Samsung Electronics is mounting a direct challenge for supremacy in the global AI glasses market. With Meta currently dominating with a market share exceeding 85%, Samsung is partnering with Google to unveil its first AI glasses, the “Galaxy Glass,” at Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in London on July 22 (local time). The device is expected to feature Google’s “Gemini AI” assistant, offering a wearable experience that blends into daily life by recognizing surroundings in real time and answering voice queries.<\/p>\n
Samsung’s entry is poised to reshape the AI glasses landscape. According to market research firm Omdia, global AI glasses shipments skyrocketed 322% year-over-year to 8.7 million units in 2025 and are projected to surpass 15 million units this year. Meta currently commands an overwhelming lead with an 85.2% market share. The industry is closely watching whether Samsung’s arrival will fracture Meta’s dominance and serve as a catalyst to accelerate mainstream adoption of AI glasses.<\/p>\n
AI-Powered Eyewear Aims to Leapfrog the Smartphone<\/p>\n
Galaxy Glass is the first AI glasses co-developed by Samsung Electronics and Google. Built on Google’s extended reality (XR) operating system, “Android XR,” its core functionality revolves around the Gemini AI assistant, which provides real-time responses to user questions and contextual awareness of the environment. Lacking a display, the device focuses on voice-based interaction through built-in microphones and speakers. Weighing approximately 50 grams, it reportedly features designs by Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, making it difficult to distinguish from regular eyewear.<\/p>\n
According to a 27-second leaked video pre-released by tech publication SamMobile, the device believed to be Galaxy Glass features a camera on the left frame and an LED indicator on the right. A touchpad on the right temple controls music playback and calls, while a separate touchpad on the left temple adjusts volume. Photos and videos captured are automatically transferred to a smartphone, and the glasses are expected to integrate closely with Samsung’s wearable ecosystem, including the Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch. Samsung is anticipated to showcase a polished design and feature set at Unpacked before an official launch in select markets this fall.<\/p>\n
Meta Fights to Defend Market Share with Price, Distribution, and Features<\/p>\n
With Samsung’s challenge imminent, Meta has swiftly activated its defensive strategy. Following the South Korean launch of the “Ray-Ban Meta” and “Oakley Meta” in May, the company added real-time Korean translation and expanded supported languages from six to twenty. Starting July 22, Meta plans to significantly broaden its offline retail presence beyond the three major South Korean telecom carriers, increasing consumer touchpoints. The lowest price for the two models in South Korea is \u20a9690,000 (approximately $460). Meta has also recently introduced a new lower-cost model priced at $299 globally, bolstering its price competitiveness.<\/p>\n
Meta’s moves are interpreted not only as a gambit to secure an early lead in the AI glasses market but also as a signal heralding a full-fledged competitive landscape with Samsung. With Apple also reportedly preparing to enter the AI glasses market, the industry anticipates a potential three-way battle among Samsung, Meta, and Apple.<\/p>\n
The “Creepy Glasses” Stigma: A Hurdle to Mainstream Adoption<\/p>\n
Behind the rapid growth of the AI glasses market, however, lurks a dark side of privacy violations and cheating. Police in Seoul’s Gangseo district are currently investigating a suspect who secretly filmed women he was dating using AI glasses and distributed the footage on social media without consent. The suspect covered the LED indicator light that signals recording, leaving victims completely unaware they were being filmed. Authorities are reviewing whether to apply sexual crime charges.<\/p>\n
Cheating at exam centers is also on the rise. The Korea TOEIC Committee detected two cases of cheating using AI glasses during a regular test in May, and three test-takers were caught wearing AI glasses during a computer-based industrial engineer exam administered by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. Similar cases have been reported overseas.<\/p>\n
Manufacturers are scrambling to devise countermeasures. Meta stated that its glasses are designed to activate a white LED indicator and emit a shutter sound from the speaker when the camera is operating, and that covering the LED prevents the camera from functioning. However, it has been revealed that specialized covers sold on overseas direct-purchase platforms can circumvent these safeguards. Because AI glasses are nearly identical in appearance to regular eyewear and advancing technology has made camera lenses even smaller and harder to spot with the naked eye, fundamentally blocking misuse is a structural challenge. “If misuse cases recur during the early stages of AI glasses adoption, it could negatively impact market growth,” an industry insider noted, adding, “Enhancing privacy protection features at the manufacturer level is urgent.”<\/p>\n
Meta Pours $22 Billion into AI Infrastructure, Seeks Cost Savings with Custom Chips<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Meta is significantly expanding its investment in AI infrastructure, the foundation for the competitiveness of future devices like AI glasses. According to Reuters and CNBC, Meta plans to double its computing infrastructure from 7 gigawatts (GW) this year to 14 GW by next year. Fourteen GW is equivalent to the power output of several large-scale power plants. Meta’s capital expenditure outlook for this year ranges from $125 billion to $145 billion, with server, network, and data center construction costs accounting for the bulk of spending.<\/p>\n
The company is also accelerating the development of custom AI chips to improve cost efficiency. Starting in September, Meta plans to mass-produce “Iris,” a new product in its custom-designed Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) family. The chip will be deployed for Facebook and Instagram’s recommendation and advertising systems, as well as generative AI services. Meta’s strategy is to continue using GPUs from Nvidia and AMD for training high-performance AI models while leveraging its own chips for repetitive recommendation and inference tasks to maximize cost and power efficiency. Broadcom is participating in the chip design, with TSMC handling production.<\/p>\n
Bank of America (BofA) estimated in a report that Meta’s infrastructure build cost per GW could fall to approximately $22 billion in 2026, less than half of its previous estimate of $45 billion. BofA analyzed that this level could secure more attractive economics than the estimated $10 billion to $16 billion in annual cloud revenue per GW generated by Amazon and Google. BofA maintained a “Buy” rating and an $835 price target on Meta. Buoyed by this optimism, Meta’s stock surged 7% in early trading on July 10 (local time), breaking above its 200-day moving average for the first time in over two months, while retail investor sentiment flipped to “very bullish.”<\/p>\n
To stabilize its data center supply chain, Meta has reportedly secured multi-year supply agreements with Samsung Electronics, SanDisk, and Sumitomo Electric for memory semiconductors, flash storage, and fiber optic equipment. However, it has not been confirmed whether the contract with Samsung Electronics includes high-bandwidth memory (HBM).<\/p>\n
The twin developments of Samsung’s Galaxy Glass unveiling and Meta’s AI infrastructure expansion underscore the explosive growth potential of the AI wearables market, while demonstrating that competition among global Big Tech players is escalating into an all-out war spanning hardware, software, and infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Samsung Electronics is mounting a direct challenge for supremacy in the global AI glasses market. With Meta currently…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[14661,11593,18074,40884,11594,2730,44147,15877,44146,127,276],"class_list":["post-82389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-samsung-electronics","tag-ai-glasses","tag-android-xr","tag-galaxy-glass","tag-galaxy-unpacked-2026","tag-gemini-ai","tag-google","tag-iris","tag-meta","tag-ray-ban-meta","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-electronics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}