Heated competition, legal drama, and the future of tech on the line? Start writing the movie now, I guess.<\/b>
\nIf there\u2019s one thing we can count on this year in the world of consumer tech, it\u2019s that we won\u2019t have a lot of RAM, and we will have a lot of smart glasses. If you needed any further proof of the latter prediction, Samsung has you covered.
During an earnings call this week, Samsung confirmed that its AR glasses (which have already been teased) are coming this year. That\u2019s not the most detailed announcement to be sure, but in context with the smart glasses field as a whole, it\u2019s making 2026 look like the year that smart glasses go mainstream.
We don\u2019t know much about Samsung\u2019s smart glasses, but they\u2019ll arguably be the biggest name in the space when they finally drop (sorry, Meta). The biggest name for the time being, that is. Google, which is working in collaboration with Samsung on Android XR software, is also eyeing its own separate hardware, and plans to release its first pair of smart glasses since 2013\u2019s Google Glass this year\u2014an audio-only pair of specs similar to the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses.
With those names in the mix, you\u2019re looking at a pretty powerful trio of companies in the smart glasses game: Meta, Samsung, and Google. If that\u2019s not an indication of just how much buzz the category has generated, I\u2019m not sure what is. But if you\u2019re looking at that list and still feel like there\u2019s something missing, there may be news on that front, too. Reports have indicated that Apple is also pursuing its own pair of smart glasses, and while they may not be launched until 2027, they could be revealed as soon as this year. In fact, Apple is so serious about smart glasses that it reportedly shelved plans for a lighter, cheaper Apple Vision Pro to expedite its smart glasses pursuits.
Essentially all the biggest names in the world of XR hardware are planning on making a mark in 2026 or by 2027 at the latest, and that\u2019s not even counting the droves of smaller companies like Xreal, Xgimi, or Mentra that are also slated for release in the first half of 2026. The field isn\u2019t just star-studded in 2026; it\u2019s getting crowded. And not everyone in that crowd is getting along.
If volume and star power weren\u2019t enough, smart glasses are turning into a different kind of battleground\u2014a legal one. Just this past month, Solos, a smart glasses company founded in 2019, sued Meta and Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica for patent infringement, claiming that the companies stole its technologies to make its Ray-Ban-branded smart glasses.
That\u2019s not the only example, either. Xreal, a purveyor of increasingly popular video smart glasses, also recently filed a lawsuit against Viture, a competitor in the same space. The impetus for the lawsuit is similar to the aforementioned; Xreal is claiming that Viture is infringing on patented AR technology.
Regardless of whether either of those lawsuits has merit, it says a lot about a category that any company would actually go to court to defend its technology or preserve its position in a category. Tacitly, what those lawsuits are saying is that smart glasses are worth fighting over, and those battles are seemingly set to take place this year.
So there you have it; you\u2019ve got A-list stars, heated competition, dramatic court battles, and a whole lot of sunglasses. In short, a smart glasses blockbuster is in the making. How all of that drama will play out is anyone\u2019s guess, but if you\u2019re a fan of consumer tech, you\u2019ve inadvertently bought a ticket to the show, so I would suggest grabbing a tub full of popcorn and a Coke and buckling up for a wild year of face-worn hardware.<\/p>\n