For most of my time as a technology journalist, the idea of smart glasses was decidedly disappointing.
While it’s impressive to be able to fit a camera, microphones, and other technology into a pair of glasses, I just couldn’t understand the usefulness of them for most people. And who wouldn’t feel a little uneasy about being secretly filmed in the street?
A new perspective
That was until I went to Hawaii for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in October 2024. With hundreds of technology journalists and influencers in attendance, there was always a good chance that I would be exposed to new technology that I had never seen before.
My first direct encounter with smart glasses came on the second day when I tried out the latest Snap Spectacles AR glasses in a live demo.
The Snapchat maker’s fifth attempt at smart glasses delivers an immersive virtual experience for gaming and education, even if they’re too bulky and expensive to be a viable consumer option at this point.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
But the real game-changing moment came when I was laying by the pool with two of my tech journalist friends. Both wore the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which looked a lot like my regular wayfarer sunglasses, but packed with impressive extra technology.
I was already familiar with the idea of using the built-in camera and microphones to seamlessly capture memories without needing your phone. When used responsively, I can clearly see how useful this can be.
However, it’s the virtual assistant’s capabilities that really caught my attention. In addition to using Ray-Ban Meta glasses for basic weather and searches, you can also call on Meta’s AI to better understand the world around you.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
Within a few seconds, my friends were able to ask their glasses what bird species was nearby and get an accurate answer. That’s a surreal statement, and something I never thought was possible with today’s technology.
There are countless possible use cases, including learning more about different plants, translating text from an unknown language, and identifying the song playing around you. Provided it’s accurate, this is better than taking your phone out every time.
Why Samsung?
This begs the question: if the Ray-Ban Meta glasses are so impressive, why don’t I just buy them instead of waiting for another tech giant?
In reality, there are a few big things holding me back. The first is the price, with all versions still costing at least £299/$299 at the time of writing.
The other, and perhaps more important, is that it’s Meta that powers the glasses’ most compelling features. Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, I have been very concerned about the amount of data I give to Meta. I still use Facebook and WhatsApp, but the company next to my eyes feels like a step too far.
Plenty of other companies have dabbled in smart glasses, but none of the biggest phone makers have tried it yet. If rumors are to be believed, Samsung is gearing up to release its own Galaxy smart glasses in 2025, and they could be teased as early as January.
Samsung has already popularized the smart ring with the release of the Galaxy Ring in 2024, and I have no doubt it could do the same for smart glasses in 2025.
Chris Martin / Foundry
I’ve generally enjoyed using Galaxy AI on Samsung’s phones, and many of the features could work well on smart glasses.
According to leaker Jukanlosreve, the Galaxy glasses will match the Ray-Ban Metas in not including a micro-LED screen (this is expected in future generations), but that works for me.
If Samsung could offer a similar experience for a lower price while maintaining its strict privacy credentials, I’d be very excited.