Samsung challenges Meta with ‘Galaxy Glasses: to launch later this year

Samsung Electronics officially confirmed at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026 that it will launch its first AI-powered smart glasses later this year. The device, dubbed internally as "Project HAEAN," represents the first wearable product from the massive "Android XR" partnership between Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm.

The architecture: Glasses as sensors, phone as the brain

Following the industry shift away from self-contained headsets, Samsung’s glasses utilize a tethered compute model to maximize wearability and battery life.

The glasses feature a built-in camera positioned at eye level, allowing the AI to "see" exactly what the wearer sees. All heavy processing, including image recognition and natural language understanding, is offloaded to a connected Galaxy smartphone. This allows the glasses to remain lightweight and socially acceptable for all-day use.

The galaxy glasses are rumored to be around 50 grams and will have agentic capabilities. Instead of just taking photos, the glasses act as an autonomous assistant that can perform tasks like booking a hotel, translating a physical menu, or calling a ride just by listening to your voice and seeing your environment.

The partnership strategy

Samsung is leveraging a broad ecosystem to ensure the glasses have a competitive edge over Meta’s 82% market dominance.

The glasses will run on Android XR, with deep integration for Google Gemini. This provides access to a much wider ecosystem of apps and services than Meta’s current social-platform-focused AI. The hardware is reportedly built on the Snapdragon AR1 platform, purpose-built silicon for lightweight frames that prioritizes thermal management and low power consumption.

To complete the look, Samsung is collaborating with luxury eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to ensure the glasses look like traditional fashion accessories rather than "tech gadgets."

When asked about a built-in display at MWC, Jay Kim declined to confirm its existence, suggesting that users can reach for their phone or Galaxy Watch if they need a visual screen.

Market context: The 2026 wearable war

The announcement sets up a massive confrontation for the 2026 holiday season.

Meta currently owns the space, but analysts at Counterpoint Research suggest that a "Gemini-powered" alternative could peel away Android users who find Meta’s ecosystem too restrictive.

Apple is also rumored to be working on its own glasses, but most reports suggest a 2027 debut at the earliest.