Earlier this month, I flew into Vegas for CES expecting to be overrun with AI gadgets and apps. And sure, while it wasn’t particularly difficult to find AI-driven buzzwords across the show floor, there was no Rabbit R1 to steal the show, even if only for a minute. Instead, the vast majority of my time at CES was filled with real-deal gadgets — smartphones with E Ink-like screens, mobile docks for handhelds like Lenovo’s new Steam Deck rival, and the battery bank to end all battery banks.
That’s not to say AI is some dead trend. Even with a gaming focus, Nvidia’s new graphics cards are bound at the hip to plenty of AI promises, and with Samsung set to unveil its second generation of Galaxy AI tools this week with the S25 lineup, the tech community continues to carry its current hobby horse forward into the New Year. That said, there was a surprising obsession at CES with some futuristic-sounding technology, and it might even cross over with this week’s Samsung event.
I’m talking about smart glasses, of course. As a product category, smart glasses have been around for a while — it’s been well over a decade since Google Glass first debuted on stage at I/O. And though that dream died on the vine, it seems like plenty of tech companies, Google among them, are looking to bring the technology to a much broader audience than before. On the heels of the success — or, at least, mainstream attention — of Meta’s display-less partnership with Ray-Ban, smart glasses are making a splash, with plenty of attempts at nailing the technology down.
I could ramble off dozens of brands that attempted to make a splash at CES this year. Halliday wowed my friend and colleague Ben Schoon at 9to5Google, leaving him impressed with an eyeline projector and a stylish pair of frames. Michael Fisher — a.k.a. Mr. Mobile — spent nearly the entirety of the runtime in his CES 2025 video breaking down every pair of smart glasses he saw during the runtime, including the Even Realities G1 set he wore while we grabbed brunch.
Xreal. Vuzix. Rokid. Looktech. The list goes on and on, and yet, I can’t help but feel like plenty of people are waiting for something from a larger company. That’s where Google comes in. Last month, right before the holidays, Google unveiled Android XR, its first real venture into any kind of augmented reality experience since the death of Daydream was discontinued over five years ago. While Android XR’s announcement came with a tease for Project Moohan — a collaboration with Samsung that looks more like a Meta Quest or Apple Vision Pro — it’s also confirmed to be coming to smart glasses in the near future.
And, of course, Project Moohan brings us back to Samsung. While this week’s Unpacked is sure to focus on the Galaxy S25 series (along with a helping, heaping dose of AI tricks), I wouldn’t be surprised to see Moohan make an appearance on stage ahead of its launch later this year. Despite the AI hype machine, smart glasses and headsets are clearly having a moment in 2025, and I think that’s only going to grow as companies with the size and scope of Google get involved.
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Personally, though, I remain unconvinced that smart glasses will ever catch on outside of the tech sphere — at least in their current state. While smartwatches found mainstream success through their focus on health and wellness, smart glasses are undoubtedly nerdier. Google Glass left a stigma that, in my eyes, hasn’t been fully erased. Until a pair comes along that isn’t simply designed to serve notifications straight into your eyeballs (or, with displayless glasses, into your ears with their open-ear speakers), I think the appeal remains limited.
But what do you think? Does the idea of smart glasses — or headsets, even — excite you, or are you still waiting to be truly wowed? Maybe you’ve already bought into the dream, or maybe you’re eyeing Android XR with a healthy dose of skepticism. Either way, let us know in the poll below, and stay tuned this to (hopefully) learn much more about Samsung’s plans for this space, adjacent as Moohan may be.
