By: Nick Gambino
The Samsung Unpacked event hasn’t been announced yet, but it will most likely take place in January. And at that event they will most probably reveal the new Galaxy S25 series of smartphones. And at this probable event they will most likely unveil the long-awaited Samsung XR Glasses. Yes, that’s an Inception-like series of rumors, but they all feel very true.
This was reported on by a Korean outlet, Yonhap News. If this is true, then we’ll finally see what these bad boys are going to look like. Or at least, we’ll get what they’re intending for them to look like. Apparently, they’ve far from ready to launch (expect that in late 2025) and we’ll merely catch a glimpse of the prototype. Still, it’s more than we’ve seen so far.
Unlike their previously released Gear VR headset or even Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset, the Samsung XR glasses are more like a pair of sunglasses.
The XR is a reference to “extended reality” and that means they’re expecting people to use them in their everyday lives to enhance whatever activity they’re involved in. By making them a lightweight pair of sunglasses, this is possible. This won’t be unlike what Meta is doing in partnership with Ray-Ban.
In fact, this is the biggest issue companies are struggling with in getting consumers to widely adopt VR, AR, MR, XR, whatever you want to call it. If you have to fit a cumbersome pair of goggles on your head that largely block out the world, this is going to be off-putting to people. Sure, Apple added passthrough cameras that allow you to view the outside world while still wearing the Vision Pro, but this just isn’t enough.
We’ll see next month if Samsung unveils the XR Glasses and whether or not they’ve solved this issue of cumbersome headwear in a meaningful way.
