devices.
"We established a task force and worked hard with Google to develop [our new operating system]," she said.
The Samsung-Google team-up draws parallels to the alliance between Apple and OpenAI as the fight for generative AI on mobile devices heats up. However, unlike Apple's famously tightly guarded ecosystem, Samsung is encouraging open collaboration, according to Ms Jeong.
"Apple has a closed platform ... our collaboration model with Google is a little bit different because we're based on openness, trying to together build the ecosystem. We're working to establish a win-win relationship," she said.
For the broader industry, Samsung sees the heavy investments and key partnerships being forged for AI as a sign of a future in which companies will be jockeying for position to address consumer demand for the technology, Ms Jeong said.
These have been further super-charged by US President Donald Trump's announcement this week, that a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle and Japanese investment firm SoftBank is to pour in up to $500 billion to boost AI infrastructure in the US.
While declining to comment directly on the initiative, Ms Jeong said the big money being invested is setting the stage for more intense competition and readiness to cater to evolving AI requirements to be influenced by user preferences, and the need to instil trust in AI.
"The announcements of big investments such as that [in the US are] very future oriented ... yes, the direction for the future I think is being established right now and these AI features continuously will accelerate to these initiatives," she said.
"And with that, consumer expectations are also growing and their needs are quite diverse now. So we have to look into what consumer needs really are."
