Eyes-on: First look at the Samsung Gentle Monster and Warby Parker smart glasses

Foldables were the main talking point at yesterday’s Galaxy Unpacked event, but Samsung is also placing a big bet on smart glasses as the next staple in its wearables lineup. Google's Android XR was announced back in 2024, and outside of the $1,800 Galaxy XR headset, Samsung is also trying to expand its presence with more mainstream-ready pairs of AI glasses.

These are the type that you'd actually wear outside with on-device cameras and access to hands-free Google Gemini. Samsung refers to these glasses simply as “Intelligent Eyewear,” and while we don’t have an official name, pricing or a launch date, we did get to spend some time with the first two versions at the Galaxy Unpacked experience booth.

Samsung collaborated with established eyewear brands Gentle Monster and Warby Parker to bring two designs to the table. Both run Android XR, though without any screens on the inside to clutter your sight with apps and information. You’ll mostly rely on the built-in speakers, which work in tandem with Google Gemini.

Samsung Intelligent Eyewear x Gentle Monster

Google’s AI assistant is able to see the world around you via the built-in cameras. They can also record first-person video and snap photos and offer real-time translation, navigation, and notification summaries. You can use your voice to control all of the features or alternatively the touch-sensitive areas on the glasses’ temples. As for the internals, both pairs are running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset.

In terms of design, the Gentle Monster pair features a distinct “cat-eye” oval shape. They look like a normal pair of glasses from a distance, though the thicker temples, visible camera and LED indicator on the front clearly indicate these are not your average sunglasses.

Samsung Intelligent Eyewear x Warby Parker

Much of the same can be said for the Warby Parker designs, which have a similar look to the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Both pairs come with nice-feeling hard-shell carrying cases which can also supply up to seven full charges to the glasses. The demo units that we handled felt sturdy enough, though you can clearly see that they attract a lot of fingerprints.

That's all for this first impression of Samsung's Intelligent Eyewear glasses. We are definitely curious to test these out properly once they are available. We're also anticipating pricing and availability details, sooner rather than later.