Samsung has opened pre-orders for its first smart glasses, the Intelligent Eyewear, with prices starting at $395 in the United States. The glasses, developed with Google and powered by its Gemini artificial intelligence assistant, are set to go on sale on 10 December 2026 in the United States and South Korea.

Samsung announced the release date and pricing on 12 November. The launch turns a product first shown at its Galaxy Unpacked event in July into something customers can now reserve, with deliveries timed for the holiday shopping season.

Two collections, 30 designs

The range comes in 30 designs across two eyewear brands. Gentle Monster contributes 16 variations based on six frame styles, while Warby Parker offers 14 variations based on three frame designs — Alden, Reid and Wren — in optical and sun versions.

Warby Parker Intelligent Eyewear starts at $395 in the United States. Gentle Monster Intelligent Eyewear ranges from $449 to $489, depending on the model. Pre-orders are available through Warby Parker’s retail and online channels and through Gentle Monster’s official online store, with hands-on demonstrations at selected Samsung shops from 10 December.

Both collections will launch in the United States, while the Gentle Monster collection will also be available in South Korea. Samsung has not said when the glasses will reach other markets.

Gemini built in, no display in the lenses

The glasses have no display in the lenses. Instead, they are audio-first: a camera, speakers and microphones feed Gemini, which answers by voice. Users can ask questions about what they are looking at, such as identifying an unfamiliar landmark, and continue the conversation with follow-up questions.

Samsung says the glasses can also help with everyday tasks. A wearer can photograph a whiteboard during a meeting, ask Gemini to summarise the key points and save them directly into Samsung Notes. They can translate a restaurant menu or get turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps, and the glasses can prioritise, group and summarise notifications, read important updates aloud and handle calls and message replies hands-free.

Camera, battery and compatibility

The hardware is built around Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 platform. The glasses carry a 12MP HDR camera for photos and video, two open-ear speakers and four microphones, 2GB of memory and 64GB of storage. Samsung says battery life is up to nine hours on a single charge, and up to 72 hours with a fully charged charging case. The frames weigh around 41 grams and are rated IPX4 for water resistance.

Compatibility is wider than Galaxy phones alone. Samsung lists Galaxy S, Galaxy S FE, Galaxy Z Fold, Z Flip and Fold Ultra phones running One UI 9.0 or higher, Google Pixel 7 series and later phones running the Android 17 September 2026 update or later, and iPhone 13 and later models with at least 6GB of RAM running iOS 26.6 or later. The glasses use a split-computing system that offloads part of the processing to the connected phone.

Privacy safeguards

Samsung has put considerable emphasis on privacy, an issue that has followed camera glasses since the first models appeared. An LED on the frame lights up whenever the camera is taking photos or recording video, and the wearer receives a visual notification and a sound at the same time. Built-in safeguards are designed to disable camera capture if the external LED is covered or is not working properly.

The company says visuals collected by Gemini are not used for AI model training or advertising targeting, and that bystanders’ faces are automatically redacted before Gemini responds to a question about what the wearer is looking at. Users keep control over app permissions and their Gemini activity, and the glasses are designed for users aged 18 and over, with age verification required to activate the device and download apps.

The launch puts Samsung into direct competition with Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, which have led the AI glasses market so far. Samsung’s answer is a fashion-led range, a wider choice of phones and Gemini at the centre of the experience — but its first test will be whether buyers are willing to pay $395 or more for glasses with no screen.

Sources: Samsung Newsroom and TalkAndroid