No display, two cameras, and a direct shot at Meta's turf.
Somewhere between the testing bench and the marketplace, Samsung's vision of wearable intelligence is coming into focus. Leaked images of a device codenamed Jinju — a word meaning 'pearl' — reveal the company's first smart glasses: dual cameras, no display, Gemini AI, and a price designed to meet consumers where Meta's Ray-Ban glasses have already proven they will go. It is a measured entry into a category still finding its footing, from a company that has clearly decided the future of computing sits closer to the face than the pocket.
- A testing unit — not a render, not a concept — has leaked into public view, stripping away Samsung's carefully managed silence around its smart glasses ambitions.
- At $379–$449 with dual 12MP cameras and no display, Jinju lands squarely in Meta Ray-Ban territory, turning a two-horse race into something more contested.
- The absence of a visual overlay is a deliberate bet: that AI assistance and content capture, not heads-up projection, are what consumers will actually wear on their faces.
- Running on Android XR and woven into Google's Gemini ecosystem, Jinju arrives as both companies prepare to amplify their shared platform at Google I/O 2026.
- A second device, codenamed Haean, is already in development for 2027 — a micro-OLED display model priced near $900 — signaling that Jinju is an opening move, not a final answer.
A pair of glasses on a Samsung testing bench has become the tech world's worst-kept secret. Leaked images published by Android Headlines show what the site describes as an actual unit — codenamed Jinju, a name drawn from a historic South Korean city meaning 'pearl' — of Samsung's first smart glasses. The specs are now in the open: dual 12-megapixel cameras, no built-in display, a retail price between $379 and $449, and an expected launch before the end of 2026.
The missing display is the defining choice. Jinju is not augmented reality in the way most people imagine it — no translucent overlay, no floating interface. Instead, the cameras are built for content capture and AI assistance, with deep Gemini integration and the Android XR platform underneath. That platform ties Jinju directly to Google's own smart glasses efforts, which are expected to resurface at Google I/O 2026, potentially bringing both products into public view at the same moment.
The market Jinju is entering already has a proven occupant. Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses — camera-equipped, display-free, AI-connected — have demonstrated that consumers will pay for wearables that prioritize recording over visual overlays. Samsung's pricing puts Jinju in direct competition with that model, framing the product as a credible challenger rather than a curiosity.
Samsung is also reportedly planning further ahead. A second device codenamed Haean, meaning 'coast,' is slated for 2027 at a price approaching $900, and is said to feature a micro-OLED display rather than the monocular waveguide optics found in Meta's own display-equipped glasses — a distinction that could matter significantly in brightness and clarity. Together, the two products suggest a deliberate two-tier roadmap: Jinju as the accessible, proven-market entry point, and Haean as the premium follow-up for more ambitious augmented reality use cases.
None of it is confirmed, and leaks carry their usual caveats. But the images, codenames, and platform details form a coherent picture. Late 2026 is when the first answer arrives.
A pair of glasses sitting on a testing bench somewhere in Samsung's development pipeline has just become the tech world's worst-kept secret. Leaked images published by Android Headlines offer what the site describes as photographs of an actual testing unit — not a render, not a concept — of Samsung's first smart glasses, codenamed Jinju.
The name comes from a historic city in South Korea, and it translates roughly to "pearl." Whether the product lives up to that billing remains to be seen, but the specs and price point are now out in the open. According to the leak, Jinju will carry two 12-megapixel cameras, no built-in display, and a retail price somewhere between $379 and $449 in the United States. Samsung is expected to announce the glasses before the end of 2026.
The absence of a display is the defining design choice here. These are not augmented reality glasses in the way most people imagine that category — there is no heads-up overlay, no translucent screen floating in your field of vision. Instead, the dual cameras are positioned for content capture and AI-assisted features, with deep integration into Google's Gemini assistant baked in from the start. The glasses will run on Android XR, the same platform that powers Samsung's Galaxy XR headset.
That platform connection matters. Google announced its own Android XR smart glasses at its I/O developer conference in 2025, and the two companies are effectively building toward the same ecosystem from different angles. Google's glasses are expected to get more attention at the upcoming Google I/O 2026 event, which means the next few months could see both products come into sharper focus simultaneously.
The competitive landscape Jinju is entering is already taking shape. Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses — the camera-equipped, display-free version — have established a real market for wearables that prioritize recording and AI assistance over visual overlays. At $379 to $449, Jinju would land in roughly the same price territory, positioning Samsung as a direct challenger to Meta in a segment that has proven more commercially viable than the full AR headset market.
But Samsung is apparently not stopping there. Android Headlines also reports that a second pair of glasses, codenamed Haean — meaning "coast" — is in development for a 2027 release, with a price tag that could reach $900. The Haean project first surfaced in leaks back in 2025, and the new reporting adds a key detail: where Meta's $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses use a monocular waveguide display, Samsung's Haean is said to use a micro-OLED display instead. That distinction matters to anyone who has spent time with waveguide optics and found them wanting in brightness or clarity.
Taken together, the two products sketch out a deliberate two-tier strategy. Jinju is the entry point — accessible, camera-forward, AI-connected, priced to compete with what Meta has already proven people will buy. Haean is the premium follow-up, arriving a year later with the display hardware that the more ambitious augmented reality use cases actually require.
None of this is confirmed by Samsung, and leaks of this kind carry the usual caveats — designs change, prices shift, timelines slip. But the images, the codenames, and the platform details all fit a coherent picture of where Samsung is heading. For a company that has already planted its flag in the XR headset space, smart glasses are the logical next move. The question now is whether Jinju, when it finally arrives, will feel like a polished product or a first draft. Late 2026 is when we find out.
Notable Quotes
The design in the images is based on real-life pictures of a testing unit of these smart glasses.— Android Headlines, on the leaked Jinju images
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Samsung release glasses with no display? Isn't that the whole point of smart glasses?
It depends on what problem you're trying to solve. A display adds cost, complexity, and battery drain. Cameras plus AI can do a lot without any of that.
So it's more like a wearable camera than a heads-up display?
Essentially, yes. Think of it as a hands-free way to capture and interact with the world, with Gemini doing the heavy lifting in the background.
How does the price compare to what's already out there?
Meta's camera-only Ray-Bans run in a similar range. At $379 to $449, Samsung is planting itself right in that same conversation.
And the display version — Haean — comes later?
A year later, in 2027, reportedly up to $900. Samsung seems to be treating the display as a premium tier, not a baseline requirement.
What's the significance of running on Android XR?
It ties the glasses into the same ecosystem as Samsung's headset and Google's own upcoming glasses. One platform, multiple form factors.
Does Google releasing its own glasses on the same platform create a conflict?
More of a collaboration, probably. Google builds the platform, Samsung and others build the hardware. It's the Android phone model, applied to faces.
What would make or break Jinju when it actually ships?
Battery life, camera quality, and whether Gemini is genuinely useful in the moment — or just a feature that sounds good in a press release.
Is 2026 actually a turning point for this category?
The pieces are converging — Meta has proven demand exists, Google is building infrastructure, Samsung is bringing scale. Whether any of it clicks for everyday users is still the open question.