Samsung is preparing to enter the AI glasses market. Its first smart glasses product is set to launch in November with the Korean tech giant taking aim at Meta’s dominant position in the category.

While Samsung Electronics has confirmed the November launch of its first AI-powered glasses, initially in the US and South Korea, Australian availability has not yet been confirmed. Samsung Australia has indicated it hopes to bring the glasses to the local market at a later date.

The smart glasses are being developed with Google together with eyewear companies including Gentle Monster and Warby Parker.

The device, known as Intelligent Eyewear, is based on Google’s Android XR platform and was first shown publicly alongside Google at its I/O developer conference in May. Samsung provided further details about the product at its Galaxy Unpacked event in London in July.

Unlike some of the smart glasses being developed across the industry, Samsung’s first model will not feature a built-in display. Instead, a camera and microphones will capture information from the wearer’s surroundings, while Google’s Gemini AI will process the information via a user’s connected Galaxy smartphone. Responses will be delivered through speakers built into the glasses.

Samsung is also putting the physical weight of the product into focus, promoting the device as lighter than most existing AI glasses. The company has not revealed a final weight, although Korean media reports have suggested the glasses could be up to 5 grams lighter than Meta’s 51-gram base Ray-Ban Meta model.

The launch comes as demand for AI-enabled eyewear accelerates. Counterpoint Research data shows global AI glasses shipments increased 263% year-on-year in the first half of 2026.

Display-free glasses accounted for 96% of shipments during the period, with Meta holding an estimated 94% share of that segment.

Meta is expanding its own range as Samsung prepares to enter the market. At its September 23 Meta Connect event, the company introduced Ray-Ban Meta Audio, its first camera-free AI glasses, alongside updates to its camera-equipped Ray-Ban Meta products.

The growing presence of cameras on wearable devices has also raised privacy concerns, particularly around people being recorded without their knowledge.

Meta’s camera-equipped glasses include a visible recording light and are designed to disable the camera if the indicator is covered.

Samsung is facing similar scrutiny ahead of its launch in South Korea. The country’s Personal Information Protection Commission reportedly met with Samsung in July to discuss how people nearby would be alerted when the glasses’ cameras or microphones are operating.

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT also began drafting guidelines for safer use of AI glasses in September, amid concerns including covert filming and potential misuse during exams.

Samsung has said its glasses will use LEDs on the inside and outside of the frame to signal when recording is taking place. The company also says the camera will be disabled if the external indicator is deliberately obscured.

Samsung has yet to announce pricing for the Intelligent Eyewear.