Samsung details smart glasses features at London Unpacked event, challenging Meta's dominance

One of Samsung's smart glasses on display at its Galaxy Unpacked event in London on July 22, 2026. Credit: Samsung

Samsung on Wednesday detailed the features of its upcoming smart glasses, including gesture controls, as it looks to mount its first challenge to Meta in the device category.

The South Korean tech giant had previously unveiled the "intelligent eyewear" at the Google I/O conference in May, showcasing two products designed with its partners Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. At the time, Samsung gave very few details about the design and functionality.

Key Features

At Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday, the company said the glasses include:

• Built-in camera — as CNBC first reported earlier this year. The camera can capture content the user is seeing, such as taking a video. It can also read content on a whiteboard or presentation and organize key information into notes.
• Message summarization — The device can summarize long messages received on a smartphone, with audio delivered through built-in speakers in the glasses.
• Gesture controls — James Choi, executive vice president at Samsung and head of the R&D division behind the glasses, said the company is testing gesture controls with its smartwatches. A person wearing a Samsung smartwatch could make a specific hand gesture to carry out a feature on the device. Users could also potentially perform gestures with Samsung's Galaxy Ring device, which launched in 2024, Choi added.

Technical Specifications

• Processor: Qualcomm's Snapdragon AR1 Gen1 chip
• Connectivity: Must be tethered to a smartphone
• Accessories: Includes a portable charging case

Design and Availability

When the device launches this fall, there will be "more designs" and colors beyond what Samsung has shown so far, Choi told CNBC.

The Meta Challenge

Samsung, one of the world's largest consumer electronics players, is entering a market that Meta has dominated since 2021 with its range of smart glasses, such as the Ray-Ban lineup.

According to IDC, Meta held a 69.2% share of the smart glasses market in the first quarter of 2026.

Meta has recently expanded its portfolio:

• Last month, it launched a $299 set of entry-level smart glasses.
• In 2025, the company unveiled the $799 Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, which feature a built-in display.

Pricing and Positioning

Choi would not disclose the pricing of Samsung's offering but said it would be positioned as a "premium" product. He added that the device will be sold through its partners' sales channels.

"We want to make it reasonable, but as I mentioned ... the quality of the product itself, we want to position as premium. It doesn't mean that it's crazy expensive," Choi said, adding that the glasses will not be at the "lower end."

Analyst Perspectives

Paolo Pescatore, founder of PP Foresight, told CNBC:

"Samsung's arrival represents a serious challenge to Meta, but success is far from guaranteed. Ray-Ban Meta already enjoys strong awareness and growing adoption, while Samsung has historically struggled to convert its vast smartphone base into users of complementary Galaxy devices. Eyewear represents another valuable upsell opportunity, but Samsung must deliver compelling everyday use cases and prove it can persuade consumers to buy into more than just the smartphone."

Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst at IDC, said he "wouldn't be surprised" if Samsung priced the device between $600 and $700 to "strengthen their premium brand." However, he cautioned that pricing the device high "without offering more" than Meta's Ray-Ban products currently offer carries risk.

"That is going to be quite a difficult move to sell that kind of device," Jeronimo said.

Market Outlook

Choi said the company has "just started" in the smart glass category and expects it to be a "niche market" that will not reach 100 million units in sales. He declined to provide Samsung's specific sales expectations.