Samsung unveils XR smart glasses as Galaxy phone companion

Samsung Electronics has detailed its strategy for its first pair of smart glasses, positioning them as a smartphone companion rather than a replacement, as the company prepares to enter a market currently led by Meta. The Android XR-powered glasses, set to launch later this year, were discussed by Samsung executive Choi Jae-in during a press briefing following the Galaxy Unpacked event in London last week.

Choi, head of Samsung's Extended Reality Research and Development Team, explained the company's philosophy is to extend the smartphone experience. He stated that smart glasses are an extension of the experience centered on the smartphone, rather than being a post-smartphone device. This approach directly contrasts with competitors like Meta, which have framed such wearables as the next major computing platform.

To achieve a lightweight and comfortable design for all-day wear, Samsung is employing a split-computing system. This method processes lighter tasks on the glasses themselves, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chipset, while offloading more intensive workloads like AI translation, navigation, and image processing to a paired Galaxy smartphone. The company...