Samsung’s iPhone-compatible smart glasses are a bigger bet than you think
Samsung’s iPhone-compatible smart glasses are a bigger bet than you think
Publish Date: 2026-05-20 12:53:00
Source Domain: www.sammobile.com
Samsung very much likes to keep its users within its ecosystem, as it should, which is why you won’t find many of its wearable devices offering full support for the iPhone. It has poured considerable resources into making it easier for people to switch from iPhones to a Galaxy device. This is a mission that it’s unlikely to give up on any time soon.
Google takes a different approach, largely because it runs a different business model. Its online services, like search, are what generate the bulk of its revenues. It already pays Apple billions to have Google be the default search engine on Safari, because that’s premium ad inventory that it can sell for billions more to advertisers.
That’s why Google isn’t shying away from embracing Apple with its latest hardware moves. The new $99 Fitbit Air, for example, works just as well on iOS devices as it does on Android. Google is taking a similarly liberal view with smart glasses, or intelligent eyewear, as it likes to call them.
Google isn’t making the hardware itself right now, it’s merely providing the operating system and the Gemini AI integration. It has opted for a collaborative effort with Qualcomm that provides the chipset, Samsung that handles the engineering side of things, while Gentle Monster and Warby Parker handle design and branding.
In a way, this collaborative effort is Samsung’s most interesting attempt at reaching those elusive iPhone users without asking them to switch a single thing. It represents a structural shift in how Samsung is thinking about the problem of reaching people it has never been able to reach.
The glasses are designed to give users quick help through Gemini without constantly needing to look at a phone screen. It works through voice activation, hands-free controls, and the ability to tap into apps and services, like Uber, directly through the frame.
None of that requires a Galaxy phone. An iPhone user can thus buy a pair of Gentle Monster smart…
