{"id":816819,"date":"2026-07-22T15:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T15:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/816819\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T15:42:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T15:42:14","slug":"samsung-promises-stronger-better-smart-glasses-but-what-about-privacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/816819\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Promises Stronger, Better Smart Glasses. But What About Privacy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back at Google\u2019s I\/O developer conference in May, I tried Samsung and Google\u2019s smart glasses<\/a>, which are expected this fall. At Samsung\u2019s latest phone and watch-focused Unpacked event<\/a>, a few more details on those glasses have emerged. New frame designs, some promised battery life and specs, and also, how Samsung and Google aim to address privacy concerns with glasses that Meta\u2019s currently facing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Samsung and Google\u2019s first wave of smart glasses are display-free, but have a camera, microphones and speakers, much like many of Meta\u2019s glasses<\/a>. Display-enabled versions are also on the way, like Meta\u2019s Ray-Ban Displays<\/a>, but afterwards. They run Qualcomm chipsets inside, much like Meta\u2019s glasses also do.<\/p>\n

The big difference for these glasses is how they support Gemini AI and deep connections to Android phones, along with working with Google Wear OS watches. Samsung\u2019s watches will control the glasses, something I got to try a bit of during a glasses demo in May.<\/p>\n

The glasses, as we already knew, are designed with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. But Samsung showed off two new frame designs at Unpacked, to go with the two already revealed<\/a> at Google I\/O. The four frames revealed so far look good, but from a distance won\u2019t seem much different from Meta\u2019s existing glasses designs. Won-Joon Choi, Samsung\u2019s COO of mobile experiences, confirmed that more designs are yet to be revealed when he spoke to reporters in London before Samsung Unpacked.<\/p>\n

\"\"The new Warby Parker frame design (Photo by Tara Brown\/CNET).<\/p>\n

Choi revealed more details about the upcoming glasses in an on-record chat. He said that durability tests for the glasses show better strength than standard eyewear, \u201cmultiple times stronger than regular glasses.\u201d Samsung has already filed more than 200 patents filed for its smart glasses tech.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Warby Parker and Gentle Monster glasses use Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipsets, the processor that\u2019s also in Meta\u2019s glasses. The battery life sounds better, though: according to Choi, they can run for 9 hours on a charge (one hour better than Meta\u2019s latest models), and even do that while handling video recording and Gemini Live AI modes, although we\u2019ll see how battery life actually handles in a future review. The glasses case can charge the glasses an additional seven times.<\/p>\n

\"\"The charging case for the Gentle Monster glasses. (Photo by Tara Brown\/CNET)<\/p>\n

The privacy problem<\/p>\n

The glasses will run both Google Gemini and Samsung Bixby AI, offering at least a bit of a choice compared to glasses like Meta\u2019s. But privacy concerns sound like they\u2019re still at play. Google and Samsung\u2019s glasses will show a recording light when taking photos or videos, but they need to be on your face to work. If the LED is blocked, the camera won\u2019t record either.<\/p>\n

But Choi acknowledges that privacy concerns on camera-enabled AI glasses is a shared industry problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But this is also, according to Choi, \u201cjust the beginning\u201d for where Samsung wants to go with its interconnected wearables. These glasses still use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to connect. Choi says that \u201cis not enough\u201d for where camera-enabled eyewear needs to be, and that Qualcomm and Samsung are working on future ideas.<\/p>\n

\"\"The two newly revealed frame designs designs have a pretty familiar-for-smart glasses look (Credit: Samsung)<\/p>\n

Better connections for wearables, especially for future higher-bandwidth devices like display glasses or full AR glasses, feels like a must. And even more so when you might have a watch, earbuds and glasses all connected at once. And Choi acknowledged that AI services, too, still need to evolve.<\/p>\n

But so do privacy considerations. Samsung\u2019s acknowledgment of the industry problem around glasses privacy doesn\u2019t solve the problem. Choi feels that \u201cif you stop the innovation, you don\u2019t go anywhere,\u201d and expresses confidence that Samsung (and Google) will find a way to \u201coptimize the right solution\u201d going forward. I\u2019m curious to see how Samsung and Google\u2019s AI privacy settings will feel compared to Meta\u2019s. And also, how much better the phone and AI hook-ins will feel in everyday use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more, it looks like we\u2019ll need to wait till the fall. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Scott\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScott Stein\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEditor at Large\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tI started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR\/AR, tablets, gaming and future\/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSee full bio\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Back at Google\u2019s I\/O developer conference in May, I tried Samsung and Google\u2019s smart glasses, which are expected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,105],"class_list":["post-816819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}